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Reply to: Limitations of probing field-induced response with STM

Nature volume 650, pages E21–E22 (2026)Cite this article

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The Original Article was published on 25 February 2026

replying to: C. Candelora & I. Zeljkovic Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10126-1 (2026).

In our paper1, we demonstrate that the relative intensities of charge-density-wave (CDW) peaks in the Fourier transform of STM topographies of RbV3Sb5 can be controlled by an electric field induced by laser light. Moreover, we show that this change in the intensities is accompanied by changes in the ratio of Bragg vectors; we also replicate previous findings on the changes in the CDW state induced by a magnetic field. In their comment, Candelora and Zeljkovic2 assert that, in the absence of artifacts like drift, noise and tip changes, the CDW intensity in the 135 compounds would remain unaffected by light and magnetic fields, consistent with a previous publication from their group3. Before addressing their comments in detail below, we highlight a few key points that cannot be dismissed on the basis of measurement artifacts.

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Fig. 1: Comparison of the sign of CDW intensity contrast between FWD and BWD scans along the magnetic-field sequence.

References

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  2. Candelora, C & Zeljkovic, I. Limitations of probing field-induced response with STM. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10126-1 (2026).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Yuqing Xing, Seokjin Bae

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Materials Research Laboratory, Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Yuqing Xing, Seokjin Bae, Rafael M. Fernandes & Vidya Madhavan

  2. Materials Department, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Stephen D. Wilson

  3. Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

    Ziqiang Wang

  4. Anthony J. Leggett Institute for Condensed Matter Theory, The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Rafael M. Fernandes

Authors
  1. Yuqing Xing
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  2. Seokjin Bae
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  3. Stephen D. Wilson
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  4. Ziqiang Wang
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  5. Rafael M. Fernandes
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  6. Vidya Madhavan
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Contributions

S.B., Y.X. and V.M. performed data analysis and wrote the reply. S.D.W., Z.W. and R.M.F. contributed to the discussions and interpretation of the manuscript. All of the authors have made contributions to this work and approved the final manuscript. Some of authors of the original article were not involved in the preparation of this comment. The authorship reflects contributions specific to the conception, analysis and writing of the present comment.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vidya Madhavan.

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Xing, Y., Bae, S., Wilson, S.D. et al. Reply to: Limitations of probing field-induced response with STM. Nature 650, E21–E22 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10127-0

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