Chiral-nematic Fermi liquid state as the parent state of kagome metals and superconductors
Abstract
The kagome metals and superconductors hosting rich correlated and topological electronic states have captivated quantum materials research. These states are triggered by an unconventional chiral charge density wave (CDW) wherein a chiral superconductivity emerges at low temperatures, yet the origin of this chiral CDW order, the “parent” state, which is the heart of kagome physics at low temperatures, is unresolved. Here, we report the discovery of a parent chiral-nematic Fermi liquid state in kagome metals and superconductors. We use spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy to study Ti-doped CsV3Sb5 where the CDW is suppressed, and find that multiorbital Fermi surfaces break all mirror reflections and exhibit handedness. We observe the chiral low-energy quasiparticle dispersions, providing direct evidence for a chiral-nematic electronic structure. We further observe the direct transition from the parent state to a chiral-nematic superconducting state. Moreover, in the samples with chiral CDW, we also observe the residual chiral-nematic QPI features, demonstrating that the CDW-triggered exotic states descend from the chiral-nematic Fermi liquid. Our findings not only provide a plausible chiral-nematic parent state, but also establish a new conceptual framework for exploring the emergence and consequences of such exotic quantum phases.
Related
- Vortex anisotropy in chiral and nematic superconductors with strain
- Chiral superconductors from parent states with nonuniform Berry curvature: Momentum-space vortices, Bogoliubov-de Gennes topology, and thermal Hall conductivity
- Pervasive electronic nematicity across the doping-tuned phase diagram of Kagome superconductors
- Topological pair density waves in kagome superconductors
- Resolving unconventional gap structure in kagome superconductors with hybrid microwave circuits
BibTeX
@article{huang2026chiralnematic,
title = {{Chiral-nematic Fermi liquid state as the parent state of kagome metals and superconductors}},
author = {Zihao Huang and Zhan Wang and Hengxin Tan and Zhen Zhao and Chengmin Shen and Haitao Yang and Bent Weber and Binghai Yan and Hui Chen and Ziqiang Wang and Hong-Jun Gao},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78385-0},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78385-0},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Chiral-nematic Fermi liquid state as the parent state of kagome metals and superconductors
AU - Zihao Huang
AU - Zhan Wang
AU - Hengxin Tan
AU - Zhen Zhao
AU - Chengmin Shen
AU - Haitao Yang
AU - Bent Weber
AU - Binghai Yan
AU - Hui Chen
AU - Ziqiang Wang
AU - Hong-Jun Gao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78385-0
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78385-0
AB - The kagome metals and superconductors hosting rich correlated and topological electronic states have captivated quantum materials research. These states are triggered by an unconventional chiral charge density wave (CDW) wherein a chiral superconductivity emerges at low temperatures, yet the origin of this chiral CDW order, the “parent” state, which is the heart of kagome physics at low temperatures, is unresolved. Here, we report the discovery of a parent chiral-nematic Fermi liquid state in kagome metals and superconductors. We use spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy to study Ti-doped CsV3Sb5 where the CDW is suppressed, and find that multiorbital Fermi surfaces break all mirror reflections and exhibit handedness. We observe the chiral low-energy quasiparticle dispersions, providing direct evidence for a chiral-nematic electronic structure. We further observe the direct transition from the parent state to a chiral-nematic superconducting state. Moreover, in the samples with chiral CDW, we also observe the residual chiral-nematic QPI features, demonstrating that the CDW-triggered exotic states descend from the chiral-nematic Fermi liquid. Our findings not only provide a plausible chiral-nematic parent state, but also establish a new conceptual framework for exploring the emergence and consequences of such exotic quantum phases.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -