Search

We show magnetotransport results on Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ ($0.0 \leq x \leq 0.13$) single crystals. We identify the low temperature resistance step at 23 K in the parent compound with the onset of filamentary superconductivity (FLSC), which is suppressed by an applied magnetic field in a similar manner to the suppression of bulk superconductivity (SC) in doped samples. FLSC is found to persist across the phase diagram until the long range antiferromagnetic order is completely suppressed. A significant suppression of FLSC occurs for $0.02

This paper reports measurements of atmospheric neutrino and antineutrino interactions in the MINOS Far Detector, based on 2553 live-days (37.9 kton-years) of data. A total of 2072 candidate events are observed. These are separated into 905 contained-vertex muons and 466 neutrino-induced rock-muons, both produced by charged-current $\nu_{\mu}$ and $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ interactions, and 701 contained-vertex showers, composed mainly of charged-current $\nu_{e}$ and $\bar{\nu}_{e}$ interactions and neutral-current interactions. The curvature of muon tracks in the magnetic field of the MINOS Far Detector is used to select separate samples of $\nu_{\mu}$ and $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ events. The observed ratio of $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ to $\nu_{\mu}$ events is compared with the Monte Carlo simulation, giving a double ratio of $R^{data}_{\bar{\nu}/\nu}/R^{MC}_{\bar{\nu}/\nu} = 1.03 \pm 0.08 (stat.) \pm 0.08 (syst.)$. The $\nu_{\mu}$ and $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ data are separated into bins of $L/E$ resolution, based on the reconstructed energy and direction of each event, and a maximum likelihood fit to the observed $L/E$ distributions is used to determine the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters. This fit returns 90% confidence limits of $|\Delta m^{2}| = (1.9 \pm 0.4) \times 10^{-3} eV^{2}$ and $sin^{2} 2\theta > 0.86$. The fit is extended to incorporate separate $\nu_{\mu}$ and $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ oscillation parameters, returning 90% confidence limits of $|\Delta m^{2}|-|\Delta \bar{m}^{2}| = 0.6^{+2.4}_{-0.8} \times 10^{-3} eV^{2}$ on the difference between the squared-mass splittings for neutrinos and antineutrinos., Comment: 22 pages, 19 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D

The thermal conductivity of optimally doped NaFe$_{0.972}$Co$_{0.028}$As ($T_c \sim$ 20 K) and overdoped NaFe$_{0.925}$Co$_{0.075}$As ($T_c \sim$ 11 K) single crystals were measured down to 50 mK. No residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$ is found in zero magnetic field for both compounds, which is an evidence for nodeless superconducting gap. Applying field up to $H$ = 9 T ($\approx H_{c2}/4$) does not noticeably increase $\kappa_0/T$ in NaFe$_{1.972}$Co$_{0.028}$As, which is consistent with multiple isotropic gaps with similar magnitudes. The $\kappa_0/T$ of overdoped NaFe$_{1.925}$Co$_{0.075}$As shows a relatively faster field dependence, indicating the increase of the ratio between the magnitudes of different gaps, or the enhancement of gap anisotropy upon increasing doping., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Superconducting triangular Nb wire networks with high normal-state resistance are fabricated by using a negative tone hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) resist. Robust magnetoresistance oscillations are observed up to high magnetic fields and maintained at low temperatures, due to the eective reduction of wire dimensions. Well-defined dips appear at integral and rational values (1/2, 1/3, 1/4) of the reduced flux f = Phi/Phi_0, which is the first observation in the triangular wire networks. These results are well consistent with theoretical calculations for the reduced critical temperature as a function of f., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

