# MIT physicists map how two electron phases coexist in erbium tritelluride

_Friday, August 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM EDT · Science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

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MIT physicists report in Nature Physics that two distinct charge-density-wave phases of electron order can form and coexist in the rare-earth material erbium tritelluride, Phys.org reported, drawing on an MIT News write-up.

Led by Nuh Gedik, the team found that as the crystal cools, electrons first organize into one wave-like charge-density-wave pattern, then a second crisscrossing phase appears, creating an atomic checkerboard of coexisting orders. Time-resolved laser pump-probe photoemission showed the dominant phase reforms uniformly through a continuous transition, while the subdominant phase nucleates in localized domains that expand, a first-order transition.

Co-author Alfred Zong said multi-phase quantum materials are widely viewed as central to efforts that could eventually replace silicon-class devices, and that the experiment offers a clean way to study those phases. The authors say untangling how superconductivity, magnetism, and related electronic orders emerge could help engineers design higher-performance quantum devices.

## Sources

- [Phys.org](https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-material-electrons-reassemble-coexisting.html)

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