Unexpected stabilization of a single-q charge density wave in pristine 1T-TiSe₂.
12 affiliations
- 1Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
- 2Department of Physics and Center for Nano Materials, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- 3Department of Physics, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
- 4Center for Semiconductor Technology, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- 5Donostia International Physics Center, San Sebastián, Spain.
- 6Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- 7Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
- 8Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
- 9Department of Physics and Center for Nano Materials, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. [email protected].
- 10Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected].
- 11Center for Artificial Low Dimensional Electronic Systems, Institute for Basic Science, Pohang, Republic of Korea. [email protected].
- 12Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected].
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
@article{han2026unexpected,
title = {{Unexpected stabilization of a single-q charge density wave in pristine 1T-TiSe₂.}},
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},
journal = {Nature communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78072-0},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957650},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Unexpected stabilization of a single-q charge density wave in pristine 1T-TiSe₂.
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 - 2026/09/29
JO - Nature communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78072-0
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957650
AB - 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.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -