Recently, the layered transition metal dichalcogenide 1 T MoTe2 has attracted considerable attention due to its non-saturating magnetoresistance, type-II Weyl semimetal properties, superconductivity, and potential can...Recently, the layered transition metal dichalcogenide 1 T MoTe2 has attracted considerable attention due to its non-saturating magnetoresistance, type-II Weyl semimetal properties, superconductivity, and potential candidate for twodimensional（2 D） topological insulator in the single-and few-layer limit. Here in this work, we perform systematic transport measurements on thin flakes of MoTe2 prepared by mechanical exfoliation. We find that MoTe2 flakes are superconducting and have an onset superconducting transition temperature Tc up to 5.3 K, which significantly exceeds that of its bulk counterpart. The in-plane upper critical field(Hc2||) is much higher than the Pauli paramagnetic limit, implying that the MoTe2 flakes have Zeeman-protected Ising superconductivity. Furthermore, the Tc and Hc2|| can be tuned by up to 320 mK and 400 mT by applying a gate voltage. Our result indicates that MoTe2 flake is a good candidate for studying exotic superconductivity with nontrivial topological properties.展开更多
We report protonation in several compounds by an ionic-liquid-gating method, under optimized gating conditions.This leads to single superconducting phases for several compounds. Non-volatility of protons allows post-g...We report protonation in several compounds by an ionic-liquid-gating method, under optimized gating conditions.This leads to single superconducting phases for several compounds. Non-volatility of protons allows post-gating magnetization and transport measurements. The superconducting transition temperature Tc is enhanced to 43.5 K for FeSe0.93S0.07, and 41 K for Fe Se after protonation. Superconducting transitions with Tc^15 K for ZrNCl,~7.2 K for 1-TaS2, and ~3.8 K for Bi2Se3 are induced after protonation. Electric transport in protonated FeSe0.93S0.07 confirms high-temperature superconductivity. Our ^1H nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)measurements on protonated Fe Se1-xSx reveal enhanced spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/^1T1 with increasing x,which is consistent with the LDA calculations that H+ is located in the interstitial sites close to the anions.展开更多
In iron-based superconductors,the(0,π) or(π,0) nematicity,which describes an electronic anisotropy with a fourfold symmetry breaking,is well established and believed to be important for understanding the superconduc...In iron-based superconductors,the(0,π) or(π,0) nematicity,which describes an electronic anisotropy with a fourfold symmetry breaking,is well established and believed to be important for understanding the superconducting mechanism.However,how exactly such a nematic order observed in the normal state can be related to the superconducting pairing is still elusive.Here,by performing angular-dependent in-plane magnetoresistivity using ultra-thin flakes in the steep superconducting transition region,we unveil a nematic superconducting order along the(π,π) direction in electron-doped BaFe_(2-x)Ni_(x)As_(2) from under-doped to heavily overdoped regimes with x=0.065- 0.18.It shows superconducting gap maxima along the(π,π) direction rotated by 45° from the nematicity along(0, π) or(π,0) direction observed in the normal state.A similar(π,π)-type nematicity is also observed in the under-doped and optimally doped hole-type Ba1-yKyFe2 As_(2),with y=0.2-0.5.These results suggest that the(π,π) nematic superconducting order is a universal feature that needs to be taken into account in the superconducting pairing mechanism in iron-based superconductors.展开更多
We perform ^(23)Na nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and magnetization measurements on an S=1,quasi-2D honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet Na_(3)Ni_(2)BiO_(6).A large positive Curie-Weiss constant of 22.9 K is observed.Th...We perform ^(23)Na nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and magnetization measurements on an S=1,quasi-2D honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet Na_(3)Ni_(2)BiO_(6).A large positive Curie-Weiss constant of 22.9 K is observed.The NMR spectra at low fields are consistent with a zigzag magnetic order,indicating a large easy-axis anisotropy.With the field applied along the c*axis,the NMR spectra confirm the existence of a 1/3-magnetization plateau phase between 5.1 T and 7.1 T.The transition from the zigzag order to the 1/3-magnetization plateau phase is also found to be a first-order type.A monotonic decrease of the spin gap is revealed in the 1/3-magnetization plateau phase,which reaches zero at a quantum critical field H_(C)≈8.35 T before entering the fully polarized phase.These data suggest the existence of exchange frustration in the system along with strong ferromagnetic interactions,hosting the possibility for Kitaev physics.Besides,well below the ordered phase,the 1/T_(1) at high fields shows either a level off or an enhancement upon cooling below 3 K,which suggests the existence of low-energy fluctuations.展开更多
