Strong electron-lattice coupling as the mechanism behind charge density wave transformations in transition-metal dichalcogenides

TL;DR

This paper investigates how strong electron-lattice interactions lead to charge density wave transformations in transition-metal dichalcogenides, emphasizing the role of electron-ion coupling and resulting electronic properties.

Contribution

It introduces a model where strong electron-lattice coupling causes ions to behave like Ising spins, explaining CDW formation without Fermi surface nesting.

Findings

CDW transition involves ions with double-well potential modeled as Ising spins.

The electronic spectrum remains metallic below the CDW transition.

Large CDW gaps are associated with minima in the electron-ion potential energy landscape.

Abstract

We consider single band of conduction electrons interacting with displacements of the transitional ions. In the classical regime strong enough coupling transforms the harmonic elastic energy for an ion to the one of the well with two deep minima, so that the system is described in terms of Ising spins. Inter-site interactions order spins at lower tempratures. Extention to the quantum regime is discussed. Below the CDW-transition the energy spectrum of electrons remains metallic because the structural vector Q and the FS sizes are not related. Large values of the CDW gap seen in the tunneling experiments correspond to the energy of the minima in the electron-ion two-well complex. The gap is defined through the density of states (DOS) inside the electronic bands below the CDW transition. We focus mainly on electronic properties of transition-metal dichalcogenides.