394 research outputs found
Direct comparison between potential landscape and local density of states in a disordered two-dimensional electron system
The local density of states (LDOS) of the adsorbate induced two-dimensional
electron system (2DES) on n-InAs(110) is studied by low-temperature scanning
tunneling spectroscopy. The LDOS exhibits irregular structures with fluctuation
lengths decreasing with increasing energy. Fourier transformation reveals that
the k-values of the unperturbed 2DES dominate the LDOS, but additional lower
k-values contribute significantly. To clarify the origin of the additional
k-space intensity, we measure the potential landscape of the same 2DES area
with the help of the tip induced quantum dot. This allows to calculate the
expected LDOS from the single particle Schroedinger equation and to directly
compare it with the measured one. Reasonable correspondance between calculated
and measured LDOS is found.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
Bypassing the structural bottleneck in the ultrafast melting of electronic order
The emergent properties of quantum materials, such as symmetry-broken phases
and associated spectral gaps, can be effectively manipulated by ultrashort
photon pulses. Impulsive optical excitation generally results in a complex
non-equilibrium electron and lattice dynamics that involves multiple processes
on distinct timescales, and a common conception is that for times shorter than
about 100 fs the gap in the electronic spectrum is not seriously affected by
lattice vibrations. Here, we directly monitor the photo-induced collapse of the
spectral gap in a canonical charge-density-wave material, blue bronze
Rb0.3MoO3. We find that ultra-fast (about 60 fs) vibrational disordering due to
efficient hot-electron energy dissipation quenches the gap significantly faster
than the typical structural bottleneck time corresponding to one half-cycle
oscillation (about 315 fs) of the coherent charge-density-wave amplitude mode.
This result not only demonstrates the importance of incoherent lattice motion
in the photo-induced quenching of electronic order, but also resolves the
perennial debate about the nature of the spectral gap in a coupled
electron-lattice system
Real-space anisotropy of the superconducting gap in the charge-density wave material 2H-NbSe<sub>2</sub>
We present a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and ab-initio study of the anisotropic superconductivity of 2H-NbSe2 in the charge-density-wave (CDW) phase. Differential-conductance spectra show a clear double-peak structure, which is well reproduced by density functional theory simulations enabling full k- and real-space resolution of the superconducting gap. The hollow-centered (HC) and chalcogen-centered (CC) CDW patterns observed in the experiment are mapped onto separate van der Waals layers with different electronic properties. We identify the CC layer as the high-gap region responsible for the main STM peak. Remarkably, this region belongs to the same Fermi surface sheet that is broken by the CDW gap opening. Simulations reveal a highly anisotropic distribution of the superconducting gap within single Fermi sheets, setting aside the proposed scenario of a two-gap superconductivity. Our results point to a spatially localized competition between superconductivity and CDW involving the HC regions of the crystal
Light-induced hexatic state in a layered quantum material
The tunability of materials properties by light promises a wealth of future applications in energy conversion and information technology. Strongly correlated materials such as transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) offer optical control of electronic phases, charge ordering and interlayer correlations by photodoping. Here, we find the emergence of a transient hexatic state in a TMDC thin-film during the laser-induced transformation between two charge-density wave (CDW) phases. Introducing tilt-series ultrafast nanobeam electron diffraction, we reconstruct CDW rocking curves at high momentum resolution. An intermittent suppression of three-dimensional structural correlations promotes a loss of in-plane translational order characteristic of a hexatic intermediate. Our results demonstrate the merit of tomographic ultrafast structural probing in tracing coupled order parameters, heralding universal nanoscale access to laser-induced dimensionality control in functional heterostructures and devices
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