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.
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.