--- title: Physicists watch a material’s electrons assemble, and... description: MIT physicists have observed how two distinct charge density wave (CDW) phases emerge and coexist in erbium tritelluride, a rare-earth quantum material. Using... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-watch-a-material-s-electrons-assemble-and-reassemble-into-coexisting-phases-sfyvymzx2 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Physicists watch a material’s electrons assemble, and reassemble, into coexisting phases | daily.dev og:description: MIT physicists have observed how two distinct charge density wave (CDW) phases emerge and coexist in erbium tritelluride, a rare-earth quantum material. Using... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-watch-a-material-s-electrons-assemble-and-reassemble-into-coexisting-phases-sfyvymzx2 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/SFyVYmZX2.png og:image:alt: Physicists watch a material’s electrons assemble, and reassemble, into coexisting phases og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Physicists watch a material’s electrons assemble, and reassemble, into coexisting phases **[MIT News](https://daily.dev/sources/mit)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary MIT physicists have observed how two distinct charge density wave (CDW) phases emerge and coexist in erbium tritelluride, a rare-earth quantum material. Using a pump-probe laser technique — 'shaking' the material with one pulse and 'listening' with another — the team found that the dominant CDW phase reforms gradually (a classic second-order transition), while the subdominant phase nucleates in isolated pockets that spread outward, like water freezing into ice (a first-order transition). This unexpected finding resolves a long-standing debate about the mechanism behind the subdominant phase and offers a simpler model system for understanding how multiple phases like superconductivity and magnetism coexist in more complex quantum materials. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What are the two charge density wave phases in erbium tritelluride and at what temperatures do they form? Erbium tritelluride hosts two CDW phases: a dominant wave that forms at -8°C, stretching across the material in one direction, and a subdominant wave that emerges at -113°C, perpendicular to the first, creating a checkerboard pattern. The dominant phase reforms via a gradual second-order transition, while the subdominant phase nucleates in isolated pockets that spread outward — a first-order transition analogous to water freezing into ice. _Researchers tracking quantum materials breakthroughs like this follow the latest findings on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Physicists uncover hidden magnetic order in the mysterious pseudogap phase](https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-uncover-hidden-magnetic-order-in-the-mysterious-pseudogap-phase-v5v8musyq) · Phys.org · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Study Deepens Understanding of Quantum Transport in Topological Materials](https://daily.dev/posts/study-deepens-understanding-of-quantum-transport-in-topological-materials-jruqfchae) · The Quantum Insider · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Electrons in moiré crystals explore higher-dimensional quantum worlds](https://daily.dev/posts/electrons-in-moir-crystals-explore-higher-dimensional-quantum-worlds-rrelyyoho) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Direct visualization captures hidden spatial order of electrons in a quantum material](https://daily.dev/posts/direct-visualization-captures-hidden-spatial-order-of-electrons-in-a-quantum-material-cbe52slvc) · Phys.org · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Researchers Use Light to Study Electron Motion in Wigner Crystals](https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-use-light-to-study-electron-motion-in-wigner-crystals-x9idtlrf6) · The Quantum Insider · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-watch-a-material-s-electrons-assemble-and-reassemble-into-coexisting-phases-sfyvymzx2) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Physicists watch a material’s electrons assemble, and reassemble, into coexisting phases","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-watch-a-material-s-electrons-assemble-and-reassemble-into-coexisting-phases-sfyvymzx2","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-watch-a-material-s-electrons-assemble-and-reassemble-into-coexisting-phases-sfyvymzx2"},"datePublished":"2026-08-07T09:07:11.686Z","dateModified":"2026-08-07T09:07:33.485Z","description":"MIT physicists have observed how two distinct charge density wave (CDW) phases emerge and coexist in erbium tritelluride, a rare-earth quantum material. Using...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/8f3c2b759de2660d976ba77b1b4dfb37?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/8f3c2b759de2660d976ba77b1b4dfb37?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"MIT News","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"MIT News","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/881e20a40aa44b12ba4bd27f5c14289d","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/mit"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-watch-a-material-s-electrons-assemble-and-reassemble-into-coexisting-phases-sfyvymzx2","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT6M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MIT News","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/mit"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Physicists watch a material’s electrons assemble, and reassemble, into coexisting phases"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/physicists-watch-a-material-s-electrons-assemble-and-reassemble-into-coexisting-phases-sfyvymzx2#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What are the two charge density wave phases in erbium tritelluride and at what temperatures do they form?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Erbium tritelluride hosts two CDW phases: a dominant wave that forms at -8°C, stretching across the material in one direction, and a subdominant wave that emerges at -113°C, perpendicular to the first, creating a checkerboard pattern. The dominant phase reforms via a gradual second-order transition, while the subdominant phase nucleates in isolated pockets that spread outward — a first-order transition analogous to water freezing into ice. Researchers tracking quantum materials breakthroughs like this follow the latest findings on daily.dev."}}]} ```