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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Hydrostatic and Uniaxial Pressure Tuning of Iron-Based Superconductors: Insights into Superconductivity, Magnetism, Nematicity, and Collapsed Tetragonal Transitions

Iron-based superconductors are well-known for their intriguing phase diagrams, which manifest a complex interplay of electronic, magnetic and structural degrees of freedom. Among the phase transitions observed are superconducting, magnetic, and several types of structural transitions, including a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic and a collapsed-tetragonal transition. In particular, the widely-observed tetragonal-to-orthorhombic transition is believed to be a result of an electronic order that is coupled to the crystalline lattice and is, thus, referred to asnematic transition. Nematicity is therefore a prominent feature of these materials, which signals the importance of the coupling of electronic and lattice properties. Correspondingly, these systems are particularly susceptible to tuning via pressure (hydrostatic, uniaxial, or some combination). We review efforts to probe the phase diagrams of pressure-tuned iron-based superconductors, with a strong focus on our own recent insights into the phase diagrams of several members of this mate-rial class under hydrostatic pressure. These studies on FeSe, Ba(Fe 1-x Co x ) 2 As 2 , Ca(Fe 1-x Co x ) 2 As 2 and CaK(Fe 1-x Ni x ) 4 As 4 were, to a significant extent, made possible by advances of what measurements can be adapted to the use under differing pressure environments. We point out the potential impact of these tools for the study of the wider class of strongly correlated electron systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

The smectic Z A phase: Antiferroelectric smectic order as a prelude to the ferroelectric nematic

We have structurally characterized the liquid crystal (LC) phase that can appear as an intermediate state when a dielectric nematic, having polar disorder of its molecular dipoles, transitions to the almost perfectly polar-ordered ferroelectric nematic. This intermediate phase, which fills a 100-y-old void in the taxonomy of smectic LCs and which we term the “smectic Z A ,” is antiferroelectric, with the nematic director and polarization oriented parallel to smectic layer planes, and the polarization alternating in sign from layer to layer with a 180 Å period. A Landau free energy, originally derived from the Ising model of ferromagnetic ordering of spins in the presence of dipole–dipole interactions, and applied to model incommensurate antiferroelectricity in crystals, describes the key features of the nematic–SmZ A –ferroelectric nematic phase sequence.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cascade of vestigial orders in two-component superconductors: Nematic, ferromagnetic, s -wave charge- 4 e , and d -wave charge- 4 e states

Electronically ordered states that break multiple symmetries can melt in multiple stages, similarly to liquid crystals. In a partially melted phase, known as vestigial phase, a bilinear made out of combinations of the multiple components of the primary order parameter condenses. Multicomponent superconductors are thus natural candidates for vestigial order since they break both the U⁡(1)-gauge and also time-reversal or lattice symmetries. Here, we use group theory to classify all possible real-valued and complex-valued bilinears of a generic two-component superconductor on a tetragonal or hexagonal lattice. While the more widely investigated real-valued bilinears correspond to vestigial nematic or ferromagnetic order, the little explored complex-valued bilinears correspond to a vestigial charge-4e condensate, which itself can have an underlying s-wave, d x 2 –y 2 -wave, or d xy -wave symmetry. To properly describe the fluctuating regime of the superconducting Ginzburg-Landau action and thus access these competing vestigial phases, we employ both a large-N and a variational method. We show that while vestigial order can be understood as a weak-coupling effect in the large-N approach, it is akin to a moderate-coupling effect in the variational method. Despite these distinctions, both methods yield similar results in wide regions of the parameter space spanned by the quartic Landau coefficients. Specifically, we find that the nematic and ferromagnetic phases are the leading vestigial instabilities, whereas the various types of charge-4⁢e order are attractive albeit subleading vestigial channels. The only exception is for the hexagonal case, in which the nematic and s-wave charge-4e vestigial states are degenerate. Finally, we discuss the limitations of our approach, as well as the implications of our results for the realization of exotic charge-4⁢e states in material candidates.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Thermally reconfigurable monoclinic nematic colloidal fluids

