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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Tuning superconductivity of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+x by fluoride ion intercalation with LaF 3 gate dielectric

Here, we demonstrate fluorine intercalation into Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+x (BSCCO) flakes, as thick as 100 nm, by back-gating a single crystalline LaF 3 substrate. Element-sensitive analysis not only confirms the presence of fluorine in BSCCO after gating but also reveals lateral diffusion of fluorine in BSCCO. Transport measurements further demonstrate the hole-doping effect of fluoride ions in BSCCO through effective modulation of the superconducting transitions. Our work introduces a distinct type of ions (F - ) that can be intercalated into materials via solid state back-gating. It broadens the toolbox of ion back-gating and is useful for addressing exotic phenomena in the heavily hole doped regime.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Beyond Conventional Charge Density Wave for Strongly Enhanced 2D Superconductivity in 1H‐TaS 2 Superlattices

Noncentrosymmetric transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers offer a fertile platform for exploring unconventional Ising superconductivity (SC) and charge density waves (CDWs). However, the vulnerability of isolated monolayers to structural disorder and environmental oxidation often degrade their electronic coherence. Herein, an alternative approach is reported for fabricating stable and intrinsic monolayers of 1H-TaS2 sandwiched between SnS blocks in a (SnS) 1.15 TaS 2 van der Waals (vdW) superlattice. The SnS block layers not only decouple individual 1H-TaS 2 sublayers to endow them with monolayer-like electronic characteristics, but also protect the 1H-TaS 2 layers from electronic degradation. The results reveal the characteristic 3 × 3 CDW order in 1H-TaS 2 sublayers associated with electronic rearrangement in the low-lying sulfur p band, which uncovers a previously undiscovered CDW mechanism rather than the conventional Fermi surface-related framework. Additionally, the (SnS) 1.15 TaS 2 superlattice exhibits a strongly enhanced Ising-like SC with a layer-independent T c of ≈3.0 K, comparable to that of the isolated monolayer 1H-TaS 2 sample, presumably attributed to their monolayer-like characteristics and retained Fermi states. These results provide new insights into the long-debated CDW order and enhanced SC of monolayer 1H-TaS 2 , establishing bulk vdW superlattices as promising platforms for investigating exotic collective quantum phases in the 2D limit.

2D superconductivity↗
DOE OSTI2026

NOvA in 10 Minutes

NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that utilizes the NuMI beamline at Fermilab. The experiment consists of two functionally identical, segmented liquid scintillator detectors. A 300-ton near detector sits at Fermilab, while a 14-kiloton far detector is located 810 km away in Ash River, Minnesota. Both are situated 14.6 mrad off the beam axis to peak the neutrino energy spectrum near the first oscillation maximum. NOvA measures muon neutrino disappearance and electron neutrino appearance in both neutrino and antineutrino beam modes, providing sensitivity to the neutrino mass ordering, the octant of the atmospheric mixing angle \theta_{23}, and the CP-violating phase \delta_{CP}. In this talk, I will give a concise overview of the NOvA experiment and its detectors, followed by highlights from recent oscillation analyses. I will also highlight notable cross-section measurements at the near detector. Finally, I will briefly introduce ongoing analyses beyond the standard three-flavor oscillation framework, including searches for sterile neutrinos and non-standard interactions, as well as exotic signatures such as magnetic monopoles, light dark matter, neutrino magnetic moments, and cosmic-ray muon studies.

Khanam, Aklima [Syracuse U. (main)] (ORCID:0009000↗
DOE OSTI2023

Emergence of the Chern Supermetal and Pair-Density Wave through Higher-Order Van Hove Singularities in the Haldane-Hubbard Model

While advances in electronic band theory have brought to light new topological systems, understanding the interplay of band topology and electronic interactions remains a frontier question. In this work, we predict new interacting electronic orders emerging near higher-order Van Hove singularities present in the Chern bands of the Haldane model. We classify the nature of such singularities and employ unbiased renormalization group methods that unveil a complex landscape of electronic orders, which include ferromagnetism, density waves, and superconductivity. Importantly, we show that repulsive interactions can stabilize the long-sought pair-density-wave state and an exotic Chern supermetal, which is a new class of non-Fermi liquid with anomalous quantum Hall response. Further, this framework opens a new path to explore unconventional electronic phases in two-dimensional chiral bands through the interplay of band topology and higher-order Van Hove singularities.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Visualizing the out-of-plane electronic dispersions in an intercalated transition metal dichalcogenide

