CC BY 4.0 UnportedPelc, D.Vucˇkovic, M.Grafe, H.-J.Baek, S.-H.Požek, M.2018-06-082019-06-282016https://doi.org/10.34657/4976https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/1485Charge-stripe order has recently been established as an important aspect of cuprate high-Tc superconductors. However, owing to the complex interplay between competing phases and the influence of disorder, it is unclear how it emerges from the parent high-temperature state. Here we report on the discovery of an unconventional ordered phase between charge-stripe order and (pseudogapped) metal in the cuprate La1.8xEu0.2SrxCuO4. We use three complementary experiments—nuclear quadrupole resonance, nonlinear conductivity and specific heat—to demonstrate that the order appears through a sharp phase transition and exists in a dome-shaped region of the phase diagram. Our results imply that the new phase is a state, which preserves translational symmetry: a charge nematic. We thus resolve the process of charge-stripe development in cuprates, show that this nematic phase is distinct from high-temperature pseudogap and establish a link with other strongly correlated electronic materials with prominent nematic order.application/pdfenghttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/620Phase transitions and critical phenomenaSuperconducting properties and materialsArticle