We report limits on annual modulation of the low-energy event rate from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. Such a modulation could be produced by interactions from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) with masses ~10 GeV/c^2. We find no evidence for annual modulation in the event rate of veto-anticoincident single-detector interactions consistent with nuclear recoils, and constrain the magnitude of any modulation to <0.06 event [keVnr kg day]^-1 in the 5-11.9 keVnr energy range at the 99% confidence level. These results disfavor an explanation for the reported modulation in the 1.2-3.2 keVee energy range in CoGeNT in terms of nuclear recoils resulting from elastic scattering of WIMPs at >98% confidence. For events consistent with electron recoils, no significant modulation is observed for either single- or multiple-detector interactions in the 3.0-7.4 keVee range., Comment: 5 pages, plus 8 pages supplementary materials

Superconducting Nb thin films with rectangular arrays of submicron antidots have been systemically investigated by transport measurements. In low fields, the magnetoresistance curves demonstrate well-defined dips at integral and rational numbers of flux quanta per unit cell, which corresponds to a superconducting wire network-like regime. When the magnetic field is higher than a saturation field, interstitial vortices interrupt the collective oscillation in low fields and form vortex sublattice, where a larger magnetic field interval is observed. In higher fields, a crossover behavior from the interstitial sublattice state to a single-loop-like state is observed, characterized by oscillations with a period of $\Phi_0/\pi r_{eff}^2$, originating from the existence of edge superconducting states with a size $r_{eff}$ around the antidots., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

We report resistivity $\rho$ and thermal conductivity $\kappa$ measurements on Ca$_3$Ir$_4$Sn$_{13}$ single crystals, in which superconductivity with $T_c \approx 7$ K was claimed to coexist with ferromagnetic spin-fluctuations. Among three crystals, only one crystal shows a small hump in resistivity near 20 K, which was previously attributed to the ferromagnetic spin-fluctuations. Other two crystals show the $\rho \sim T^2$ Fermi-liquid behavior at low temperature. For both single crystals with and without the resistivity anomaly, the residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$ is negligible in zero magnetic field. In low fields, $\kappa_0(H)/T$ shows a slow field dependence. These results demonstrate that the superconducting gap of Ca$_3$Ir$_4$Sn$_{13}$ is nodeless, thus rule out nodal gap caused by ferromagnetic spin-fluctuations., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We report the observation of a pseudogap in the \emph{ab}-plane optical conductivity of underdoped Ba$_{1-x}$K$_{x}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ ($x = 0.2$ and 0.12) single crystals. Both samples show prominent gaps opened by a spin density wave (SDW) order and superconductivity at the transition temperatures $T_{\it SDW}$ and $T_c$, respectively. In addition, we observe an evident pseudogap below $T^{\ast} \sim$ 75 K, a temperature much lower than $T_{\it SDW}$ but much higher than $T_{c}$. A spectral weight analysis shows that the pseudogap is closely connected to the superconducting gap, indicating the possibility of its being a precursor of superconductivity. The doping dependence of the gaps is also supportive of such a scenario., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We report an improved measurement of muon anti-neutrino disappearance over a distance of 735km using the MINOS detectors and the Fermilab Main Injector neutrino beam in a muon anti-neutrino enhanced configuration. From a total exposure of 2.95e20 protons on target, of which 42% have not been previously analyzed, we make the most precise measurement of the anti-neutrino "atmospheric" delta-m squared = 2.62 +0.31/-0.28 (stat.) +/- 0.09 (syst.) and constrain the anti-neutrino atmospheric mixing angle >0.75 (90%CL). These values are in agreement with those measured for muon neutrinos, removing the tension reported previously., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. In submission to Phys.Rev.Lett

We have searched for sidereal variations in the rate of antineutrino interactions in the MINOS Near Detector. Using antineutrinos produced by the NuMI beam, we find no statistically significant sidereal modulation in the rate. When this result is placed in the context of the Standard Model Extension theory we are able to place upper limits on the coefficients defining the theory. These limits are used in combination with the results from an earlier analysis of MINOS neutrino data to further constrain the coefficients., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables

