Charge-spin dichotomy in the kagome metal CsCr3Sb5

Kagome metals host a variety of correlated electronic states, yet the nature of their intertwined orders remains an open question. The recently discovered Cr-based kagome compound CsCr3Sb5 differs from its V-based analogue CsV3Sb5 by exhibiting stronger correlations and a magnetic ground state. While multiple broken symmetries have been reported in CsV3Sb5, only a single transition at T* ≈ 55 K has been identified at ambient pressure in CsCr3Sb5, with its origin unresolved. Here we uncover an additional phase transition above T* through elastoresistivity measurements. Rotational symmetry breaking without divergent nematic susceptibility is identified around T ≈ 64 K, which is most consistently explained as the emergence of charge-density-wave order. Laser-based photoemission-electron microscopy further reveals three-domain structures associated with spin-density-wave order below T*. These findings indicate distinct charge and spin order transitions in CsCr3Sb5, offering crucial insight into the intertwined orders and pressure-induced superconductivity in this system. Kagomes can host distinct density wave orders. Here, the authors provide evidence of an additional phase transition in CsCr3Sb5 and propose that charge-density wave and spin-density wave orders occur with distinct transition temperatures.