Ultrafast formation of topological defects in a two-dimensional charge density wave

Cheng, Yun; Zong, Alfred; Wu, Lijun; Meng, Qingping; Xia, Wei; Qi, Fengfeng; Zhu, Pengfei; Zou, Xiao; Jiang, Tao; Guo, Yanfeng; van Wezel, Jasper; Kogar, Anshul; Zuerch, Michael W.; Zhang, Jie; Zhu, Yimei; Xiang, Dao

doi:10.1038/s41567-023-02279-x

Ultrafast formation of topological defects in a two-dimensional charge density wave

Journal Article · Wed Jan 03 23:00:00 EST 2024 · Nature Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02279-x· OSTI ID:2297407

Cheng, Yun ^[1]; Zong, Alfred ^[2]; Wu, Lijun ^[3]; Meng, Qingping ^[3]; Xia, Wei ^[4]; Qi, Fengfeng ^[1]; Zhu, Pengfei ^[1]; Zou, Xiao ^[1]; Jiang, Tao ^[1]; Guo, Yanfeng ^[4]; van Wezel, Jasper ^[5]; Kogar, Anshul ^[6]; Zuerch, Michael W. ^[2]; Zhang, Jie ^[1]; ^[3]; Xiang, Dao ^[1]

Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ. (China)
University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
ShanghaiTech Univ. (China)
Univ. of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

Topological defects play a central role in dynamical systems undergoing a non-adiabatic transition. In solids, topological defects as a result of femtosecond laser excitation have attracted increasing interest not only because they are key to understanding phase transitions but also because they can generate a variety of hidden orders that are not accessible in thermal equilibrium. Despite the common occurrence of these defects in a non-equilibrium system, the fundamental limit on how fast they can emerge in solids and the generic pathway for defect creation at such fast timescales have remained open questions. Here we apply ultrafast electron diffraction to study the reciprocal-space signatures of transient defects in a two-dimensional charge density wave, where simultaneous measurements of both defect and phonon dynamics yield a microscopic view of defect formation in the femtosecond regime. We find that one-dimensional domain walls are generated well within 1 ps following photoexcitation, during which the defect growth is not dictated by the amplitude of the order parameter but is mediated by a non-thermal population of longitudinal optical phonons. In conclusion, our work provides a framework for the ultrafast engineering of topological defects that are coupled to specific collective modes, which will prove useful for the dynamical control of non-equilibrium phases in correlated materials.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Shanghai Municipal People's Government (SMPC)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704; SC0023017

OSTI ID:: 2297407

Report Number(s):: BNL--225283-2024-JAAM

Journal Information:: Nature Physics, Journal Name: Nature Physics Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 20; ISSN 1745-2473

Publisher:: Nature Publishing Group (NPG)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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