Condensation of preformed charge density waves in kagome metals

Abstract

Charge density wave (CDW) is a spontaneous spatial modulation of charges in solids whose general microscopic descriptions are yet to be completed. Kagome metals of AV₃Sb₅ (A = K, Rb, Cs) provide a chance to realize CDW intertwined with dimensional effects as well as their special lattice. Here, based on a state-of-the-art molecular dynamics simulation, we propose that their phase transition to CDW is a condensation process of incoherently preformed charge orders. Owing to unavoidable degeneracy in stacking charge orders, phases of preformed orders on each layer are shown to fluctuate between a limited number of states with quite slower frequencies than typical phonon vibrations until reaching their freezing temperature. As the size of interfacial alkali atom increases, the fluctuations are shown to counterbalance the condensation of orderings, resulting in a maximized transition temperature for RbV₃Sb₅. Our results resolve controversial observations on their CDWs, highlighting a crucial role of their interlayer interactions.