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides have a rich phase diagram and they feature two-dimensionality in numerous physical properties. Co 1/3 NbS 2 is one of the newest members of this family where Co atoms are intercalated into the van der Waals gaps between NbS 2 layers. Here, we study the three-dimensional electronic band structure of Co 1/3 NbS 2 using both surface and bulk sensitive angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We show that the electronic bands do not fit into the rigid band shift picture after the Co intercalation. Instead, Co 1/3 NbS 2 displays a different orbital character near the Fermi level compared to the pristine NbS 2 compound and has a clear band dispersion in the k z direction despite its layered structure. Our photoemission study demonstrates the out-of-plane electronic correlations introduced by the Co intercalation, thus offering a different perspective on this compound. Finally, we propose how Fermi level tuning could lead to exotic phases such as spin density wave instability.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Spectroscopic fingerprints of gapless type-II fracton phases

Fracton phases feature elementary excitations with fractionalized mobility and are exciting interest from multiple areas of theoretical physics. However, the most exotic type-II fracton phases, like the Haah codes, currently have no known experimental diagnostics. Here, we explain how type-II fracton phases with gapless gauge modes, such as the U(1) Haah code, may be identified experimentally. Our analysis makes use of the multipole gauge theory description of type-II fracton phases, which exhibits ultraviolet-infrared (UV-IR) mixing. We show that neutron scattering experiments on gapless type-II fracton phases should generically exhibit exotic pinch points in the structure factor, with distinctive anisotropic contours as a direct consequence of UV-IR mixing. Furthermore, this characteristic pinch point structure provides a clean diagnostic of type-II fracton phases. We also identify distinctive signatures of the (3 + 1)-D U(1) Haah code in the low-temperature specific heat.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Topological order in Mott insulators

Here in this commemorative issue for Phil Anderson, I reproduce parts of a joint unpublished paper that first got me thinking about topological order in Mott insulators. With Phil, we explored aspects of the momentum distribution function and the non-classical rotational inertia in the Bose Hubbard model close to the quantum phase transition. My interest on this question continued, and later in the article I take up the question of topological order in the Kitaev Mott insulator on the honeycomb lattice with bond-dependent interactions in a finite magnetic field. Kitaev obtained the exact solution for zero field that demonstrated an exotic Z 2 quantum spin liquid phase with topological order. In a finite magnetic field, we discovered a new intermediate U(1) gapless quantum spin liquid phase, sandwiched between the known gapped Kitaev spin liquid and a polarized phase, that harbors fractionalized neutral fermionic excitations, dubbed spinons, that remarkably form a Fermi surface in a Mott insulator.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantum phases of Rydberg atoms on a kagome lattice

Significance Programmable quantum simulators based on Rydberg atom arrays have recently emerged as versatile platforms for exploring exotic many-body phases and quantum dynamics of strongly correlated systems. In this work, we theoretically investigate the quantum phases that can be realized by arranging such Rydberg atoms on a kagome lattice. Along with an extensive analysis of the states which break lattice symmetries due to classical correlations, we identify an intriguing regime that constitutes a promising candidate for hosting a phase with long-range quantum entanglement and topological order. Our results provide a route to experimentally realizing and probing highly entangled quantum matter.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Absence of spin susceptibility decrease in a bulk organic superconductor with triangular lattice

The study of non-s-wave unconventional superconductivities in strongly correlated electron systems has been a central issue in condensed matter physics for more than 30 years. In such unconventional superconductivities, d-wave Cooper pairing with antiparallel spins has been often observed in various quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) bulk systems. Interestingly, many theories predicted that the triangular lattice causes the d-wave pairing to be unstable and may lead to more exotic pairing such as parallel spin (spin-triplet) pairing. Here we focus on a bulk organic triangular-lattice system in which superconductivity emerges near a nonmagnetic Mott insulating phase. We demonstrate, by using low-power nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements, that the spin susceptibility of the superconducting state retains the normal state value even deep in the superconducting state. This result indicates the possibility that the material exhibits spin-triplet superconductivity. Our finding will bring insights also into understanding the 2D materials with triangular moiré superlattices that are considered also to show unconventional superconductivities near Mott-like insulating states.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electric control of a canted-antiferromagnetic Chern insulator

Abstract The interplay between band topology and magnetism can give rise to exotic states of matter. For example, magnetically doped topological insulators can realize a Chern insulator that exhibits quantized Hall resistance at zero magnetic field. While prior works have focused on ferromagnetic systems, little is known about band topology and its manipulation in antiferromagnets. Here, we report that MnBi 2 Te 4 is a rare platform for realizing a canted-antiferromagnetic (cAFM) Chern insulator with electrical control. We show that the Chern insulator state with Chern number C = 1 appears as the AFM to canted-AFM phase transition happens. The Chern insulator state is further confirmed by observing the unusual transition of the C = 1 state in the cAFM phase to the C = 2 orbital quantum Hall states in the magnetic field induced ferromagnetic phase. Near the cAFM-AFM phase boundary, we show that the dissipationless chiral edge transport can be toggled on and off by applying an electric field alone. We attribute this switching effect to the electrical field tuning of the exchange gap alignment between the top and bottom surfaces. Our work paves the way for future studies on topological cAFM spintronics and facilitates the development of proof-of-concept Chern insulator devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Discovery of a Stripe Phase in an Elemental Solid

