Emergent symmetry in TbTe3 revealed by ultrafast reflectivity under anisotropic strain.

We report ultrafast reflectivity measurements of the dynamics of the order parameter of the charge density wave (CDW) in TbTe3 under anisotropic strain. We observe an increase in the frequency of the amplitude mode with increasing tensile strain along the a -axis (which drives the lattice into a > c, with a and c the lattice constants), and similar behavior for tensile strain along c (c > a). This suggests that both strains stabilize the corresponding CDW order and further support the near equivalence of the CDW phases oriented in a - and c -axis, in spite of the orthorhombic space group. The results were analyzed within the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau framework, which agrees well with the reflectivity dynamics. Our study presents an ultrafast approach to assess the stability of phases and order parameter dynamics in strained systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]