Time-reversal symmetry-breaking charge order in a kagome superconductor.

The kagome lattice1, which is the most prominent structural motif in quantum physics, benefits from inherent non-trivial geometry so that it can host diverse quantum phases, ranging from spin-liquid phases, to topological matter, to intertwined orders2-8 and, most rarely, to unconventional superconductivity6,9. Recently, charge sensitive probes have indicated that the kagome superconductors AV3Sb5 (A = K, Rb, Cs)9-11 exhibit unconventional chiral charge order12-19, which is analogous to the long-sought-after quantum order in the Haldane model20 or Varma model21. However, direct evidence for the time-reversal symmetry breaking of the charge order remains elusive. Here we use muon spin relaxation to probe the kagome charge order and superconductivity in KV3Sb5. We observe a noticeable enhancement of the internal field width sensed by the muon ensemble, which takes place just below the charge ordering temperature and persists into the superconducting state. Notably, the muon spin relaxation rate below the charge ordering temperature is substantially enhanced by applying an external magnetic field. We further show the multigap nature of superconductivity in KV3Sb5 and that the [Formula: see text] ratio (where Tc is the superconducting transition temperature and λab is the magnetic penetration depth in the kagome plane) is comparable to those of unconventional high-temperature superconductors. Our results point to time-reversal symmetry-breaking charge order intertwining with unconventional superconductivity in the correlated kagome lattice.

Double Superconducting Dome and Triple Enhancement of T_{c} in the Kagome Superconductor CsV_{3}Sb_{5} under High Pressure.

CsV_{3}Sb_{5} is a newly discovered Z_{2} topological kagome metal showing the coexistence of a charge-density-wave (CDW)-like order at T^{*}=94 K and superconductivity (SC) at T_{c}=2.5 K at ambient pressure. Here, we study the interplay between CDW and SC in CsV_{3}Sb_{5} via measurements of resistivity, dc and ac magnetic susceptibility under various pressures up to 6.6 GPa. We find that the CDW transition decreases with pressure and experience a subtle modification at P_{c1}≈0.6-0.9 GPa before it vanishes completely at P_{c2}≈2 GPa. Correspondingly, T_{c}(P) displays an unusual M-shaped double dome with two maxima around P_{c1} and P_{c2}, respectively, leading to a tripled enhancement of T_{c} to about 8 K at 2 GPa. The obtained temperature-pressure phase diagram resembles those of unconventional superconductors, illustrating an intimated competition between CDW-like order and SC. The competition is found to be particularly strong for the intermediate pressure range P_{c1}≤P≤P_{c2} as evidenced by the broad superconducting transition and reduced superconducting volume fraction. The modification of CDW order around P_{c1} has been discussed based on the band structure calculations. This work not only demonstrates the potential to raise T_{c} of the V-based kagome superconductors, but also offers more insights into the rich physics related to the electron correlations in this novel family of topological kagome metals.

Spin-Reorientation-Induced Band Gap in Fe_{3}Sn_{2}: Optical Signatures of Weyl Nodes.

Temperature- and frequency-dependent infrared spectroscopy identifies two contributions to the electronic properties of the magnetic kagome metal Fe_{3}Sn_{2}: two-dimensional Dirac fermions and strongly correlated flat bands. The interband transitions within the linearly dispersing Dirac bands appear as a two-step feature along with a very narrow Drude component due to intraband contribution. Low-lying absorption features indicate flat bands with multiple van Hove singularities. Localized charge carriers are seen as a Drude peak shifted to finite frequencies. The spectral weight is redistributed when the spins are reoriented at low temperatures; a sharp mode appears suggesting the opening of a gap due to the spin reorientation as the sign of additional Weyl nodes in the system.

Phononic Helical Nodal Lines with PT Protection in MoB_{2}.

While condensed matter systems host both fermionic and bosonic quasiparticles, reliably predicting and empirically verifying topological states is only mature for Fermionic electronic structures, leaving topological Bosonic excitations sporadically explored. This is unfortunate, as Bosonic systems such as phonons offer the opportunity to assess spinless band structures where nodal lines can be realized without invoking special additional symetries to protect against spin-orbit coupling. Here we combine first-principles calculations and meV-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering to demonstrate the first realization of parity-time reversal symmetry protected helical nodal lines in the phonon spectrum of MoB_{2}. This structure is unique to phononic systems as the spin-orbit coupling present in electronic systems tends to lift the degeneracy away from high-symmetry locations. Our study establishes a protocol to accurately identify topological Bosonic excitations, opening a new route to explore exotic topological states in crystalline materials.

Compensated Semimetal LaSb with Unsaturated Magnetoresistance.

By combining angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and quantum oscillation measurements, we performed a comprehensive investigation on the electronic structure of LaSb, which exhibits near-quadratic extremely large magnetoresistance (XMR) without any sign of saturation at magnetic fields as high as 40 T. We clearly resolve one spherical and one intersecting-ellipsoidal hole Fermi surfaces (FSs) at the Brillouin zone (BZ) center Γ and one ellipsoidal electron FS at the BZ boundary X. The hole and electron carriers calculated from the enclosed FS volumes are perfectly compensated, and the carrier compensation is unaffected by temperature. We further reveal that LaSb is topologically trivial but shares many similarities with the Weyl semimetal TaAs family in the bulk electronic structure. Based on these results, we have examined the mechanisms that have been proposed so far to explain the near-quadratic XMR in semimetals.

Tunable unconventional kagome superconductivity in charge ordered RbV3Sb5 and KV3Sb5.

