MIT physicists find two different mechanisms behind coexisting electron wave phases in a quantum material
MIT physicists studying the rare-earth material erbium tritelluride found that its two coexisting charge density wave phases form through completely different mechanisms: one smoothly, the other in expanding pockets like ice crystals. The findings, published in Nature Physics, could help explain how superconductivity and other exotic electronic properties emerge in more complex quantum materials.
A team of MIT physicists led by professor Nuh Gedik has identified two distinct mechanisms behind how coexisting electron wave phases form inside the quantum material erbium tritelluride. Using a two-pulse laser technique to disrupt and then read the material's electronic structure, the team found that a dominant charge density wave phase reforms gradually and evenly, a classic second-order transition, while a second, subdominant phase reforms in scattered pockets that expand outward, resembling how ice crystals grow through freezing water. The study, published in Nature Physics, could help scientists understand how more complex phenomena such as superconductivity and magnetism coexist in quantum materials that some researchers see as candidates to eventually take over some of the roles silicon plays in electronics today.