Dynamics of topological defects after a photo-induced melting of a charge-density wave

TL;DR

This study uses simulations to explore how topological defects influence the recovery of charge-density-wave order after laser-induced melting, revealing a slowdown caused by dislocations and aligning with experimental observations.

Contribution

It introduces a simulation approach using the discrete Gross-Pitaevskii equation to analyze defect dynamics in CDW recovery post photo-excitation, highlighting the role of topological defects.

Findings

Topological defects slow down CDW recovery.

Simulation results match recent pump-probe experiments.

Dislocations significantly impact the phase coherence restoration.

Abstract

Charge-density-wave order in a solid can be temporarily "melted" by a strong laser pulse. Here we use the discrete Gross-Pitaevskii equation on a cubic lattice to simulate the recovery of the CDW long-range phase coherence following such a pulse. Our simulations indicate that the recovery process is dramatically slowed down by the three-dimensional topological defects - CDW dislocations - created as a result of strongly nonequilibrium heating and cooling of the system. Overall, the simulated CDW recovery was found to be remarkably reminiscent of a recent pump-probe experiment in LaTe$_3$.