Chirality locking charge density waves in a chiral crystal

In Weyl semimetals, charge density wave (CDW) order can spontaneously break the chiral symmetry, gap out the Weyl nodes, and drive the material into the axion insulating phase. Investigations have however been limited since CDWs are rarely seen in Weyl semimetals. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), we report the discovery of a novel unidirectional CDW order on the (001) surface of chiral crystal CoSi - a unique Weyl semimetal with unconventional chiral fermions. The CDW is incommensurate with both lattice momentum and crystalline symmetry directions, and exhibits an intra unit cell pi phase shift in the layer stacking direction. The tunneling spectrum shows a particle-hole asymmetric V-shaped energy gap around the Fermi level that modulates spatially with the CDW wave vector. Combined with first-principle calculations, we identify that the CDW is locked to the crystal chirality and is related by a mirror reflection between the two enantiomers of the chiral crystal. Our findings reveal a novel correlated topological quantum state in chiral CoSi crystals and raise the potential for exploring the unprecedented physical behaviors of unconventional chiral fermions. The interplay between electron correlation and topological properties remains less understood. Here, the authors report a charge density wave (CDW) order on the (001) surface of a Weyl semimetal CoSi, where an energy gap modulates spatially with the CDW wave vector.

Automated summary

This study reports the discovery of a novel unidirectional charge density wave (CDW) order on the surface of chiral crystal CoSi, which is a unique Weyl semimetal with unconventional chiral fermions. The CDW is incommensurate with lattice momentum and crystalline symmetry directions, and exhibits a pi phase shift in the layer stacking direction. The tunneling spectrum shows an energy gap that modulates spatially with the CDW wave vector.