Fundamental relationships are believed to exist between the symmetries of building blocks and the condensed matter phases that they form. For example, constituent molecular and colloidal rods and disks impart their uniaxial symmetry onto nematic liquid crystals, such as those used in displays. Low-symmetry organizations could form in mixtures of rods and disks, but entropy tends to phase-separate them at the molecular and colloidal scales, whereas strong elasticity-mediated interactions drive the formation of chains and crystals in nematic colloids. To have a structure with few or no symmetry operations apart from trivial ones has so far been demonstrated to be a property of solids alone, but not of their fully fluid condensed matter counterparts, even though such symmetries have been considered theoretically and observed in magnetic colloids. In this work, we show that dispersing highly anisotropic charged colloidal disks in a nematic host composed of molecular rods provides a platform for observing many low-symmetry phases. Depending on the temperature, concentration and surface charge of the disks, we find nematic, smectic and columnar organizations with symmetries ranging from uniaxial to orthorhombic and monoclinic. With increasing temperature, we observe unusual transitions from less- to more-ordered states and re-entrant phases. Most importantly, we demonstrate the presence of reconfigurable monoclinic colloidal nematic order, as well as the possibility of thermal and magnetic control of low-symmetry self-assembly. Our experimental findings are supported by theoretical modelling of the colloidal interactions between disks in the nematic host and may provide a route towards realizing many low-symmetry condensed matter phases in systems with building blocks of dissimilar shapes and sizes, as well as their technological applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Emergent tetragonality in a fundamentally orthorhombic material

Symmetry plays a key role in determining the physical properties of materials. By Neumann’s principle, the properties of a material remain invariant under the symmetry operations of the space group to which the material belongs. Continuous phase transitions are associated with a spontaneous reduction in symmetry. Less common are examples where proximity to a continuous phase transition leads to an increase in symmetry. We find signatures of an emergent tetragonal symmetry close to a charge density wave (CDW) bicritical point in a fundamentally orthorhombic material, ErTe 3 , for which the two distinct CDW phase transitions are tuned via anisotropic strain. We first establish that tension along the a axis favors an abrupt rotation of the CDW wave vector from the c to a axis and infer the presence of a bicritical point where the two continuous phase transitions meet. We then observe a divergence of the nematic elastoresistivity approaching this putative bicritical point, indicating an emergent tetragonality in the critical behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Half-quantum vortices in nematic and chiral phases of 3 He

In this work, we report theoretical results for the stability of half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in the superfluid phases of 3 He confined in highly anisotropic Nafen aerogel. Superfluidity of 3 He confined in Nafen is the realization of a “nematic superfluid” with Cooper pairs condensed into a single p -wave orbital aligned along the anisotropy axis of the Nafen aerogel. In addition to the nematic phase, we predict a second “chiral” phase that onsets at a lower transition temperature. This chiral phase spontaneously breaks time-reversal symmetry and is a topological superfluid. Both superfluid phases are equal-spin pairing condensates that host arrays of HQVs as equilibrium states of rotating superfluid 3 He. We present results for the structure of HQVs, including magnetic and topological signatures of HQVs in both the nematic and chiral phases of 3 He-Nafen.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Role of Nematicity in Controlling Spin Fluctuations and Superconducting Tc in Bulk FeSe

FeSe undergoes a transition from a tetragonal to a slightly orthorhombic phase at 90 K and becomes a superconductor below 8 K. The orthorhombic phase is sometimes called a nematic phase because quantum oscillation, neutron, and other measurements detect a significant asymmetry in x and y. How nematicity affects superconductivity has recently become a matter of intense speculation. Here, we employ an advanced ab initio Green's function description of superconductivity and show that bulk tetragonal FeSe would, in principle, superconduct with almost the same critical temperature Tc as the nematic phase. The mechanism driving the observed nematicity is not yet understood. Since the present theory underestimates it, we simulate the full nematic asymmetry by artificially enhancing the orthorhombic distortion. For benchmarking, we compare theoretical spin susceptibilities against experimentally observed data over all energies and relevant momenta. When the orthorhombic distortion is adjusted to correlate with observed nematicity in spin susceptibility, the enhanced nematicity causes spectral weight redistribution in the Fe-3dxz and Fe-dyz orbitals, but it leads to at most a 10-15% increment in Tc. This is because the dxy orbital always remains the most strongly correlated and provides most of the source of the superconducting glue. Nematicity suppresses the density of states at the Fermi level; nevertheless, Tc increases, in contradiction to both BCS theory and the theory of Bose-Einstein condensation. We show how the increase is connected to the structure of the particle-particle vertex. Our results suggest that while nematicity may be an intrinsic property of bulk FeSe, it is not the primary force driving the superconducting pairing.

