Broken symmetries associated with a Kagome chiral charge order

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58262-y
• Publication Date: 2025-04-22T17:25:10Z
• Authors: Zi-Jia Cheng; Md Shafayat Hossain; Qi Zhang; Sen Shao; Jinjin Liu; Yilin Zhao; Mohammad Yahyavi; Yu-Xiao Jiang; Jia-Xin Yin; Xian Yang; Yongkai Li; Tyler A. Cochran; Maksim Litskevich; Byunghoon Kim; Junyi Zhang; Yugui Yao; Luis Balicas; Zhiwei Wang; Guoqing Chang; M. Zahid Hasan

Chirality, or handedness, is ubiquitous in science, from cell biology to physics, and condensed matter can underlie exotic phases such as chiral charge density waves superconductivity. However, detecting subtle broken symmetries that define states challenging, leading debate controversy. Here, using second-order optical response, we reveal the of a wave Kagome lattice KV3Sb5. Polarization-dependent mid-infrared photocurrent microscopy uncovers longitudinal, helicity-dependent associated with order, indicating inversion mirror symmetries. These findings, supported by theoretical analysis, directly establish intrinsic nature ordered state. Moreover, absence circular photogalvanic effect perpendicular incident light imposes stringent constraints on point-group Our study not only visualizes but also highlights nonlinear sensitive probe for symmetry breakings.