Spectral Evidence for Unidirectional Charge Density Wave in Detwinned BaNi$_2$As$_2$

Abstract: The emergence of unconventional superconductivity in proximity to intertwined electronic orders is especially relevant in the case of iron-based superconductors. Such order consists of an electronic nematic order and a spin density wave in these systems. BaNi$_2$As$_2$, like its well-known iron-based analog BaFe$_2$As$_2$, also hosts a symmetry-breaking structural transition that is coupled to a unidirectional charge density wave (CDW), providing a novel platform to study intertwined orders. Here, through a systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study combined with a detwinning $B_1g$ uniaxial strain, we identify distinct spectral evidence of band evolution due to the structural transition as well as CDW-induced band folding. In contrast to the nematicity and spin density wave in BaFe$_2$As$_2$, the structural and CDW order parameters in BaNi$_2$As$_2$ are observed to be strongly coupled and do not separate in the presence of uniaxial strain. Our measurements point to a likely lattice origin of the CDW in BaNi$_2$As$_2$.