It is known that α-RuCl_(3) has been studied extensively because of its proximity to the Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid(QSL)phase and the possibility of approaching it by tuning the competing interactions.Here we present...It is known that α-RuCl_(3) has been studied extensively because of its proximity to the Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid(QSL)phase and the possibility of approaching it by tuning the competing interactions.Here we present the first polarized inelastic neutron scattering study on α-RuCl_(3) single crystals to explore the scattering continuum around the Γ point at the Brillouin zone center,which was hypothesized to be resulting from the Kitaev QSL state but without concrete evidence.With polarization analyses,we find that,while the spin-wave excitations around the Γ point vanish above the transition temperature T_(N),the pure magnetic continuous excitations around the Γ point are robust against temperature.Furthermore,by calculating the dynamical spin-spin correlation function using the cluster perturbation theory,we derive magnetic dispersion spectra based on the K-Γ model,which involves with a ferromagnetic Kitaev interaction of −7.2 meV and an off-diagonal interaction of 5.6 meV.We find this model can reproduce not only the spin-wave excitation spectra around the Γ point,but also the non-spin-wave continuous magnetic excitations around the Γ point.These results provide evidence for the existence of fractional excitations around the Γ point originating from the Kitaev QSL state,and further support the validity of the K-Γ model as the effective minimal spin model to describe α-RuCl_(3).展开更多
As one of the most promising Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid(QSL)candidates,α-RuCl_(3)has received a great deal of attention.However,its ground state exhibits a long-range zigzag magnetic order,which defies the QSL phase....As one of the most promising Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid(QSL)candidates,α-RuCl_(3)has received a great deal of attention.However,its ground state exhibits a long-range zigzag magnetic order,which defies the QSL phase.Nevertheless,the magnetic order is fragile and can be completely suppressed by applying an external magnetic field.Here,we explore the evolution of magnetic excitations ofα-RuCl;under an in-plane magnetic field,by carrying out inelastic neutron scattering measurements on high-quality single crystals.Under zero field,there exist spin-wave excitations near the M point and a continuum near theΓpoint,which are believed to be associated with the zigzag magnetic order and fractional excitations of the Kitaev QSL state,respectively.By increasing the magnetic field,the spin-wave excitations gradually give way to the continuous excitations.On the verge of the critical fieldμ_(0)H_(c)=7.5 T,the former ones vanish and only the latter ones are left,indicating the emergence of a pure QSL state.By further increasing the field strength,the excitations near theΓpoint become more intense.By following the gap evolution of the excitations near theΓpoint,we are able to establish a phase diagram composed of three interesting phases,including a gapped zigzag order phase at low fields,possibly gapless QSL phase nearμ;H;,and gapped partially polarized phase at high fields.These results demonstrate that an in-plane magnetic field can driveα-RuCl;into a long-sought QSL state near the critical field.展开更多
Quantum spin liquids（QSLs） represent a novel state of matter in which quantum fluctuations prevent the conventional magnetic order from being established, and the spins remain disordered even at zero temperature. Th...Quantum spin liquids（QSLs） represent a novel state of matter in which quantum fluctuations prevent the conventional magnetic order from being established, and the spins remain disordered even at zero temperature. There have been many theoretical developments proposing various QSL states. On the other hand, experimental movement was relatively slow largely due to limitations on the candidate materials and difficulties in the measurements. In recent years, the experimental progress has been accelerated. In this topical review, we give a brief summary of experiments on the QSL candidates under magnetic fields. We arrange our discussions by two categories： i） Geometrically-frustrated systems, including triangularlattice compounds YbMgGaO4 and YbZnGaO4, κ-（BEDT-TTF）2 Cu2（CN）3, and EtMe3 Sb[Pd（dmit）2]2, and the kagom′e system ZnCu3（OH）6 Cl2; ii） the Kitaev material α-RuCl3. Among these, we will pay special attention to α-RuCl3, which has been intensively studied by ours and other groups recently. We will present evidence that both supports and rejects the QSL ground state for these materials, based on which we give several perspectives to stimulate further research activities.展开更多
基金Project supported by the Guangdong Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program,China(Grant No.2016ZT06D348)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.11874193)the Shenzhen Fundamental Subject Research Program,China(Grant Nos.JCYJ20170817110751776 and JCYJ20170307105434022)
