arXiv subjects

Zhongyi Cao

Publications and source records attributed to Zhongyi Cao.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Modulation of charge density waves in a twisted vortex moire superlattice

Twisted moire superlattices in van-der-Waals heterostructures provide a powerful platform for engineering correlated states through moire-band reconstruction. However, whether globally coherent electronic orders can be continuously manipulated at the nanoscale remains largely unexplored. Reconstructed moire structures in small-angle and near-commensurate regime feature continuously varying local environments, offering new opportunities for nanoscale manipulation of correlated phases. Here, we report the modulation of charge density wave (CDW) states in a twisted vortex moire superlattice formed between monolayer VTe2 and superconducting NbSe2. Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy reveals that the intrinsic long-range CDW of monolayer VTe2 is reconstructed into inequivalent local phases with distinct stability and coherence within a single moire unit cell, including suppressed CDW order and enhanced short-range CDW correlations persisting to room temperature. First-principles calculations show that the reconstructed CDW landscape originates from strong local strain variation, where compressive strain substantially stabilizes the charge order. Furthermore, the modulated CDW states exhibit competing interplay with proximity-induced superconductivity. Our results establish vortex moire superlattices as a versatile platform for nanoscale manipulation of correlated electronic orders in low-dimensional quantum materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Spin-mediated hysteretic switching of unidirectional charge density waves by rotating magnetic fields

Charge density waves (CDWs) are a widespread collective electronic order in quantum materials, furnishing key insights into symmetry breaking and competing phases. However, their dynamic control with external fields remains a pivotal challenge. Here, we report deterministic and hysteretic switching of unidirectional CDW orientation via in-plane magnetic field rotation in magnetic kagome metal GdTi3Bi4. Atomically resolved spectroscopy shows two types of 3a0*1a0 CDW domains, Q1 and Q2 oriented 60 degree apart along two distinct crystallographic directions and separated by atomically sharp domain walls. Rotating the magnetic field drives reversible transitions between these CDW configurations, exhibiting a robust C2-symmetric phase diagram with pronounced hysteresis. This hysteretic switching is mediated by a field-dependent reorientation of underlying antiferromagnetic spins, revealing a tunable energy landscape with stable and metastable states and modulates the electronic charge order via spin-lattice coupling. Our findings not only demonstrate the switching of CDW configurations by in-plane magnetic field but also reveal the mechanism of coupling between CDW and magnetic fields, offering new insights into CDW manipulation and versatile platform for developing a spin-mediated multistate spin-charge coupling memory and programmable quantum devices.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Electronic procrystalline state in moire structures

Solid state materials can display varieties of atomic structural orders ranging from crystalline to amorphous, underlying their properties and diverse functionalities. Procrystal has emerged as a new category of solids, featuring a long-range ordered lattice framework tiled with disordered atomic or molecular structures on the lattice sites, arousing great interest due to its novel structural and physical properties. However, the electronic analogue of a procrystal, dubbed as an electronic procrystalline (EPC) state, has never been experimentally observed. Here, we report the observation of an EPC state in a moire superstructure formed between a monolayer metallic NiTe2 and a superconductor NbSe2 with incommensurate lattice wavevectors. The observed EPC state exhibits a long-range periodic charge modulation at the moire scale inlaid with short-range irregular orders within each moire cell. Strikingly, the short-range charge orders inside the moire unit cells have proximately root3*root3 quasi-period, which is absent in pristine NiTe2. Intriguingly, the EPC order is also observed in the superconducting state of the moire superstructure. Furthermore, the emergent EPC state and short-range charge order, coexisting with the proximity induced superconductivity, can be precisely modulated with the thickness of NiTe2. Our findings uncover the potential of moire platform for understanding and tuning novel correlated quantum phases with this exotic procrystalline order.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Discovery of unconventional charge-spin-intertwined density wave in magnetic kagome metal GdTi3Bi4

The symmetry breaking and its interplay among spin, charge, and lattice degrees of freedom is crucial for understanding correlated quantum states such as charge density waves (CDWs) and unconventional superconductivity. Here, we report the discovery by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy of unconventional charge-spin-intertwined density waves in magnetic kagome metal GdTi3Bi4, which exhibits the one-third magnetization plateau. We reveal the emergence of 3Q CDWs incommensurate with the crystalline lattice in both periodicity and orientation, breaking all mirror and rotation symmetries. The CDW exhibits incommensurate-commensurate transitions in an applied magnetic field and transitions between 3Q and 1Q CDWs as a function of field and temperature, accompanied by changes in the spatial symmetries. Remarkably, the quantum and classic melting of the CDWs exhibits a phase structure which is consistent with the magnetization phase diagram of bulk GdTi3Bi4, providing strong evidence for the intertwined charge-spin density wave order. The origin of the charge-spin intertwinement is further evidenced by the observed hybridization between itinerant electrons and Gd local moments. Our findings uncover an unconventional form of charge-spin orders and offer new insights into a broad class of multi-components density wave formation in kagome and other correlated quantum materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Emergent superconductivity and pair density wave at antiphase boundaries of charge density wave order in kagome metals

Central to the layered kagome lattice superconductors AV3Sb5 (A = K, Cs, Rb) is a cascade of novel quantum states triggered by an unconventional charge density wave (CDW) order. The three-dimensional (3D) order involves a 2x2x2 phase coherent stacking of 2x2 charge density modulations in the kagome plane at low temperatures, exhibiting a CDW energy gap and evidence for time-reversal symmetry breaking. Here we report the discovery of emergent superconductivity and primary pair density wave (PDW) at the antiphase boundaries and stacking faults of bulk CDW order. We find that the π-phase shift dislocations can naturally appear on the surface as the Cs atoms form 2x2 superstructures that are out of phase with the bulk CDW. An incipient narrow band of surface states inside bulk CDW gap emerge close to the Fermi level where a particle-hole symmetric energy gap develops. We demonstrate that the energy gap originates from a novel quasi-2D kagome superconducting state (Tc ~ 5.4 K) intertwined with bulk CDW order, exhibiting an unprecedented vortex core spectrum and spatial modulations of the superconducting gap consistent with a 4x4 PDW. Intriguingly, the 2D kagome superconductivity is shown to be tunable on and off by atomically manipulating the Cs atoms on the surface. Our findings provide fresh new insights for understanding the interplay between the unconventional CDW and superconductivity in kagome metals and a pathway for atomic manipulation and topological defects engineering of quantum many-body states in correlated materials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