Frustrated phonon with charge density wave in vanadium Kagome metal
The formation of a star-of-David charge density wave superstructure, resulting from the coordinated displacements of vanadium ions on a corner-sharing triangular lattice, has garnered significant attention to comprehend the influence of electron-phonon interaction within geometrically intricate lattice of Kagome metals, specifically AV<sub>3</sub>Sb<sub>5</sub> (where A represents K, Rb, or Cs). However, understanding of the underlying mechanism behind charge density wave formation, coupled with symmetry-protected lattice vibrations, remains elusive. Here, from femtosecond time-resolved X-ray scattering experiments, we reveal that the phonon mode, associated with cesium ions' out-of-plane motion, becomes frustrated in the charge density wave phase. Furthermore, we observed the photoinduced emergence of a metastable charge density wave phase, facilitated by alleviating the frustration. By not only elucidating the longstanding puzzle surrounding the intervention of phonons but introducing the phononic frustration, this research offers insights into the competition between phonons and periodic lattice distortions, a phenomenon widespread in other correlated quantum materials including layered high-temperature superconductors.
Authors
- Heemin Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8727-210X)
- Junha Hwang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9049-3981)
- Sung Yun Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2087-500X)
- Sang‐Youn Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1500-4384)
- Woo‐Suk Noh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3313-6559)
- Choongjae Won (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1148-0006)
- Dongbin Shin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8073-2954)
- Byungjune Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0785-030X)
- Jae‐Hoon Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6311-2454)
- Eunyoung Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3988-1004)
- Hoyoung Jang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7160-9038)
- Changyong Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9950-9007)
- Hanbyul Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8931-4561)
- Hyeongi Choi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2260-8630)
- Seung-Phil Heo
Institutions
- Pohang University of Science and Technology (KR)
- Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Korea Foundation for Max Planck POSTECH (KR)
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (DE)
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60219-0
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- National Supercomputing Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information