Atomic-Scale Tracking of Topological Defect Motion and Incommensurate Charge Order Melting

Schnitzer, Noah; Goodge, Berit H.; Powers, Gregory; Kim, Jaewook; Cheong, Sang-Wook; El Baggari, Ismail; Kourkoutis, Lena F.

doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011007

Title: Atomic-Scale Tracking of Topological Defect Motion and Incommensurate Charge Order Melting

Journal Article · 14 January 2025 · Physical Review. X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011007 · OSTI ID:2500906

;

; Cheong, Sang-Wook; El Baggari, Ismail; Kourkoutis, Lena F.

Charge order pervades the phase diagrams of quantum materials where it competes with superconducting and magnetic phases, hosts electronic phase transitions and topological defects, and couples to the lattice generating intricate structural distortions. Incommensurate charge order is readily stabilized in manganese oxides, where it is associated with anomalous electronic and magnetic properties, but its nanoscale structural inhomogeneity complicates precise characterization and understanding of its relationship with competing phases. Leveraging atomic-resolution variable-temperature cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy, we characterize the thermal evolution of charge order as it transforms from its ground state in a model manganite system. We find that mobile networks of discommensurations and dislocations generate phase inhomogeneity and induce global incommensurability in an otherwise lattice-locked modulation. Driving the order to melt at high temperatures, the discommensuration density grows, and regions of order locally decouple from the lattice periodicity. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

View Journal Article

Cite

Export

Save

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: FG02-07ER46382

OSTI ID:: 2500906

Journal Information:: Physical Review. X, Journal Name: Physical Review. X Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 15; ISSN PRXHAE; ISSN 2160-3308

Publisher:: American Physical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (63)