bulk FeSe↗
DOE OSTI2021

Strain-Induced Quantum Phase Transitions in Magic-Angle Graphene

In this work, we investigate the effect of uniaxial heterostrain on the interacting phase diagram of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene. Using both self-consistent Hartree-Fock and density-matrix renormalization group calculations, we find that small strain values (ε~0.1%-0.2%) drive a zero-temperature phase transition between the symmetry-broken "Kramers intervalley-coherent" insulator and a nematic semimetal. The critical strain lies within the range of experimentally observed strain values, and we therefore predict that strain is at least partly responsible for the sample-dependent experimental observations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Intrinsically Chiral Twist‐Bend Nematogens: Interplay of Molecular and Structural Chirality in the N TB Phase

Abstract Non‐symmetric lactate‐based chiral liquid crystal dimers containing an odd‐membered spacer are shown to exhibit a chiral twist‐bend nematic phase which is stable on cooling to room temperature. A comparison of racemic and optically pure materials reveals that the pitch length in the N* TB phase is not influenced by molecular chirality, whereas the nematic‐twist‐bend nematic transition temperature is increased.

Chemistry↗
NASA NTRS1978

Electron paramagnetic resonance studies of slowly tumbling vanadyl spin probes in nematic liquid crystals

An analysis of EPR line shapes by the method of Polnaszek, Bruno, and Freed is made for slowly tumbling vanadyl spin probes in viscous nematic liquid crystals. The use of typical vanadyl complexes as spin probes for nematic liquid crystals is shown to simplify the theoretical analysis and the subsequent interpretation. Rotational correlation times tau and orientational ordering parameters S sub Z where slow tumbling effects are expected to be observed in vanadyl EPR spectra are indicated in a plot. Analysis of the inertial effects on the probe reorientation, which are induced by slowly fluctuating torque components of the local solvent structure, yield quantitative values for tau and S sub Z. The weakly ordered probe VOAA is in the slow tumbling region and displays these inertial effects throughout the nematic range of BEPC and Phase V. VOAA exhibits different reorientation behavior near the isotropic-nematic transition temperature than that displayed far below this transition temperature.

Bruno, G. V.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dimensionality crossover to a two-dimensional vestigial nematic state from a three-dimensional antiferromagnet in a honeycomb van der Waals magnet

The effects of fluctuations and disorder, which are substantially enhanced in reduced dimensional-ities, can play a crucial role in producing nontrivial phases of matter such as vestigial orders char-acterized by a composite order parameter. However, fluctuation-driven magnetic phases in low dimensions have remained relatively unexplored. Here we demonstrate a phase transition from the zigzag antiferromagnetic order in the three-dimensional bulk to a Z 3 vestigial Potts-nematicity in two-dimensional few-layer samples of van der Waals magnet NiPS 3 . Our spin relaxometry and op-tical spectroscopy measurements reveal that the spin fluctuations are enhanced over the gigahertz to terahertz range as the layer number of NiPS 3 reduces. Monte Carlo simulations corroborate the experimental finding of 3-fold rotational symmetry breaking, but show that translational symmetry is restored in thin layers of NiPS 3 . Furthermore, our results show that strong quantum fluctuations can stabilize an unconventional magnetic phase after destroying a more conventional one.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Where is the Quantum Spin Nematic?

