Pressure-induced phase diagram of LaTe₃: CDW suppression, possible superconductivity, and emergent tetragonality
Author
Misaki Sasaki, Takeshi Hara, Shunsuke Kitou, Ryoma Asai, Yoshichika Onuki, Haruto Yoshimochi, Shion Yamada, Chihaya Koyama, Chieko Terakura, Satoshi Nakano, Naohisa Hirao, Hirokazu Kadobayashi, Daisuke Okuyama, Reiji Kumai, Kiyohiro Adachi, Daisuke Hashizume, Yusuke Wakabayashi, Yoshinori Tokura, Ryotaro Arita, and Yukako Fujishiro
Affiliation
High-Pressure Materials Synthesis Group, MANA, NIMS
URL
Biography
Misaki Sasaki is a postdoctoral researcher in the Fujishiro Laboratory at the University of Tokyo. He received his Ph.D. in Science from Osaka University in 2026. His research focuses on exploring quantum materials under high pressure using electrical transport measurements and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. His work centers on high-temperature superconductors, including hydrides and oxides.
Abstract
The rare-earth tritellurides RTe3 crystallize in an intrinsically orthorhombic structure containing a glide plane, which makes the in-plane a and c axes crystallographically inequivalent [1]. This symmetry-imposed anisotropy selects the c* direction for the wave vector of the unidirectional charge-density wave (CDW) [2] (Fig. 1). Among this family, LaTe3 exhibits a particularly high CDW transition temperature (above 600 K), providing an ideal platform for investigating the pressure-driven suppression of a robust CDW [4] and its relationship with emergent low-temperature states.
We investigated the pressure–temperature phase diagram of LaTe3 by synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction and electrical-transport measurements using diamond anvil cells up to 15 GPa. At 8.9 K, the CDW superlattice reflections progressively weaken with increasing pressure and are no longer detected above 9.0 GPa. At room temperature, the in-plane lattice parameters approach each other and become metrically locked, with a = c within the resolution of the present measurements, over a broad pressure range of 8-15 GPa. This pressure-induced metric locking extends into a structural regime that cannot be reached through rare-earth substitution alone. Electrical-transport measurements further reveal a possible signature of superconductivity above 4.5 GPa.
By combining these results, we construct the pressure-induced phase diagram of LaTe3 and discuss the relationship among CDW suppression, possible superconductivity, and the emergence of metric tetragonality.
References
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