Strongly Correlated Materials Morosan, Emilia; Natelson, Douglas; Nevidomskyy, Andriy H. Advanced Materials, Vol. 24, Issue 36 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201202018	journal	August 2012
Nanoscale Phase Separation and Colossal Magnetoresistance Dagotto, Elbio Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05244-0	book	January 2003
The physics of plastic deformation Aifantis, Elias C. International Journal of Plasticity, Vol. 3, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-6419(87)90021-0	journal	January 1987
Image registration of low signal-to-noise cryo-STEM data Savitzky, Benjamin H.; El Baggari, Ismail; Clement, Colin B. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 191 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2018.04.008	journal	August 2018
Atomic-Resolution Cryo-STEM Across Continuously Variable Temperatures Goodge, Berit H.; Bianco, Elisabeth; Schnitzer, Noah Microscopy and Microanalysis, Vol. 26, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927620001427	journal	June 2020
Disentangling Coexisting Structural Order Through Phase Lock-In Analysis of Atomic-Resolution STEM Data Goodge, Berit H.; El Baggari, Ismail; Hong, Seung Sae Microscopy and Microanalysis, Vol. 28, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927622000125	journal	February 2022
Atomic-Resolution Cryogenic Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy for Quantum Materials Bianco, Elisabeth; Kourkoutis, Lena F. Accounts of Chemical Research, Vol. 54, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00303	journal	August 2021
Charged Domain Wall and Polar Vortex Topologies in a Room-Temperature Magnetoelectric Multiferroic Thin Film Moore, Kalani; O’Connell, Eoghan N.; Griffin, Sinéad M. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 14, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c17383	journal	January 2022
Mapping Defect Relaxation in Quantum Dot Solids upon In Situ Heating Smeaton, Michelle A.; El Baggari, Ismail; Balazs, Daniel M. ACS Nano, Vol. 15, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c06990	journal	January 2021
Percolative phase separation underlies colossal magnetoresistance in mixed-valent manganites Uehara, M.; Mori, S.; Chen, C. H. Nature, Vol. 399, Issue 6736 https://doi.org/10.1038/21142	journal	June 1999
Pairing of charge-ordered stripes in (La,Ca)MnO3 Mori, S.; Chen, C. H.; Cheong, S. -W. Nature, Vol. 392, Issue 6675 https://doi.org/10.1038/33105	journal	April 1998
Charge-ordered ferromagnetic phase in La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 Loudon, James C.; Mathur, Neil D.; Midgley, Paul A. Nature, Vol. 420, Issue 6917 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01299	journal	December 2002
Electronically soft phases in manganites Milward, G. C.; Calderón, M. J.; Littlewood, P. B. Nature, Vol. 433, Issue 7026 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03300	journal	February 2005
Detection of a Cooper-pair density wave in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x Hamidian, M. H.; Edkins, S. D.; Joo, Sang Hyun Nature, Vol. 532, Issue 7599 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17411	journal	April 2016
Shrinking the camera size Sun, Cheng Nature Materials, Vol. 16, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4833	journal	December 2016
Phase coexistence and electric-field control of toroidal order in oxide superlattices Damodaran, A. R.; Clarkson, J. D.; Hong, Z. Nature Materials, Vol. 16, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4951	journal	August 2017
Dislocations and vortices in pair-density-wave superconductors Agterberg, D. F.; Tsunetsugu, H. Nature Physics, Vol. 4, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys999	journal	June 2008
In situ click chemistry generation of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors Bhardwaj, Atul; Kaur, Jatinder; Wuest, Melinda Nature Communications, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-016-0009-6	journal	February 2017
U1 snRNP regulates cancer cell migration and invasion in vitro Oh, Jung-Min; Venters, Christopher C.; Di, Chao Nature Communications, Vol. 11, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13993-7	journal	January 2020
Anomalous collapses of Nares Strait ice arches leads to enhanced export of Arctic sea ice Moore, G. W. K.; Howell, S. E. L.; Brady, M. Nature Communications, Vol. 12, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20314-w	journal	January 2021
Light-induced hexatic state in a layered quantum material Domröse, Till; Danz, Thomas; Schaible, Sophie F. Nature Materials, Vol. 22, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01600-6	journal	July 2023
Absence of 3a0 charge density wave order in the infinite-layer nickelate NdNiO2 Parzyck, C. T.; Gupta, N. K.; Wu, Y. Nature Materials, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-024-01797-0	journal	January 2024
A broken translational symmetry state in an infinite-layer nickelate Rossi, Matteo; Osada, Motoki; Choi, Jaewon Nature Physics, Vol. 18, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01660-6	journal	July 2022
Ultrafast formation of topological defects in a two-dimensional charge density wave Cheng, Yun; Zong, Alfred; Wu, Lijun Nature Physics, Vol. 20, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02279-x	journal	January 2024
Melting of the charge density wave by generation of pairs of topological defects in UTe2 Aishwarya, Anuva; May-Mann, Julian; Almoalem, Avior Nature Physics, Vol. 20, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02429-9	journal	March 2024
Imaging the energy gap modulations of the cuprate pair-density-wave state Du, Zengyi; Li, Hui; Joo, Sang Hyun Nature, Vol. 580, Issue 7801 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2143-x	journal	April 2020
Detection of a pair density wave state in UTe2 Gu, Qiangqiang; Carroll, Joseph P.; Wang, Shuqiu Nature, Vol. 618, Issue 7967 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05919-7	journal	June 2023
Ultrastructural Characterization of the Lower Motor System in a Mouse Model of Krabbe Disease Cappello, Valentina; Marchetti, Laura; Parlanti, Paola Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-016-0001-8	journal	December 2016
Atomic-resolution in-situ cooling study of oxygen vacancy ordering in La _0.5 Sr _0.5 CoO _3−δ thin films Rui, Xue; Klie, Robert F. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 114, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5098886	journal	June 2019
Atomic lattice disorder in charge-density-wave phases of exfoliated dichalcogenides (1T-TaS ₂ ) Hovden, Robert; Tsen, Adam W.; Liu, Pengzi Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 113, Issue 41 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1606044113	journal	September 2016
Nature and evolution of incommensurate charge order in manganites visualized with cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy El Baggari, Ismail; Savitzky, Benjamin H.; Admasu, Alemayehu S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 115, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714901115	journal	January 2018
Charge-density waves and superlattices in the metallic layered transition metal dichalcogenides Wilson, J. A.; Di Salvo, F. J.; Mahajan, S. Advances in Physics, Vol. 24, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1080/00018737500101391	journal	March 1975