The search for oxide-based room-temperature ferromagnetism has been one of the holy grails in condensed matter physics. Room-temperature ferromagnetism observed in Nb-doped SrTiO3 single crystals is reported in this Rapid Communication. The ferromagnetism can be eliminated by air annealing (making the samples predominantly diamagnetic) and can be recovered by subsequent vacuum annealing. The temperature dependence of magnetic moment resembles the temperature dependence of carrier density, indicating that the magnetism is closely related to the free carriers. Our results suggest that the ferromagnetism is induced by oxygen vacancies. In addition, hysteretic magnetoresistance was observed for magnetic field parallel to current, indicating that the magnetic moments are in the plane of the samples. The x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, the static time-of-flight and the dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy and proton induced x-ray emission measurements were performed to examine magnetic impurities, showing that the observed ferromagnetism is unlikely due to any magnetic contaminant., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures

We present the ultra-low-temperature heat transport study of iron-based superconductors Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Ru$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ and BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$. For optimally doped Ba(Fe$_{0.64}$Ru$_{0.36}$)$_2$As$_2$, a large residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$ at zero field and a $\sqrt{H}$ dependence of $\kappa_0(H)/T$ are observed, which provide strong evidences for nodes in the superconducting gap. This result demonstrates that the isovalent Ru doping can also induce nodal superconductivity, as P does in BaFe$_2$(As$_{0.67}$P$_{0.33}$)$_2$. Furthermore, in underdoped Ba(Fe$_{0.77}$Ru$_{0.23}$)$_2$As$_2$ and heavily underdoped BaFe$_2$(As$_{0.82}$P$_{0.18}$)$_2$, $\kappa_0/T$ manifests similar nodal behavior, which shows the robustness of nodal superconductivity in the underdoped regime and puts constraint on theoretical models., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures - with two underdoped samples added, this paper supersedes arXiv:1106.5417

Abnormal magnetoresistance behavior is found in superconducting Nb films perforated with rectangular arrays of antidots (holes). Generally magnetoresistance were always found to increase with increasing magnetic field. Here we observed a reversal of this behavior for particular in low temperature or current density. This phenomenon is due to a strong 'caging effect' which interstitial vortices are strongly trapped among pinned multivortices., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

We determined the optical conductivity of Bi(2)Sr(2-x)La(x)CuO(6) at dopings covering the phase diagram from the underdoped to the overdoped regimes. The frequency dependent scattering rate shows a pseudogap extending into the overdoped regime. We found that the effective mass enhancement calculated from the optical conductivity is constant throughout the phase diagram. Conversely, the effective optical charge density varies almost linearly with doping. Our results suggest that the low frequency electrodynamics of Bi(2)Sr(2-x)La(x)CuO(6) is not strongly affected by the long range Mott transition., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We present transport measurement results on superconducting Nb films with diluted triangular arrays (honeycomb and kagom\'{e}) of holes. The patterned films have large disk-shaped interstitial regions even when the edge-to-edge separations between nearest neighboring holes are comparable to the coherence length. Changes in the field interval of two consecutive minima in the field dependent resistance $R(H)$ curves are observed. In the low field region, fine structures in the $R(H)$ and $T_c(H)$ curves are identified in both arrays. Comparison of experimental data with calculation results shows that these structures observed in honeycomb and kagom\'{e} hole arrays resemble those in wire networks with triangular and $T_3$ symmetries, respectively. Our findings suggest that even in these specified periodic hole arrays with very large interstitial regions, the low field fine structures are determined by the connectivity of the arrays

We report constraints on antineutrino oscillation parameters that were obtained by using the two MINOS detectors to measure the 7% muon antineutrino component of the NuMI neutrino beam. In the Far Detector, we select 130 events in the charged-current muon antineutrino sample, compared to a prediction of 136.4 +/- 11.7(stat) ^{+10.2}_{-8.9}(syst) events under the assumption |dm2bar|=2.32x10^-3 eV^2, snthetabar=1.0. Assuming no oscillations occur at the Near Detector baseline, a fit to the two-flavor oscillation approximation constrains |dm2bar|<3.37x10^-3 eV^2 at the 90% confidence level with snthetabar=1.0., Comment: Accepted for publication by Phys. Rev. D Rapid Communications. 6 pages, 4 figures