Translational symmetry breaking is foundational to condensed matter physics because it is associated with crystal formation. At much lower energy scales, the breaking of crystalline translational symmetry can be driven by electronic, rather than ionic, degrees of freedom and may give rise to stripe order, a unidirectional ordered state. Such symmetry breaking has been seen in two-dimensional and strongly correlated systems. Here, for the first time, we report the observation of stripe order in an elemental solid, tellurium. Through topographic and spectroscopic imaging, we discover a commensurate 4 × 1 stripe phase. Surprisingly, this exotic order is so robust that it survives close to room temperature. Notably, our diffraction experiments confirm the bulk nature of the stripe order, showing the minuteness of potential lattice distortion associated with the order. In conclusion, our discovery of the stripe order in tellurium opens new windows to understanding the spontaneous symmetry breaking in elemental solids.

charge order↗
DOE OSTI2023

Exotic Kondo Phases: the non-Kramers Doniach phase diagram

This is the final report for the early career award “Exotic Kondo Phases: the non-Kramers Doniach phase diagram”. This project searched for exotic novel phases in heavy fermion materials and explored the possible phases of the two-channel Kondo model. Significant results include an enhanced understanding of the channel-symmetry breaking heavy Fermi liquid and its spinorial nature; a novel platform for realizing Majorana defects in topological defects in two-channel Kondo insulators; and a new non-equilibrium way to realize multi-channel Kondo models.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Large oscillatory thermal hall effect in kagome metals

The thermal Hall effect recently provided intriguing probes to the ground state of exotic quantum matters. These observations of transverse thermal Hall signals lead to the debate on the fermionic versus bosonic origins of these phenomena. The recent report of quantum oscillations (QOs) in Kitaev spin liquid points to a possible resolution. The Landau level quantization would most likely capture only the fermionic thermal transport effect. However, the QOs in the thermal Hall effect are generally hard to detect. In this work, we report the observation of a large oscillatory thermal Hall effect of correlated Kagome metals. We detect a 180-degree phase change of the oscillation and demonstrate the phase flip as an essential feature for QOs in the thermal transport properties. More importantly, the QOs in the thermal Hall channel are more profound than those in the electrical Hall channel, which strongly violates the Wiedemann–Franz (WF) law for QOs. This result presents the oscillatory thermal Hall effect as a powerful probe to the correlated quantum materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Two-dimensional quantum universality in the spin-1/2 triangular-lattice quantum antiferromagnet Na 2 BaCo(PO 4 ) 2

An interplay of geometrical frustration and strong quantum fluctuations in a spin-1/2 triangular-lattice antiferromagnet (TAF) can lead to exotic quantum states. Here, we report the neutron-scattering, magnetization, specific heat, and magnetocaloric studies of the recently discovered spin-1/2 TAF Na 2 BaCo(PO 4 ) 2 , which can be described by a spin-1/2 easy axis XXZ model. The zero-field neutron diffraction experiment reveals an incommensurate antiferromagnetic ground state with a significantly reduced ordered moment of about 0.54(2) μ B /Co. Different magnetic phase diagrams with magnetic fields in the a b plane and along the easy c -axis were extracted based on the magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and elastic neutron-scattering results. In addition, two-dimensional (2D) spin dispersion in the triangular plane was observed in the high-field polarized state, and microscopic exchange parameters of the spin Hamiltonian have been determined through the linear spin wave theory. Consistently, quantum critical behaviors with the universality class of d = 2 and ν z = 1 were established in the vicinity of the saturation field, where a Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) of diluted magnons occurs. The newly discovered quantum criticality and fractional magnetization phase in this ideal spin-1/2 TAF present exciting opportunities for exploring exotic quantum phenomena.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Prediction of exotic magnetic states in the alkali-metal quasi-one-dimensional iron selenide compound Na 2 FeSe 2

