RESUMO
Condensates are a hallmark of emergence in quantum materials such as superconductors and charge density waves. Excitonic insulators are an intriguing addition to this library, exhibiting spontaneous condensation of electron-hole pairs. However, condensate observables can be obscured through parasitic coupling to the lattice. Here we employ nonlinear terahertz spectroscopy to disentangle such obscurants through measurement of the quantum dynamics. We target Ta2NiSe5, a putative room-temperature excitonic insulator in which electron-lattice coupling dominates the structural transition (Tc = 326 K), hindering identification of excitonic correlations. A pronounced increase in the terahertz reflectivity manifests following photoexcitation and exhibits a Bose-Einstein condensation-like temperature dependence well below the Tc, suggesting an approach to monitor the exciton condensate dynamics. Nonetheless, dynamic condensate-phonon coupling remains as evidenced by peaks in the enhanced reflectivity spectrum at select infrared-active phonon frequencies, indicating that parametric reflectivity enhancement arises from phonon squeezing. Our results highlight that coherent dynamics can drive parametric stimulated emission.
RESUMO
Electronic flat-band materials host quantum states characterized by a quenched kinetic energy. These flat bands are often conducive to enhanced electron correlation effects and emergent quantum phases of matter1. Long studied in theoretical models2-4, these systems have received renewed interest after their experimental realization in van der Waals heterostructures5,6 and quasi-two-dimensional (2D) crystalline materials7,8. An outstanding experimental question is if such flat bands can be realized in three-dimensional (3D) networks, potentially enabling new materials platforms9,10 and phenomena11-13. Here we investigate the C15 Laves phase metal CaNi2, which contains a nickel pyrochlore lattice predicted at a model network level to host a doubly-degenerate, topological flat band arising from 3D destructive interference of electronic hopping14,15. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we observe a band with vanishing dispersion across the full 3D Brillouin zone that we identify with the pyrochlore flat band as well as two additional flat bands that we show arise from multi-orbital interference of Ni d-electrons. Furthermore, we demonstrate chemical tuning of the flat-band manifold to the Fermi level that coincides with enhanced electronic correlations and the appearance of superconductivity. Extending the notion of intrinsic band flatness from 2D to 3D, this provides a potential pathway to correlated behaviour predicted for higher-dimensional flat-band systems ranging from tunable topological15 to fractionalized phases16.