We report the results of a search for $\nu_{e}$ appearance in a $\nu_{\mu}$ beam in the MINOS long-baseline neutrino experiment. With an improved analysis and an increased exposure of $8.2\times10^{20}$ protons on the NuMI target at Fermilab, we find that $2\sin^2(\theta_{23})\sin^2(2\theta_{13})<0.12\ (0.20)$ at 90% confidence level for $\delta\mathord{=}0$ and the normal (inverted) neutrino mass hierarchy, with a best fit of $2\sin^2(\theta_{23})\sin^2(2\theta_{13})\,\mathord{=}\,0.041^{+0.047}_{-0.031}\ (0.079^{+0.071}_{-0.053})$. The $\theta_{13}\mathord{=}0$ hypothesis is disfavored by the MINOS data at the 89% confidence level., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We present the ultra-low-temperature heat transport study of an iron-based superconductor Ba(Fe$_{0.64}$Ru$_{0.36}$)$_2$As$_2$ ($T_c$ = 20.2 K), in which the superconductivity is induced by isovalent Ru substitution. In zero field we find a large residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$, more than 40% of the normal-state value. At low field, the $\kappa_0/T$ shows an $H^{1/2}$ dependence. These provide strong evidences for nodes in the superconducting gap of Ba(Fe$_{0.64}$Ru$_{0.36}$)$_2$As$_2$, which mimics that in another isovalently substituted superconductor BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$. Our results show that the isovalent Ru substitution can also induce nodal superconductivity in BaFe$_2$As$_2$, as P does, and they may have the same origin. We further compare them with other two nodal superconductors LaFePO and LiFeP., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We measured the in-plane optical conductivity of a nearly optimally doped (Ba,K)Fe2As2 single crystal with Tc = 39.1 K. Upon entering the superconducting state the optical conductivity below ~20 meV vanishes, strongly suggesting a fully gapped system. A BCS-like fit requires two different isotropic gaps to describe the optical response of this material. The temperature dependence of the gaps and the penetration depth suggest a strong interband coupling, but no impurity scattering induced pair breaking is present. This contrasts to the large residual conductivity observed in optimally doped Ba(Fe,Co)2As2 and strongly supports an s(+/-) gap symmetry for these compounds., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures -- Version and title updated to match published version

The CDMS and EDELWEISS collaborations have combined the results of their direct searches for dark matter using cryogenic germanium detectors. The total data set represents 614 kg.d equivalent exposure. A straightforward method of combination was chosen for its simplicity before data were exchanged between experiments. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross-section. For a WIMP mass of 90 GeV/c^2, where this analysis is most sensitive, a cross-section of 3.3 x 10^{-44} cm^2 is excluded at 90% CL. At higher WIMP masses, the combination improves the individual limits, by a factor 1.6 above 700 GeV/c^2. Alternative methods of combining the data provide stronger constraints for some ranges of WIMP masses and weaker constraints for others., Comment: Events, efficiencies, and main limit are available in text format (see README.txt)

Results are reported from a search for active to sterile neutrino oscillations in the MINOS long-baseline experiment, based on the observation of neutral-current neutrino interactions, from an exposure to the NuMI neutrino beam of $7.07\times10^{20}$ protons on target. A total of 802 neutral-current event candidates is observed in the Far Detector, compared to an expected number of $754\pm28\rm{(stat.)}\pm{37}\rm{(syst.)}$ for oscillations among three active flavors. The fraction $f_s$ of disappearing \numu that may transition to $\nu_s$ is found to be less than 22% at the 90% C.L., Comment: 5 pages, 3 tables, 2 figures. Published in Physical Review Letters

