Physics Department - Imaging the Symmetry-Broken Electronic Phases in Kagome Superconductors
Supporting the below United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:支持以下聯合國可持續發展目標：支持以下联合国可持续发展目标：
Abstract
The V-based kagome metal CsV3Sb5 hosts a cascade of symmetry-broken electronic phases, among which the most exotic ones are the potential loop-current phase and unconventional superconductivity. In this talk, I will show our recent studies using scanning tunneling microscopy to reveal the spectroscopic feature of these exotic states at the atomic scale. We found a coherent, C2-symmetric electron state that is stabilized by unidirectional electron-phonon coupling below 35K, suggesting a nematic state deep inside the charge density wave state [1-3]. We then focus on dopants of magnetic impurity Cr, to look for any signature of the interplay between the local moment and putative loop-current phase [4]. Finally, I will show evidence of a sign-change superconducting order parameter in Sn-doped system where a short-range charge-stripe order emerges [5].
References
[1] Liang, Z. et al., Phys. Rev. X 11, 031006 (2021).
[2] Nie, L. et al., Nature 604, 59-64 (2022).
[3] Wu, P. et al., Nature Physics 19, 1143–1149 (2023).
[4] Tu, Y. et al., arXiv: 2502. 20733.
[5] Huai, L. et al. arXiv:2509.17467; Li, H. et al., submitted.
Professor Zhenyu Wang obtained his PhD from Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2015. Then he held a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 2015 to 2019, before joining the physics faculty at University of Science and Technology of China in 2019. He became a full professor of Physics in 2024. Prof. Wang’s research interests lie in the realm of quantum materials, including unconventional superconductors, Mott insulators and topological matters. He uses the tool of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to unravel the mysteries of these complex systems, and the fundamental goal is to directly visualize their emergent behaviors and manipulate their properties. Now Prof. Wang’s lab focuses on STM studies of topological superconductors and moiré superlattice where both electronic interactions and quantum geometry play the vital role in shaping their electronic properties.