We provide strong evidence of the spin-nematic state in a paradigmatic ferro-antiferromagnetic J 1 –J 2 model using analytical and density-matrix renormalization group methods. In zero field, the attraction of spin-flip pairs leads to a first-order transition and no nematic state, while pair repulsion at larger J 2 stabilizes the nematic phase in a narrow region near the pair-condensation field. A devil’s staircase of multipair condensates is conjectured for weak pair attraction. A suppression of the spin-flip gap by many-body effects leads to an order-of-magnitude contraction of the nematic phase compared to naïve expectations. Here, the proposed phase diagram should be broadly valid.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nematic superconductivity in a one-dimensional system of massless fermions

The superconducting properties of the one-dimensional model of “relativistic” fermions with attraction generated by antiferromagnetic (Heisenberg) pair superexchange spin interaction are studied. Namely, we demonstrate that such a pairing in this system takes place in the nematic channel, with extended s-wave symmetry, where the attraction between fermions mostly takes place when the fermions occupy the nearest sites. It is demonstrated, that the zero-temperature properties of such a system are rather different from the “standard” case of superconductivity with local attraction. For instance, the order parameter has an unusual helical momentum dependence, ∼e −ika ⁠, where a is the lattice parameter and the dependence of the gap on doping has a bell shape, qualitatively similar to cuprate high-T c superconductors. Finally, the smooth transition from the overlapping pair to the local pair regime (or BCS–BEC crossover) in the nematic phase takes place at much lower values of doping as compared to the local pairing case, i.e., the “relativistic 1D” nematic superconductor is much less “friendly” to the local pairs. In conclusion, we also discuss the possible relation of the properties of this model to the superconducting properties of twisted graphene.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS2025

Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Phase Behavior of Boron Nitride Nanotube Aqueous Dispersions

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are gaining significant interest due to their outstanding mechanical and thermal properties, as well as their potential to serve as a model nanorod system. Processing BNNT liquid crystalline (LC) dispersions enables precise control over BNNT orientation in macroscopic assemblies, while their low absorption in the visible spectrum facilitates studying LCs at exceptionally high concentrations. Here, we investigate the behavior of BNNTs in aqueous solutions stabilized by the surfactant sodium deoxycholate (SDC), examining the effect of BNNT purity and BNNT−SDC concentrations on lyotropic LC formation. We disperse up to 15wt% BNNT in SDC solutions and use polarized light microscopy to detail the transition from an isotropic state to a biphasic regime, where isotropic and nematic domains coexist due to phase separation, to a single fully nematic phase. Cryogenic electron microscopy provides direct evidence of BNNT alignment within nematic domains. Our results show that enhanced depletion-induced attractions, driven by increased surfactant concentration, lower the threshold concentration of BNNT required to form nematic domains. In contrast, low surfactant concentrations relative to BNNT result in insufficiently coated nanotube surfaces, leading to poor dispersions and BNNT aggregation. Additionally, we fabricate well-aligned BNNT films from aqueous LC dispersions. Our findings advance the understanding of BNNT LCs, offering insight into controlling their orientation and highlighting their potential for high-performance materials.

Joe Khoury↗
DOE OSTI2023

Potential Lifshitz transition at optimal substitution in nematic pnictide Ba 1 x Sr x Ni 2 As 2

BaNi 2 As 2 is a structural analog of the pnictide superconductor BaFe 2 As 2 , which, like the iron-based superconductors, hosts a variety of ordered phases including charge density waves (CDWs), electronic nematicity, and superconductivity. Upon isovalent Sr substitution on the Ba site, the charge and nematic orders are suppressed, followed by a sixfold enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature (T c ). To understand the mechanisms responsible for enhancement of T c , we present high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements of the Ba 1-x Sr x Ni 2 As 2 series, which agree well with our density functional theory (DFT) calculations throughout the substitution range. Analysis of our ARPES-validated DFT results indicates a Lifshitz transition and reasonably nested electron and hole Fermi pockets near optimal substitution where T c is maximum. These nested pockets host Ni d xz /d yz orbital compositions, which we associate with the enhancement of nematic fluctuations, revealing unexpected connections to the iron-pnictide superconductors. This gives credence to a scenario in which nematic fluctuations drive an enhanced T c .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Verwey transition as evolution from electronic nematicity to trimerons via electron-phonon coupling