Unconventional superconductors often feature competing orders, small superfluid density, and nodal electronic pairing. While unusual superconductivity has been proposed in the kagome metals AV3Sb5, key spectroscopic evidence has remained elusive. Here we utilize pressure-tuned and ultra-low temperature muon spin spectroscopy to uncover the unconventional nature of superconductivity in RbV3Sb5 and KV3Sb5. At ambient pressure, we observed time-reversal symmetry breaking charge order below [Formula: see text] 110 K in RbV3Sb5 with an additional transition at [Formula: see text] 50 K. Remarkably, the superconducting state displays a nodal energy gap and a reduced superfluid density, which can be attributed to the competition with the charge order. Upon applying pressure, the charge-order transitions are suppressed, the superfluid density increases, and the superconducting state progressively evolves from nodal to nodeless. Once optimal superconductivity is achieved, we find a superconducting pairing state that is not only fully gapped, but also spontaneously breaks time-reversal symmetry. Our results point to unprecedented tunable nodal kagome superconductivity competing with time-reversal symmetry-breaking charge order and offer unique insights into the nature of the pairing state.

Discovery of conjoined charge density waves in the kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5.

The electronic instabilities in CsV3Sb5 are believed to originate from the V 3d-electrons on the kagome plane, however the role of Sb 5p-electrons for 3-dimensional orders is largely unexplored. Here, using resonant tender X-ray scattering and high-pressure X-ray scattering, we report a rare realization of conjoined charge density waves (CDWs) in CsV3Sb5, where a 2 × 2 × 1 CDW in the kagome sublattice and a Sb 5p-electron assisted 2 × 2 × 2 CDW coexist. At ambient pressure, we discover a resonant enhancement on Sb L1-edge (2s→5p) at the 2 × 2 × 2 CDW wavevectors. The resonance, however, is absent at the 2 × 2 × 1 CDW wavevectors. Applying hydrostatic pressure, CDW transition temperatures are separated, where the 2 × 2 × 2 CDW emerges 4 K above the 2 × 2 × 1 CDW at 1 GPa. These observations demonstrate that symmetry-breaking phases in CsV3Sb5 go beyond the minimal framework of kagome electronic bands near van Hove filling.

Tunable anomalous Hall conductivity through volume-wise magnetic competition in a topological kagome magnet.

Magnetic topological phases of quantum matter are an emerging frontier in physics and material science. Along these lines, several kagome magnets have appeared as the most promising platforms. Here, we explore magnetic correlations in the kagome magnet Co3Sn2S2. Using muon spin-rotation, we present evidence for competing magnetic orders in the kagome lattice of this compound. Our results show that while the sample exhibits an out-of-plane ferromagnetic ground state, an in-plane antiferromagnetic state appears at temperatures above 90 K, eventually attaining a volume fraction of 80% around 170 K, before reaching a non-magnetic state. Strikingly, the reduction of the anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) above 90 K linearly follows the disappearance of the volume fraction of the ferromagnetic state. We further show that the competition of these magnetic phases is tunable through applying either an external magnetic field or hydrostatic pressure. Our results taken together suggest the thermal and quantum tuning of Berry curvature induced AHC via external tuning of magnetic order.

Ultrafast extreme rejuvenation of metallic glasses by shock compression.

Structural rejuvenation of glasses not only provides fundamental insights into their complicated dynamics but also extends their practical applications. However, it is formidably challenging to rejuvenate a glass on very short time scales. Here, we present the first experimental evidence that a specially designed shock compression technique can rapidly rejuvenate metallic glasses to extremely high-enthalpy states within a very short time scale of about 365 ± 8 ns. By controlling the shock stress amplitude, the shock-induced rejuvenation is successfully frozen at different degrees. The underlying structural disordering is quantitatively characterized by the anomalous boson heat capacity peak of glasses. A Deborah number, defined as a competition of time scales between the net structural disordering and the applied loading, is introduced to explain the observed ultrafast rejuvenation phenomena of metallic glasses.

Local orbital degeneracy lifting as a precursor to an orbital-selective Peierls transition.

Fundamental electronic principles underlying all transition metal compounds are the symmetry and filling of the d-electron orbitals and the influence of this filling on structural configurations and responses. Here we use a sensitive local structural technique, x-ray atomic pair distribution function analysis, to reveal the presence of fluctuating local-structural distortions at high temperature in one such compound, CuIr2S4. We show that this hitherto overlooked fluctuating symmetry-lowering is electronic in origin and will modify the energy-level spectrum and electronic and magnetic properties. The explanation is a local, fluctuating, orbital-degeneracy-lifted state. The natural extension of our result would be that this phenomenon is likely to be widespread amongst diverse classes of partially filled nominally degenerate d-electron systems, with potentially broad implications for our understanding of their properties.

Quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity from dimerization of atomically ordered AuTe2Se4/3 cubes.

The emergent phenomena such as superconductivity and topological phase transitions can be observed in strict two-dimensional (2D) crystalline matters. Artificial interfaces and one atomic thickness layers are typical 2D materials of this kind. Although having 2D characters, most bulky layered compounds, however, do not possess these striking properties. Here, we report quasi-2D superconductivity in bulky AuTe2Se4/3, where the reduction in dimensionality is achieved through inducing the elongated covalent Te-Te bonds. The atomic-resolution images reveal that the Au, Te, and Se are atomically ordered in a cube, among which are Te-Te bonds of 3.18 and 3.28 Å. The superconductivity at 2.85 K is discovered, which is unraveled to be the quasi-2D nature owing to the Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless topological transition. The nesting of nearly parallel Fermi sheets could give rise to strong electron-phonon coupling. It is proposed that further depleting the thickness could result in more topologically-related phenomena.Emergent phenomena often appear in crystals in the two-dimensional limit but are rare in bulky compounds. Here, Guo et al. report a quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity in a bulk material AuTe2Se4/3 at 2.85 K, potentially owing to a topological transition.