Magnetic field-induced momentum-dependent symmetry breaking in a kagome superconductor

TL;DR

This study reveals how magnetic fields induce momentum-dependent symmetry breaking in the kagome superconductor CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, highlighting the interplay of electronic orders and the potential for magnetic tuning.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates momentum-selective electronic responses to magnetic fields in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, linking symmetry breaking to Van Hove singularities and charge density wave fluctuations.

Findings

Magnetic field causes momentum-dependent electronic structure changes.

Time-reversal symmetry breaking linked to Van Hove singularities.

Fluctuations observed beyond charge order temperature.

Abstract

When multiple degrees of freedom share similar energy scales in quantum materials, intertwined electronic orders, which exhibit broken symmetries, are often strongly coupled. Recent studies on kagome superconductors such as CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ report rotational and time-reversal symmetry breaking linked to a charge density wave. Here, we observe a momentum-selective response of the electronic structure of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ to an external magnetic field. By performing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in a tuneable magnetic field, we demonstrate that the response of the electronic structure is compatible with piezomagnetism along with strong orbital selectivity. Our results show that the origin of the time-reversal symmetry breaking is associated with the vanadium Van Hove singularities at the onset of the charge density wave order. We also demonstrate the presence of fluctuations beyond the charge ordering temperature. Our results reveal that magnetic fields can be used as tuning knobs for disentangling intertwined orders in the momentum space for quantum materials.