English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Interesting emergent behavior in quantum materials arises when theinteraction of electrons with the lattice leads to partial localization andordering of charge at low temperatures. The triangular lattice of sometransition metal dichalcogenides additionally presents an interesting case,where spin order is frustrated, leading to an additional complex interplay ofinteractions involving spin, charge and lattice degrees of freedom. Here wepresent a study of local symmetry breaking of the lattice structure in thelayered dichalcogenide material 1T-TaS$_{2}$ using x-ray pair-distributionfunction measurements. Remarkably, we observe symmetry-breaking polaronicdistortions of the lattice structure around individual localized electrons attemperatures well above any of the known long-range ordered phases. Thesecharacteristic polaronic signatures remain on cooling through the spin andcharge ordered states, eventually revealing a new transition near 50 K to astate displaying partially restored symmetry and significant inter-layerdimerization. The order parameter associated with the observed local atomicdisplacements and symmetry-allowed polaron spin structure in the ground statesuggests that charge ordering is driven by the crystallization of polarons,rather than conventional Fermi surface nesting. Symmetry analysis shows thatthe distorted structure is consistent with a breakup of the QSL phase at lowtemperature, concurrent with the disappearance of domains in the charge order.

High-temperature polaronic lattice distortions and charge ordering  through the charge-density wave and quantum spin liquid phase transitions in  1T-TaS$_{2}$