Eight-unit-cell electronic modulations in cuprates originating from local molecular orbitals
The study investigates how an 8a0 electronic modulation in cuprates arises from a spatial subharmonic of molecular orbital patterns built from 4a0×4a0 basic units. It shows that doped holes self-organize into these local orbitals, and the resulting modulation originates from dark pits formed by the depletion of states within entire plaquettes, establishing a real-space origin for this order.