High Resolution Polar Kerr Effect Studies of CsV₃Sb₅

We report high resolution polar Kerr effect measurements on CsV₃Sb₅ single crystals in search of signatures of spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking below the charge-order transition at \(T_{*}\) = 94 K. Utilizing two different versions of zero-area loop Sagnac interferometers operating at 1550 nm wavelength, each with the fundamental attribute that without a time-reversal symmetry breaking sample at its path, the interferometer is perfectly reciprocal, we find no observable Kerr effect to within the noise floor limit of the apparatus at 30 nanoradians. Simultaneous coherent reflection ratio measurements confirm the sharpness of the charge-order transition in the same optical volume as the Kerr measurements. At finite magnetic field we observe a sharp onset of a diamagnetic shift in the Kerr signal at \(T_{*}\), which persists down to the lowest temperature without change in trend. Since 1550 nm is an energy that was shown to capture all features of the optical properties of the material that interact with the charge-order transition, we are led to conclude that it is highly unlikely that time-reversal symmetry is broken in the charge ordered state in CsV₃Sb₅.

Recommended citation: Saykin, D.R., et al. "High Resolution Polar Kerr Effect Studies of CsV₃Sb₅: Tests for Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking below the Charge-Order Transition." Physical Review Letters 131.1 (2023): 016901.
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