Strong-coupling charge density wave in a one-dimensional topological metal

Abstract

Scanning tunnelling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction show a dimerization-like reconstruction in the one-dimensional atomic chains on Bi(114) at low temperatures. While one-dimensional systems are generally unstable against such a distortion, its observation is not expected for this particular surface, since there are several factors that should prevent it: One is the particular spin texture of the Fermi surface, which resembles a one-dimensional topological state, and spin protection should hence prevent the formation of the reconstruction. The second is the very short nesting vector $2k_F$, which is inconsistent with the observed lattice distortion. A nesting-driven mechanism of the reconstruction is indeed excluded by the absence of any changes in the electronic structure near the Fermi surface, as observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. However, distinct changes in the electronic structure at higher binding energies are found to accompany the structural phase transition. This, as well as the observed short correlation length of the pairing distortion, suggest that the transition is of the strong coupling type and driven by phonon entropy rather than electronic entropy.

References in corpus (9)

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• Giant Kohn anomaly and the phase transition in charge density wave ZrTe_3
• One-dimensional spin texture of Bi(441); Quantum Spin Hall properties without a topological insulator

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• Unconventional charge-density-wave gap in monolayer NbS${}_2$
• THz Surface Modes and Electron-Phonon Coupling in Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$(111)
• The Electron-Phonon Interaction of Low-Dimensional and Multi-Dimensional Materials from He Atom Scattering
• One-Dimensional Spin-Polarised Surface States -- A Comparison of Bi(112) with Other Vicinal Bismuth Surfaces
• Observation of Dirac Charge Density Waves in Bi${}_2$Te${}_2$Se
• Sliding phasons in Moiré Ladders