The magnetic and electronic phase diagram of a model for the quasi-one-dimensional alkali-metal iron selenide compound Na 2 FeSe 2 is presented. The novelty of this material is that the valence of iron is Fe 2+ , contrary to most other iron-chain compounds with valence Fe 3+ . Using first-principles techniques, we developed a three-orbital tight-binding model that reproduces the ab initio band structure near the Fermi level. Including Hubbard and Hund couplings and studying the model via the density-matrix renormalization group and Lanczos methods, we constructed the ground-state phase diagram. A robust region where the block state ↑↑↓↓↑↑↓↓ is stabilized was unveiled. The analog state in iron ladders, employing 2×2 ferromagnetic blocks, is by now well established, but in chains a block magnetic order has not been observed yet in real materials. The phase diagram also contains a large region of canonical staggered spin order ↑↓↑↓↑↓↑ at very large Hubbard repulsion. At the block-to-staggered transition region, an exotic phase is stabilized with a mixture of both states: an inhomogeneous orbital-selective charge density wave with the exotic spin configuration ↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↓. Our predictions for Na 2 FeSe 2 may guide crystal growers and neutron-scattering experimentalists towards the realization of block states in one-dimensional iron selenide chain materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of nuclear interaction cross sections towards neutron-skin thickness determination

The accuracy of reaction theories used to extract properties of exotic nuclei from scattering experiments is often unknown or not quantified, but of utmost importance when, e.g., constraining the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter from observables as the neutron-skin thickness. In order to test the Glauber multiple-scattering model, the total interaction cross section of 12 C on carbon targets was measured at initial beam energies of 400, 550, 650, 800, and 1000 MeV/nucleon. The measurements were performed during the first experiment of the newly constructed R 3 B (Reaction with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) experiment after the start of FAIR Phase-0 at the GSI/FAIR facility with beam energies of 400, 550, 650, 800, and 1000 MeV/nucleon. The combination of the large-acceptance dipole magnet GLAD and a newly designed and highly efficient Time-of-Flight detector enabled a precise transmission measurement with several target thicknesses for each initial beam energy with an experimental uncertainty of ±0.4%. A comparison with the Glauber model revealed a discrepancy of around 3.1% at higher beam energies, which will serve as a crucial baseline for the model-dependent uncertainty in future fragmentation experiments.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Valley-Coherent Quantum Anomalous Hall State in AB-Stacked MoTe 2 / W S e 2 Bilayers

Moiré materials provide fertile ground for the correlated and topological quantum phenomena. Among them, the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect, in which the Hall resistance is quantized even under zero magnetic field, is a direct manifestation of the intrinsic topological properties of a material and an appealing attribute for low-power electronics applications. The QAH effect has been observed in both graphene and transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) moiré materials. It is thought to arise from the interaction-driven valley polarization of the narrow moiré bands. Here, we show that the newly discovered QAH state in AB-stacked MoTe 2 / W S e 2 moiré bilayers is not valley polarized but valley coherent. The layer- and helicity-resolved optical spectroscopy measurement reveals that the QAH ground state possesses spontaneous spin (valley) polarization aligned (antialigned) in two TMD layers. In addition, saturation of the out-of-plane spin polarization in both layers occurs only under high magnetic fields, supporting a canted spin texture. Our results call for a new mechanism for the QAH effect and highlight the potential of TMD moiré materials with strong electronic correlations and spin-orbit interactions for exotic topological states. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

2-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2025

Emergence of Moiré Dirac Fermions at the Interface of Topological and 2D Magnetic Insulators

Dirac Fermions on the surface of the topological insulator are spin-momentum locked and topologically protected, making them interesting for spintronics and quantum computing applications. When in proximity to magnetism and superconductivity, these electronic states could result in quantum anomalous Hall effect and Majorana Fermions, respectively. An even more dramatic enrichment of the topological insulators’ physics is expected for moiré superlattices, where, analogously to the twisted graphene layers, electronic correlations could be strongly enhanced, a task previously notoriously difficult to achieve in topological matter. Until now, the experimental confirmation of such moiré properties has remained elusive. Here, we grow the two-dimensional van der Waals magnetic insulators FeX 2 (where X = Cl or Br) on top of the topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3 and establish a moiré superlattice formation at the interface. By means of scanning tunneling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we investigate the electronic properties of the formed moiré superlattice and demonstrate its tunability via the film choice. We reveal replicated Dirac cones and focus on their intersections, which, in the case of FeBr 2 /Bi 2 Se 3 , occur below the Fermi level. We identify the signatures of small gaps at the intersections around the M̅ i points that we attribute to the moiré interaction. These findings point to the specific type of magnetic moiré potential that breaks the time-reversal symmetry at these points but not at the $\barΓ$ point. Our observations provide an intriguing scenario of correlated topological phases induced by moiré superlattice that may result in topological superconductivity, high Chern number phases, and exotic noncollinear magnetic textures.

2D magnets↗