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Updated: May 10, 2025

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: October 24, 2017
Broken symmetries associated with a Kagome chiral charge order
Zi-Jia Cheng1, Md Shafayat Hossain2, Qi Zhang1
1Laboratory for Topological Quantum Matter and Advanced Spectroscopy, Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Abstract:
Chirality, or handedness, is ubiquitous in science, from cell biology to physics, and in condensed matter can underlie exotic phases such as chiral charge density waves and chiral superconductivity. However, detecting subtle broken symmetries that define such states is challenging, leading to debate and controversy. Here, using second-order optical response, we reveal the broken symmetries of a chiral charge density wave in the Kagome lattice KV3Sb5. Polarization-dependent mid-infrared photocurrent microscopy uncovers a longitudinal, helicity-dependent photocurrent associated with the charge order, indicating broken inversion and mirror symmetries. These findings, supported by theoretical analysis, directly establish the intrinsic chiral nature of the ordered state. Moreover, the absence of a circular photogalvanic effect perpendicular to the incident light imposes stringent constraints on the point-group symmetries. Our study not only visualizes the chiral nature of the Kagome charge order, but also highlights the nonlinear photogalvanic effect as a sensitive probe for detecting subtle symmetry breakings.
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