Correlated order at the tipping point in the kagome metal Cs V3 Sb5

by Dr Glenn Wagner (University of Zurich)

Tuesday 6 Feb 2024, 11:00 → 12:00 Europe/Zurich

WHGA/121

Spontaneously broken symmetries are at the heart of many phenomena of quantum matter and physics more generally. However, determining the exact symmetries broken can be challenging due to imperfections such as strain, in particular when multiple electronic orders form complex interactions. This is exemplified by charge order in some kagome systems, which are speculated to show nematicity and flux order from orbital currents.

I will present some experimental results on highly symmetric samples of a member of this family, CsV3Sb5. Those results show the absence of measurable anisotropy at any temperature in the unperturbed material, however, a striking in-plane transport anisotropy appears when either weak magnetic fields or strains are present. A symmetry analysis indicates that a perpendicular magnetic field can indeed lead to in-plane anisotropy by inducing a flux order coexisting with more conventional bond order. These results provide a unifying picture for the controversial charge order in kagome metals.