Versatile electronic phases enabled by intertwined multiple frustrations in an antiferromagnetic two-dimensional semimetal

Abstract

Abstract Following the discovery of graphene, van der Waals materials have become a major platform for quantum matter, yet strongly interacting phases beyond graphene remain elusive. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we uncover three competing stripe- and checkerboard-type multiple-q antiferromagnetic charge-ordered states in the van der Waals semimetal CeTe 3 , beyond the conventional charge density wave. These field-tunable states exhibit propagation vectors of (0.33, 0), (0, 0.08), and (0.19, ±0.19), and are controlled by a modest in-plane magnetic field (~1.5 T). Quasiparticle-interference imaging identifies corresponding three distinct nesting channels and associated Fermi-surface reconstructions. At the same time, spectroscopy reveals a broad electronic reconstruction extending to ±30 meV around the Fermi level, beyond a simple Kondo-coupling picture. Our results establish CeTe 3 as a platform for tunable nanoscale antiferromagnetic electronic phases characterized by intertwined correlations, exotic symmetry-breaking, and nontrivial topology.