Symmetry-Broken Kondo Screening and Zero-Energy Mode in the Kagome Superconductor CsV3Sb5

Symmetry-Broken Kondo Screening and Zero-Energy Mode in the Kagome Superconductor CsV3Sb5 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Symmetry-Broken Kondo Screening and Zero-Energy Mode in the Kagome Superconductor CsV3Sb5 Lei Shan, Yubing Tu, Zongyuan Zhang, Wenjian Lu, Tao Han, Run Lv, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6117114/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Physics → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The quantum states of matter reorganize themselves in response to defects, giving rise to emergent local excitations that imprint unique characteristics of the host states. While magnetic impurities are known to generate Kondo screening in a Fermi liquid and Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states in a conventional superconductor, it remains unclear whether they can evoke distinct phenomena in the kagome superconductor AV3Sb5 (where A is K, Rb or Cs), which may host an orbital-antiferromagnetic charge density wave (CDW) state and an unconventional superconducting state driven by the convergence of topology, geometric frustration and electron correlations. In this work, we visualize the local density of states induced near various types of impurities in both the CDW and superconducting phases of CsV3-xMxSb5 (M = Ta, Cr) using scanning tunneling microscopy. We observe Kondo resonance states near magnetic Cr dopants. Notably, unlike in any known metal or CDW compound, the spatial pattern of Kondo screening breaks all in-plane mirror symmetries of the kagome lattice, suggesting an electronic chirality due to putative orbital loop currents. While Cooper pairs show relative insensitivity to nonmagnetic impurities, native V vacancies with weak magnetic moments induce a pronounced zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP). This ZBCP coexists with trivial YSR states within the superconducting gap and does not split in energy with increasing tunneling transmission, tending instead to saturate. This behavior is reminiscent of signature of Majorana zero modes, which could be trapped by a sign-change boundary in the superconducting order parameter near a V vacancy, consistent with a surface topological superconducting state. Our findings provide a new approach to exploring novel quantum states on kagome lattices. Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Superconducting properties and materials Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Electronic properties and materials Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SI.pdf SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Physics → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6117114","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":428329595,"identity":"0043aaf4-8c18-402e-b34b-364b7c8f3c8e","order_by":0,"name":"Lei 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While Cooper pairs show relative insensitivity to nonmagnetic impurities, native V vacancies with weak magnetic moments induce a pronounced zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP). This ZBCP coexists with trivial YSR states within the superconducting gap and does not split in energy with increasing tunneling transmission, tending instead to saturate. This behavior is reminiscent of signature of Majorana zero modes, which could be trapped by a sign-change boundary in the superconducting order parameter near a V vacancy, consistent with a surface topological superconducting state. 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