Understanding the driving mechanisms behind metal-insulator transitions (MITs) is a critical step toward controlling material’s properties. Since the proposal of charge order–induced MIT in magnetite Fe 3 O 4 in 1939 by Verwey, the nature of the charge order and its role in the transition have remained elusive. Recently, a trimeron order was found in the low-temperature structure of Fe 3 O 4 ; however, the expected transition entropy change in forming trimeron is greater than the observed value, which arises a reexamination of the ground state in the high-temperature phase. Here, we use electron diffraction to unveil that a nematic charge order on particular Fe sites emerges in the high-temperature structure of bulk Fe 3 O 4 and that, upon cooling, a competitive intertwining of charge and lattice orders arouses the Verwey transition. Our findings discover an unconventional type of electronic nematicity in correlated materials and offer innovative insights into the transition mechanism in Fe 3 O 4 via the electron-phonon coupling.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Twisted bilayer graphene. VI. An exact diagonalization study at nonzero integer filling

Using exact diagonalization, we research the projected Hamiltonian with the Coulomb interaction in the eight flat bands of first magic angle twisted bilayer graphene. Employing the U(4) [U(4) × U(4)] symmetries in the nonchiral (chiral) flat band limit, we reduced the Hilbert space to an extent that allows for study around ν = ±3,±2,±1 fillings. In the first chiral limit w 0 /w 1 = 0, where w 0 (w 1 ) is the A A (AB) stacking hopping, we find that the ground states at these fillings are extremely well-described by Slater determinants in a so-called Chern basis, and the exactly solvable charge ±1 excitations found in Bernevig et al. [Phys. Rev. B 103, 205415 (2021)] are the lowest charge excitations up to system sizes 8 × 8 (for restricted Hilbert space) in the chiral-flat limit. We also find that the flat metric condition (FMC) used by Bernevig et al. [Phys. Rev. B 103, 205411 (2021)], Song et al. [Phys. Rev. B 103, 205412 (2021)], Bernevig et al. [Phys. Rev. B 103, 205413 (2021)], Lian et al. [Phys. Rev. B 103, 205414 (2021)], and Bernevig et al. [Phys. Rev. B 103, 205415 (2021)] for obtaining a series of exact ground states and excitations holds in a large parameter space. For ν = -3, the ground state is the spin and valley polarized Chern insulator with ν C = ±1 at w 0 /w 1 ≲ 0.9 (0.3) with (without) FMC. At ν = -2, we can only numerically access the valley polarized sector, and we find a spin ferromagnetic phase when w 0 /w 1 ≳ 0.5 t where t ϵ [0,1] is the factor of rescaling of the actual TBG bandwidth, and a spin singlet phase otherwise, confirming the perturbative calculation [Lian. et al., Phys. Rev. B 103, 205414 (2021), Bultinck et al., Phys. Rev. X 10, 031034 (2020)]. The analytic FMC ground state is, however, predicted in the intervalley coherent sector which we cannot access [Lian et al., Phys. Rev. B 103, 205414 (2021), Bultinck et al., Phys. Rev. X 10, 031034 (2020)]. For ν = -3 with/without FMC, when w 0 /w 1 is large, the finite-size gap Δ to the neutral excitations vanishes, leading to phase transitions. Further analysis of the ground state momentum sectors at ν = -3 suggests a competition among (nematic) metal, momentum M M (π) stripe and K M -CDW orders at large w 0 /w 1 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1972

Electron paramagnetic resonance study of alinement induced by magnetic fields in two smectic-A liquid crystals not exhibiting nematic phases

Using vanadyl acetylacetonate (VAAC) as a paramagnetic probe, the molecular ordering in two smectic-A liquid crystals that do not display nematic phases were studied. Reproducible alinement was attained by slow cooling throughout the isotropic smectic-A transition in dc magnetic fields of 1.1 and 2.15 teslas. The degree of order attained is small for a smectic-A liquid crystal. Measurements were made of the variation of the average hyperfine splitting of the alined samples as a function of orientation relative to the dc magnetic field of the spectrometer. This functional dependence is in agreement with the theoretical prediction except where the viscosity of the liquid crystal becomes large enough to slow the tumbling of the VAAC, as indicated by asymmetry in the end lines of the spectrum.

Fryburg, G. C.↗