MIT Physicists Reveal 2 Electron Phase Transitions in Erbium Tritelluride
Updated
Updated · MIT News · Aug 7
MIT Physicists Reveal 2 Electron Phase Transitions in Erbium Tritelluride
2 articles · Updated · MIT News · Aug 7
Summary
MIT researchers found erbium tritelluride’s two coexisting charge-density-wave phases emerge by different mechanisms, resolving a long-debated question about how multiple electronic states form in one quantum material.
Laser-pulse experiments on atomically thin samples showed the dominant phase returns gradually and uniformly, while the subdominant phase reappears in isolated pockets that expand—an unexpected first-order transition.
The two waves form at different temperatures: the first appears near -8C, and a perpendicular second wave emerges near -113C, creating a checkerboard of coexisting electron phases.
The team says disentangling these simpler charge-density-wave transitions could clarify how more complex materials combine superconductivity, magnetism and other phases, guiding future quantum-device design.