Unconventional hysteretic transition in a charge density wave

Abstract

Hysteresis underlies a large number of phase transitions in solids, giving rise to exotic metastable states that are otherwise inaccessible. Here, we report an unconventional hysteretic transition in a quasi-2D material, EuTe4. By combining transport, photoemission, diffraction, and x-ray absorption measurements, we observed that the hysteresis loop has a temperature width of more than 400 K, setting a record among crystalline solids. The transition has an origin distinct from known mechanisms, lying entirely within the incommensurate charge-density-wave (CDW) phase of EuTe4 with no change in the CDW modulation periodicity. We interpret the hysteresis as an unusual switching of the relative CDW phases in different layers, a phenomenon unique to quasi-2D compounds that is not present in either purely 2D or strongly-coupled 3D systems. Our findings challenge the established theories on metastable states in density wave systems, pushing the boundary of understanding hysteretic transitions in a broken-symmetry state.

References in corpus (5)

• Theoretical perspective on the glass transition and amorphous materials
• Gate-tunable Phase Transitions in 1T-TaS${}_2$
• ARPES Study of the Evolution of Band Structure and Charge Density Wave Properties in RTe3 for R = Y, La, Ce, Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy
• Layered semiconductor EuTe 4 with charge density wave order in square tellurium sheets
• Energy efficient manipulation of topologically protected states in non-volatile ultrafast charge configuration memory devices

Cited by in corpus (14)

• Charge density wave induced nodal lines in LaTe${}_3$
• Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the charge density wave order in layered semiconductor EuTe4
• Unconventional Charge-density-wave Order in a Dilute d-band Semiconductor
• Thermal hysteretic behavior and negative magnetoresistance in an unusual charge-density-wave material EuTe4
• Room-temperature non-volatile optical manipulation of polar order in a charge density wave
• Coexistence of interacting charge density waves in a layered semiconductor
• Large moiré superstructure of stacked incommensurate charge density waves
• Magnetoresistance hysteresis in the superconduting state of Kagome CsV${}_3$Sb${}_5$
• Enhanced thermopower in a magnetic semiconductor EuTe4 with multiple charge-density-wave instabilities/
• Umklapp-driven first-order transition into a charge-density wave phase
• Bidirectional ultrafast control of charge density waves via phase competition
• Observation of momentum dependent charge density wave gap in EuTe4
• Switching of an antiferromagnet controlled by spin canting in a laser-induced hidden phase
• Dual Charge-Density-Waves in Two-dimensional DyTe3 and Their Distinct Impacts on Magneto-Transport Properties