文摘Recently, the layered transition metal dichalcogenide 1 T MoTe2 has attracted considerable attention due to its non-saturating magnetoresistance, type-II Weyl semimetal properties, superconductivity, and potential candidate for twodimensional（2 D） topological insulator in the single-and few-layer limit. Here in this work, we perform systematic transport measurements on thin flakes of MoTe2 prepared by mechanical exfoliation. We find that MoTe2 flakes are superconducting and have an onset superconducting transition temperature Tc up to 5.3 K, which significantly exceeds that of its bulk counterpart. The in-plane upper critical field(Hc2||) is much higher than the Pauli paramagnetic limit, implying that the MoTe2 flakes have Zeeman-protected Ising superconductivity. Furthermore, the Tc and Hc2|| can be tuned by up to 320 mK and 400 mT by applying a gate voltage. Our result indicates that MoTe2 flake is a good candidate for studying exotic superconductivity with nontrivial topological properties.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 51872328,11622437,11574394,11774423 and 11822412the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences under Grant No XDB30000000+5 种基金the Ministry of Science and Technology of China under Grant No 2016YFA0300504the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universitiesthe Research Funds of Renmin University of China(RUC)(15XNLQ07,18XNLG14,19XNLG17)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 11774007 and U1832214supported by the Outstanding Innovative Talents Cultivation Funded Programs 2018 of Renmin University of Chinasupported by the U.S. Department of Energy,Office of Science,Basic Energy Sciences,Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering
文摘We report protonation in several compounds by an ionic-liquid-gating method, under optimized gating conditions.This leads to single superconducting phases for several compounds. Non-volatility of protons allows post-gating magnetization and transport measurements. The superconducting transition temperature Tc is enhanced to 43.5 K for FeSe0.93S0.07, and 41 K for Fe Se after protonation. Superconducting transitions with Tc^15 K for ZrNCl,~7.2 K for 1-TaS2, and ~3.8 K for Bi2Se3 are induced after protonation. Electric transport in protonated FeSe0.93S0.07 confirms high-temperature superconductivity. Our ^1H nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)measurements on protonated Fe Se1-xSx reveal enhanced spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/^1T1 with increasing x,which is consistent with the LDA calculations that H+ is located in the interstitial sites close to the anions.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.61771234,61727805,11674157,11674158,11774152,11822405,61521001,6157121961501222)+6 种基金the National Key Projects for Research and Development of China(Grant Nos.2016YFA0300401,2017YFB0503302,2017YFA03040022017YFB0503300)the start-up funding from ShanghaiTech University,Innovative Research Team in University(PCSIRT)the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipality(Grant No.20ZR1436100)the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(Grant No.YDZX20203100001438)Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Techniques for Manipulating Electromagnetic Waves,Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(Grant No.BK20180006)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.020414380117)。
文摘In iron-based superconductors,the(0,π) or(π,0) nematicity,which describes an electronic anisotropy with a fourfold symmetry breaking,is well established and believed to be important for understanding the superconducting mechanism.However,how exactly such a nematic order observed in the normal state can be related to the superconducting pairing is still elusive.Here,by performing angular-dependent in-plane magnetoresistivity using ultra-thin flakes in the steep superconducting transition region,we unveil a nematic superconducting order along the(π,π) direction in electron-doped BaFe_(2-x)Ni_(x)As_(2) from under-doped to heavily overdoped regimes with x=0.065- 0.18.It shows superconducting gap maxima along the(π,π) direction rotated by 45° from the nematicity along(0, π) or(π,0) direction observed in the normal state.A similar(π,π)-type nematicity is also observed in the under-doped and optimally doped hole-type Ba1-yKyFe2 As_(2),with y=0.2-0.5.These results suggest that the(π,π) nematic superconducting order is a universal feature that needs to be taken into account in the superconducting pairing mechanism in iron-based superconductors.
基金Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant Nos. 2023YFA1406500, 2022YFA1402700, and 2021YFA1400400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12134020, 12374156, 12104503,12061131004, 12225407, and 12074174)。
文摘We perform ^(23)Na nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and magnetization measurements on an S=1,quasi-2D honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet Na_(3)Ni_(2)BiO_(6).A large positive Curie-Weiss constant of 22.9 K is observed.The NMR spectra at low fields are consistent with a zigzag magnetic order,indicating a large easy-axis anisotropy.With the field applied along the c*axis,the NMR spectra confirm the existence of a 1/3-magnetization plateau phase between 5.1 T and 7.1 T.The transition from the zigzag order to the 1/3-magnetization plateau phase is also found to be a first-order type.A monotonic decrease of the spin gap is revealed in the 1/3-magnetization plateau phase,which reaches zero at a quantum critical field H_(C)≈8.35 T before entering the fully polarized phase.These data suggest the existence of exchange frustration in the system along with strong ferromagnetic interactions,hosting the possibility for Kitaev physics.Besides,well below the ordered phase,the 1/T_(1) at high fields shows either a level off or an enhancement upon cooling below 3 K,which suggests the existence of low-energy fluctuations.
