# Correlated electronic states at domain walls of a Mott-charge-density-wave insulator 1T-TaS2

## TL;DR

This study uncovers the localized electronic states at domain walls in the strongly correlated insulator 1T-TaS2, revealing their atomistic origin and potential for controlling electronic properties in correlated materials.

## Contribution

It provides the first clear identification and understanding of electronic states within domain walls of a Mott-CDW insulator, combining experimental spectroscopy with theoretical calculations.

## Key findings

- Domain walls host two nonconducting localized states
- Electronic states are due to local reconstruction influenced by electron correlation
- Results suggest potential for controlling domain wall electronic properties

## Abstract

Domain walls in interacting electronic systems can have distinct localized states, which often govern physical properties and may lead to unprecedented functionalities and novel devices. However, electronic states within domain walls themselves have not been clearly identified and understood for strongly correlated electron systems. Here, we resolve the electronic states localized on domain walls in a Mott-charge-density-wave(CDW) insulator 1T-TaS2 using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We establish that the domain wall state decomposes into two nonconducting states located at the center of domain walls and edges of domains. Theoretical calculations reveal their atomistic origin as the local reconstruction of domain walls under the strong influence of electron correlation. Our results introduce a concept for the domain wall electronic property, the wall's own internal degrees of freedom, which is potentially related to the controllability of domain wall electronic properties.