Manipulative\nSingle Electric Dipole with Spontaneous\nTranslational Symmetry Breaking in a Two-Dimensional Crystal

It is widely acknowledged that quantum entities with\nminimal mass\ncannot undergo spontaneous symmetry breaking due to strong quantum\nfluctuations. Here, we report the discovery of a positionally settled\nsingle electric dipole that can be manipulated and electrically polarized\nin a monolayer CoCl<sub>2</sub>-graphite heterostructure, which demonstrates\nan unprecedented example of spontaneous lattice-translational-symmetry\nbreaking. Scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy\nshow that the solitons are intrinsic paraelectric dipoles driven by\nsynchronous charge–lattice distortion around individual CoCl<sub>6</sub> octahedrons. Both the dipole moment and lateral position\nof the soliton can be manipulated by the electric field exerted from\nthe tip, which offers polarity-switchable and layout-designable electrostatic\npotential landscapes that determine the band bending configuration.\nThis study exemplifies a brand-new type of local charge–lattice\norder, appealing for further research on the mechanism underlying\nthe soliton robustness, and the electrically and positionally controllable\nsingle dipole supports the feasibility of band tailoring in device\napplications.