基金supported by National Key Projects for Research and Development of China with Grant No. 2021YFA1400400the National Natural Science Foundation of China with Grants No. 12225407 and 12074174+2 种基金China Postdoctoral Science Foundation with Grants No. 2022M711569 and 2022T150315Jiangsu Province Excellent Postdoctoral Program with Grant No. 20220ZB5Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
基金supported by National Key Projects for Research and Development of China with Grant No. 2021YFA1400400the National Natural Science Foundation of China with Grants No. 12225407 and 12074174+2 种基金China Postdoctoral Science Foundation with Grants No. 2022M711569 and 2022T150315Jiangsu Province Excellent Postdoctoral Program with Grant No. 20220ZB5Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
基金supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2021YFA1400400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11822405,12074174,12074175,11774152,11904170,12004249,12004251,and 12004191)+3 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(Grant Nos.BK20180006,BK20190436 and BK20200738)the Shanghai Sailing Program(Grant Nos.20YF1430600 and21YF1429200)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.020414380183)the Office of International Cooperation and Exchanges of Nanjing University。
文摘It is known that α-RuCl_(3) has been studied extensively because of its proximity to the Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid(QSL)phase and the possibility of approaching it by tuning the competing interactions.Here we present the first polarized inelastic neutron scattering study on α-RuCl_(3) single crystals to explore the scattering continuum around the Γ point at the Brillouin zone center,which was hypothesized to be resulting from the Kitaev QSL state but without concrete evidence.With polarization analyses,we find that,while the spin-wave excitations around the Γ point vanish above the transition temperature T_(N),the pure magnetic continuous excitations around the Γ point are robust against temperature.Furthermore,by calculating the dynamical spin-spin correlation function using the cluster perturbation theory,we derive magnetic dispersion spectra based on the K-Γ model,which involves with a ferromagnetic Kitaev interaction of −7.2 meV and an off-diagonal interaction of 5.6 meV.We find this model can reproduce not only the spin-wave excitation spectra around the Γ point,but also the non-spin-wave continuous magnetic excitations around the Γ point.These results provide evidence for the existence of fractional excitations around the Γ point originating from the Kitaev QSL state,and further support the validity of the K-Γ model as the effective minimal spin model to describe α-RuCl_(3).
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2021YFA1400400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11822405,12074174,12074175,92165205,11904170,12004249,12004251,and 12004191)+1 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(Grant Nos.BK20180006,BK20190436,and BK20200738)the Shanghai Sailing Program(Grant Nos.20YF1430600 and 21YF1429200)。
文摘As one of the most promising Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid(QSL)candidates,α-RuCl_(3)has received a great deal of attention.However,its ground state exhibits a long-range zigzag magnetic order,which defies the QSL phase.Nevertheless,the magnetic order is fragile and can be completely suppressed by applying an external magnetic field.Here,we explore the evolution of magnetic excitations ofα-RuCl;under an in-plane magnetic field,by carrying out inelastic neutron scattering measurements on high-quality single crystals.Under zero field,there exist spin-wave excitations near the M point and a continuum near theΓpoint,which are believed to be associated with the zigzag magnetic order and fractional excitations of the Kitaev QSL state,respectively.By increasing the magnetic field,the spin-wave excitations gradually give way to the continuous excitations.On the verge of the critical fieldμ_(0)H_(c)=7.5 T,the former ones vanish and only the latter ones are left,indicating the emergence of a pure QSL state.By further increasing the field strength,the excitations near theΓpoint become more intense.By following the gap evolution of the excitations near theΓpoint,we are able to establish a phase diagram composed of three interesting phases,including a gapped zigzag order phase at low fields,possibly gapless QSL phase nearμ;H;,and gapped partially polarized phase at high fields.These results demonstrate that an in-plane magnetic field can driveα-RuCl;into a long-sought QSL state near the critical field.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11674157 and 11822405)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.020414380105)
文摘Quantum spin liquids（QSLs） represent a novel state of matter in which quantum fluctuations prevent the conventional magnetic order from being established, and the spins remain disordered even at zero temperature. There have been many theoretical developments proposing various QSL states. On the other hand, experimental movement was relatively slow largely due to limitations on the candidate materials and difficulties in the measurements. In recent years, the experimental progress has been accelerated. In this topical review, we give a brief summary of experiments on the QSL candidates under magnetic fields. We arrange our discussions by two categories： i） Geometrically-frustrated systems, including triangularlattice compounds YbMgGaO4 and YbZnGaO4, κ-（BEDT-TTF）2 Cu2（CN）3, and EtMe3 Sb[Pd（dmit）2]2, and the kagom′e system ZnCu3（OH）6 Cl2; ii） the Kitaev material α-RuCl3. Among these, we will pay special attention to α-RuCl3, which has been intensively studied by ours and other groups recently. We will present evidence that both supports and rejects the QSL ground state for these materials, based on which we give several perspectives to stimulate further research activities.
