Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Optimizing Magnetic Force Microscopy Resolution and Sensitivity to Visualize Nanoscale Magnetic Domains
Published on: July 20, 2022
Magnetic Phase Transition Induced Electronic Mirage: Decoding the Six-Petal Orbital Texture in Monolayer 1T-NbSe2
Yulong Zhou1, Shengdan Tao1, Xue Dong1
1Department of Physics, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, People's Republic of China.
None:
Strong electron-lattice coupling in 1T-MX2 (M = Nb, Ta; X = S, Se) enables diverse quantum phenomena. Using first-principles calculations, we reveal temperature-dependent orbital textures of midgap states in monolayer 1T-NbSe2 with a star-of-David charge-density-wave superstructure. A mere 0.1% thermal lattice expansion drives a sharp nonmagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition. In the ferromagnetic phase, midgap states localize at the supercell center, while in the nonmagnetic phase, high-energy Rydberg-like states generate weak in-gap signals and characteristic six-petal orbital patterns. These findings resolve long-standing theory-experiment discrepancies and establish Rydberg fingerprinting as a method to probe high-energy electronic structures via low-bias scanning tunneling spectroscopy, offering new insights into coupled electronic and magnetic degrees of freedom in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
Phase Transitions
Valence Bond Theory
