A recent study by Qing Hu, Rok Venturini, Yevhenii Vaskivskyi, Jan Lipič, and Dragan Mihailovic has advanced our understanding of charge density waves (CDWs) and their interaction with superconductivity in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), transport measurements, and magnetic susceptibility techniques, they revealed complex domain structures and a unique symmetry-broken stripe phase in Ta-substituted 1T-TiSe₂.
This substitution allowed for exploration of a larger part of the phase diagram compared to previous studies involving Cu-intercalated samples. This offers new insights into the competition between CDW order and superconductivity. This research underscores the intricate balance of orders in TMDs, opening doors to further investigation into correlated electronic states in similar materials.
The new article, published in Phys. Rev. B can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.110.165156