Observation of multiple charge density wave phases in epitaxial monolayer 1T-VSe2 film

As a special order of electronic correlation induced by spatial modulation, the charge density wave (CDW) phenomena in condensed matters attract enormous research interests. Here, using scanning—tunneling microscopy in various temperatures, we discover a hidden incommensurate stripe-like CDW order besides the ($sqrt{7}$ × $sqrt{3}$) CDW phase at low-temperature of 4 K in the epitaxial monolayer 1T-VSe₂} film. Combining the variable-temperature angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopic (ARPES) measurements, we discover a two-step transition of an anisotropic CDW gap structure that consists of two parts Δ₁ and Δ₂. The gap part Δ₁ that closes around ～ 150 K is accompanied with the vanish of the ($sqrt{7}$ × $sqrt{3}$) CDW phase. While another momentum-dependent gap part Δ₂ can survive up to ～ 340 K, and is suggested to the result of the incommensurate CDW phase. This two-step transition with anisotropic gap opening and the resulted evolution in ARPES spectra are corroborated by our theoretical calculation based on a phenomenological form for the self-energy containing a two-gap structure Δ₁ + Δ₂, which suggests different forming mechanisms between the ($sqrt{7}$ × $sqrt{3}$) and the incommensurate CDW phases. Our findings provide significant information and deep understandings on the CDW phases in monolayer 1T-VSe₂} film as a two-dimensional (2D) material.