Imaging the coherent propagation of collective modes in the excitonic insulator Ta 2 NiSe 5 at room temperature.

Excitonic insulators host a condensate of electron-hole pairs at equilibrium, giving rise to collective many-body effects. Although several materials have emerged as excitonic insulator candidates, evidence of long-range coherence is lacking and the origin of the ordered phase in these systems remains controversial. Here, using ultrafast pump-probe microscopy, we investigate the possible excitonic insulator Ta ₂ NiSe ₅ Below 328 K, we observe the anomalous micrometer-scale propagation of coherent modes at velocities of ~10 ⁵ m/s, which we attribute to the hybridization between phonon modes and the phase mode of the condensate. We develop a theoretical framework to support this explanation and propose that electronic interactions provide a substantial contribution to the ordered phase in Ta ₂ NiSe ₅ These results allow us to understand how the condensate's collective modes transport energy and interact with other degrees of freedom. Our study provides a unique paradigm for the investigation and manipulation of these properties in strongly correlated materials.
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