High-resolution polar Kerr effect studies of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><msub><mi>CsV</mi><mn>3</mn></msub><msub><mi>Sb</mi><mn>5</mn></msub></mrow></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><msub><mi>ScV</mi><mn>6</mn></msub><msub><mi>Sn</mi><mn>6</mn></msub></mrow></math> below the charge order transition

David R. Saykin; Qianni Jiang; Zhaoyu Liu; Chandra Shekhar; Claudia Felser; Jiun-Haw Chu; Aharon Kapitulnik

doi:10.1103/xfv5-3z9t

Letter

High-resolution polar Kerr effect studies of ${CsV}_{3} {Sb}_{5}$ and ${ScV}_{6} {Sn}_{6}$ below the charge order transition

David R. Saykin ^1,2,3, Qianni Jiang^2,4, Zhaoyu Liu ⁵, Chandra Shekhar ⁶, Claudia Felser ⁶, Jiun-Haw Chu ⁵, and Aharon Kapitulnik ^1,2,3,4,*

¹Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
²Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
³Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
⁴Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
⁵Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
⁶Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, 01187 Dresden, Germany

^*Contact author: aharonk@stanford.edu

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Phys. Rev. B 113, L241104 – Published 1 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/xfv5-3z9t

Abstract

We report high-resolution polar Kerr effect measurements on ${CsV}_{3} {Sb}_{5}$ and ${ScV}_{6} {Sn}_{6} single$ crystals in search of signatures of the spontaneous polar Kerr effect (PKE) below the charge order transitions of these materials. Utilizing two separate zero-area loop Sagnac interferometers operating at 1550- and 830-nm wavelengths, we studied the temperature dependence of a possible PKE after training with the magnetic field. While a finite-field Kerr measurement yielded optical rotation expected from the Pauli susceptibility of the itinerant carriers, no signal was detected at zero field to within the noise floor limit of the apparatus of below $\sim 100$ nanorad. Simultaneous coherent reflection measurements confirm the sharpness of the charge order transition in the same optical volume as the Kerr measurements. The application of strain to reveal a hidden flux-ordered magnetic state did not result in a finite Kerr effect.

Physical Review B

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High-resolution polar Kerr effect studies of ${CsV}_{3} {Sb}_{5}$ and ${ScV}_{6} {Sn}_{6}$ below the charge order transition

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High-resolution polar Kerr effect studies of CsV3Sb5 and ScV6Sn6 below the charge order transition

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High-resolution polar Kerr effect studies of ${CsV}_{3} {Sb}_{5}$ and ${ScV}_{6} {Sn}_{6}$ below the charge order transition