Ordering, metastability and phase transitions in two-dimensional systems Kosterlitz, J M; Thouless, D J Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics, Vol. 6, Issue 7, p. 1181-1203 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3719/6/7/010	journal	April 1973
Defects in liquid crystals Kleman, M. Reports on Progress in Physics, Vol. 52, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1088/0034-4885/52/5/002	journal	May 1989
Charge density waves in strongly correlated electron systems Chen, Chih-Wei; Choe, Jesse; Morosan, E. Reports on Progress in Physics, Vol. 79, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/0034-4885/79/8/084505	journal	July 2016
Topology of cosmic domains and strings Kibble, T. W. B. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General, Vol. 9, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/0305-4470/9/8/029	journal	August 1976
Vorticity, defects and correlations in active turbulence Thampi, Sumesh P.; Golestanian, Ramin; Yeomans, Julia M. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 372, Issue 2029 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2013.0366	journal	November 2014
Probing charge order and hidden topology at the atomic scale by cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy Chu, M. -W.; Guo, G. Y.; Chen, W. T. Physical Review B, Vol. 103, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.103.115130	journal	March 2021
Theory of discommensurations and the commensurate-incommensurate charge-density-wave phase transition McMillan, W. L. Physical Review B, Vol. 14, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.14.1496	journal	August 1976
Microstructure in the incommensurate and the commensurate charge-density-wave states of 2 H -Ta Se 2 : A direct observation by electron microscopy Chen, C. H.; Gibson, J. M.; Fleming, R. M. Physical Review B, Vol. 26, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.26.184	journal	July 1982
Disorder-driven pretransitional tweed pattern in martensitic transformations Kartha, Sivan; Krumhansl, James A.; Sethna, James P. Physical Review B, Vol. 52, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.52.803	journal	July 1995
Nanoscale phase competition during charge ordering in intrinsically strained La 0.33 Ca 0.67 MnO 3 Tao, J.; Zuo, J. M. Physical Review B, Vol. 69, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.69.180404	journal	May 2004
Order-Disorder Ferroelectric Transition of Strained SrTiO 3 Salmani-Rezaie, Salva; Ahadi, Kaveh; Strickland, William M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 125, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.087601	journal	August 2020
Direct Visualization of Trimerized States in 1 T ′ − TaTe 2 El Baggari, Ismail; Sivadas, Nikhil; Stiehl, Gregory M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 125, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.165302	journal	October 2020
Oxides Which Show a Metal-to-Insulator Transition at the Neel Temperature Morin, F. J. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 3, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.3.34	journal	July 1959
Theory of Two-Dimensional Melting Halperin, B. I.; Nelson, David R. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 41, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.41.121	journal	July 1978
Direct Observation of Charge-Density-Wave Discommensurations and Dislocations in 2 H -Ta Se 2 Chen, C. H.; Gibson, J. M.; Fleming, R. M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 47, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.47.723	journal	September 1981
Commensurate to Incommensurate Charge Ordering and Its Real-Space Images in L a 0.5 C a 0.5 Mn O 3 Chen, C. H.; Cheong, S-W. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 76, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.4042	journal	May 1996
Anomalous Melting Transition of the Charge-Ordered State in Manganites Chen, C. H.; Mori, S.; Cheong, S-W. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 83, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.4792	journal	December 1999
Weak Charge-Lattice Coupling Requires Reinterpretation of Stripes of Charge Order in L a 1 − x C a x M n O 3 Loudon, J. C.; Cox, S.; Williams, A. J. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 94, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.097202	journal	March 2005
Solitonic Phase in Manganites Brey, Luis; Littlewood, P. B. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 95, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.117205	journal	September 2005
Direct Measurement of the Low-Temperature Spin-State Transition in LaCoO 3 Klie, R. F.; Zheng, J. C.; Zhu, Y. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 99, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.047203	journal	July 2007
Direct visualization of soliton stripes in the Cu O 2 plane and oxygen interstitials in B i 2 ( S r 2 − x L a x ) Cu O 6 + δ superconductors Guo, C.; Tian, H. F.; Yang, H. X. Physical Review Materials, Vol. 1, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.1.064802	journal	November 2017
Nano-Resolved Current-Induced Insulator-Metal Transition in the Mott Insulator Ca 2 RuO 4 Zhang, Jiawei; McLeod, Alexander S.; Han, Qiang Physical Review X, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.011032	journal	February 2019
Physical Theory of Ferromagnetic Domains Kittel, Charles Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 21, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.21.541	journal	October 1949
The topological theory of defects in ordered media Mermin, N. D. Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 51, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.51.591	journal	July 1979
How to detect fluctuating stripes in the high-temperature superconductors Kivelson, S. A.; Bindloss, I. P.; Fradkin, E. Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 75, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.75.1201	journal	October 2003
Colloquium : Theory of intertwined orders in high temperature superconductors Fradkin, Eduardo; Kivelson, Steven A.; Tranquada, John M. Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 87, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.87.457	journal	May 2015
Nobel Lecture: Topological defects and phase transitions Kosterlitz, John Michael Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 89, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.89.040501	journal	October 2017
Ferroelectricity at the Nanoscale: Local Polarization in Oxide Thin Films and Heterostructures Ahn, C. H. Science, Vol. 303, Issue 5657 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1092508	journal	January 2004
Complexity in Strongly Correlated Electronic Systems Dagotto, E. Science, Vol. 309, Issue 5732 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1107559	journal	July 2005
The Physics of Pair-Density Waves: Cuprate Superconductors and Beyond Agterberg, Daniel F.; Davis, J. C. Séamus; Edkins, Stephen D. Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics, Vol. 11, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-conmatphys-031119-050711	journal	March 2020
Dataset: Atomic-scale tracking of topological defect motion and incommensurate charge order melting Schnitzer, Noah; Goodge, Berit; Kim, Jaewook PARADIM https://doi.org/10.34863/m8c5-k998	dataset	January 2024