Unexpected stabilization of a single-q charge density wave in pristine 1T-TiSe2
Abstract
Over the past decade, studies revisiting the classical charge-density-wave system 1T-TiSe2, long understood to host the 2 × 2 triple-q order with equivalent subcomponents, have suggested that these subcomponents may not be identical, challenging a 50-year-old paradigm. Here, we demonstrate not only that these subcomponents are non-identical but also that they develop sequentially rather than simultaneously. By tracking folded-band features, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals that a unidirectional 2 × 1 single-q order stabilizes first, while the other two components emerge sequentially at lower temperatures, completing the triple-q phase. Our free-energy analysis explains this hierarchy through repulsive coupling among the three subcomponents, as supported by first-principles calculations incorporating phonon anharmonicity. Consequently, the three subcomponents are inequivalent in both phase and amplitude. These results reconcile reported symmetry breaking and differing characteristic temperatures and establish a framework in which ostensibly simple, high-symmetry charge-density order emerges from temperature-dependent competition and cooperation among inequivalent subcomponents.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{han2026unexpected,
title = {{Unexpected stabilization of a single-$q$ charge density wave in pristine 1T-TiSe$_2$}},
author = {Kimoon Higashihira Han and Dongju Hwang and Dongsin Kim and Yeojin Ahn and Jaehun Cha and Seonggeon Gim and Gyubin Lee and Mingi Jho and Chan-young Lim and Sae Hee Ryu and Chris Jozwiak and Aaron Bostwick and Eli Rotenberg and Jonathan D. Denlinger and Makoto Hashimoto and Donghui Lu and Young Woo Choi and Gil Young Cho and Yeongkwan Kim},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.18211},
eprint = {2610.18211},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.18211},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Unexpected stabilization of a single-q charge density wave in pristine 1T-TiSe_2
AU - Kimoon Higashihira Han
AU - Dongju Hwang
AU - Dongsin Kim
AU - Yeojin Ahn
AU - Jaehun Cha
AU - Seonggeon Gim
AU - Gyubin Lee
AU - Mingi Jho
AU - Chan-young Lim
AU - Sae Hee Ryu
AU - Chris Jozwiak
AU - Aaron Bostwick
AU - Eli Rotenberg
AU - Jonathan D. Denlinger
AU - Makoto Hashimoto
AU - Donghui Lu
AU - Young Woo Choi
AU - Gil Young Cho
AU - Yeongkwan Kim
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.18211
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.18211
AB - Over the past decade, studies revisiting the classical charge-density-wave system 1T-TiSe_2, long understood to host the 2 × 2 triple-q order with equivalent subcomponents, have suggested that these subcomponents may not be identical, challenging a 50-year-old paradigm. Here, we demonstrate not only that these subcomponents are non-identical but also that they develop sequentially rather than simultaneously. By tracking folded-band features, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals that a unidirectional 2 × 1 single-q order stabilizes first, while the other two components emerge sequentially at lower temperatures, completing the triple-q phase. Our free-energy analysis explains this hierarchy through repulsive coupling among the three subcomponents, as supported by first-principles calculations incorporating phonon anharmonicity. Consequently, the three subcomponents are inequivalent in both phase and amplitude. These results reconcile reported symmetry breaking and differing characteristic temperatures and establish a framework in which ostensibly simple, high-symmetry charge-density order emerges from temperature-dependent competition and cooperation among inequivalent subcomponents.
ER -