Versatile electronic phases enabled by intertwined multiple frustrations in an antiferromagnetic two-dimensional semimetal

Read full text
Authors: Y. Fujisawa, Ping Wu, T. Nakamura, Okuma R., Takemi Kato, B. R. M. Smith, Daichi Ueta, Riki Kobayashi, N. Maekawa, C-H. Hsu, C. De, Nanami Tomoda
+7 more T. Higashihara, K. Morishita, Kazuki Sumida, K. Miyamoto, T. Okuda, Zhenyu Wang, Yoshinori Okada
Cited by: 1
References: 56

Abstract

Abstract Following the discovery of graphene, van der Waals materials have become a major platform for quantum matter, yet strongly interacting phases beyond graphene remain elusive. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we uncover three competing stripe- and checkerboard-type multiple-q antiferromagnetic charge-ordered states in the van der Waals semimetal CeTe 3 , beyond the conventional charge density wave. These field-tunable states exhibit propagation vectors of (0.33, 0), (0, 0.08), and (0.19, ±0.19), and are controlled by a modest in-plane magnetic field (~1.5 T). Quasiparticle-interference imaging identifies corresponding three distinct nesting channels and associated Fermi-surface reconstructions. At the same time, spectroscopy reveals a broad electronic reconstruction extending to ±30 meV around the Fermi level, beyond a simple Kondo-coupling picture. Our results establish CeTe 3 as a platform for tunable nanoscale antiferromagnetic electronic phases characterized by intertwined correlations, exotic symmetry-breaking, and nontrivial topology.

Fields of Study & Subjects

2D Materials and Applications Topological Materials and Phenomena Graphene research and applications

Publication details

Journal / source
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
17
Issue
1
Publication date
23 July 2026
Language
EN