Coexistence of Unidirectional Charge Density Waves in LaTe3

Abstract

The classic rare-earth tritelluride provides an ideal platform to study the strong correlation state owing to its stable structures and abundance of orders. Here we report the observation of an undiscovered charge density wave (CDW) in LaTe3 under 4.2 K, the transition temperature of the CDW states is fitted to be 35 K, and confirmed by the evanishment of this CDW at 77 K via using temperature-dependent scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy. The coexistence of these CDWs is confirmed by the atomic resolution and beating pattern simulation. It is the first time to observe the coexistence of unidirectional charge density waves system, providing a new platform to understand the competition and evolution between strong correlation states, and get a deeper sight into the phase lag between different order parameters.