Cascade of correlated electron states in the kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5

The kagome lattice of transition metal atoms provides an exciting platform to study electronic correlations in the presence of geometric frustration and nontrivial band topology1–18, which continues to bear surprises. Here, using spectroscopic imaging scanning tunnelling microscopy, we discover a temperature-dependent cascade of different symmetry-broken electronic states in a new kagome superconductor, CsV3Sb5. We reveal, at a temperature far above the superconducting transition temperature Tc ~ 2.5 K, a tri-directional charge order with a 2a0 period that breaks the translation symmetry of the lattice. As the system is cooled down towards Tc, we observe a prominent V-shaped spectral gap opening at the Fermi level and an additional breaking of the six-fold rotational symmetry, which persists through the superconducting transition. This rotational symmetry breaking is observed as the emergence of an additional 4a0 unidirectional charge order and strongly anisotropic scattering in differential conductance maps. The latter can be directly attributed to the orbital-selective renormalization of the vanadium kagome bands. Our experiments reveal a complex landscape of electronic states that can coexist on a kagome lattice, and highlight intriguing parallels to high-Tc superconductors and twisted bilayer graphene.