This letter reports the first direct observation of muon antineutrino disappearance. The MINOS experiment has taken data with an accelerator beam optimized for muon antineutrino production, accumulating an exposure of $1.71\times 10^{20}$ protons on target. In the Far Detector, 97 charged current muon antineutrino events are observed. The no-oscillation hypothesis predicts 156 events and is excluded at $6.3\sigma$. The best fit to oscillation yields $\Delta \bar{m}^{2}=(3.36^{+0.46}_{-0.40}\textrm{(stat.)}\pm0.06\textrm{(syst.)})\times 10^{-3}\,\eV^{2}$, $\sin^{2}(2\bar{\theta})=0.86^{+0.11}_{-0.12}\textrm{(stat.)}\pm0.01\textrm{(syst.)}$. The MINOS muon neutrino and muon antineutrino measurements are consistent at the 2.0% confidence level, assuming identical underlying oscillation parameters., Comment: Six pages, four figures. This version published by Physical Review Letters

Measurements of neutrino oscillations using the disappearance of muon neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beam as observed by the two MINOS detectors are reported. New analysis methods have been applied to an enlarged data sample from an exposure of $7.25 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target. A fit to neutrino oscillations yields values of $|\Delta m^2| = (2.32^{+0.12}_{-0.08})\times10^{-3}$\,eV$^2$ for the atmospheric mass splitting and $\rm \sin^2\!(2\theta) > 0.90$ (90%\,C.L.) for the mixing angle. Pure neutrino decay and quantum decoherence hypotheses are excluded at 7 and 9 standard deviations, respectively., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Quantum phase transitions occur at zero temperature upon variation of some nonthermal control parameters. The Ising chain in a transverse field is probably the most-studied model undergoing such a transition, from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic state1,2. This model can be exactly solved by using a Jordan-Wigner transformation, which transforms the spins into noninteracting spinless fermions1. At the quantum critical point, the magnetic excitations can carry arbitrarily low energy and dominate the low temperature properties. Here we report the unveiling of such quantum critical point in quasi-one-dimensional Ising ferromagnet CoNb2O6 by ultra-low-temperature thermal conductivity measurements. We find that in the paramagnetic state, phonons are scattered by the magnetic excitations above certain temperature Ts, which corresponds to a gap. As predicted by the theoretical model1, this gap linearly goes to zero with decreasing the transverse field, thus determining the quantum critical point of the Ising chain., Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures

Results are presented from a reanalysis of the entire five-tower data set acquired with the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, with an exposure of 969 kg-days. The analysis window was extended to a recoil energy of 150 keV, and an improved surface-event background-rejection cut was defined to increase the sensitivity of the experiment to the inelastic dark matter (iDM) model. Three dark matter candidates were found between 25 keV and 150 keV. The probability to observe three or more background events in this energy range is 11%. Because of the occurrence of these events the constraints on the iDM parameter space are slightly less stringent than those from our previous analysis, which used an energy window of 10-100 keV., Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, minor changes to match published version, conclusion unchanged

We report results from a reanalysis of data from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. Data taken between October 2006 and September 2008 using eight germanium detectors are reanalyzed with a lowered, 2 keV recoil-energy threshold, to give increased sensitivity to interactions from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) with masses below ~10 GeV/c^2. This analysis provides stronger constraints than previous CDMS II results for WIMP masses below 9 GeV/c^2 and excludes parameter space associated with possible low-mass WIMP signals from the DAMA/LIBRA and CoGeNT experiments., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures. Supplemental material included as ancillary files. v3) Added appendix with additional details regarding energy scale and backgrounds

Data taken during the final shallow-site run of the first tower of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) detectors have been reanalyzed with improved sensitivity to small energy depositions. Four ~224 g germanium and two ~105 g silicon detectors were operated at the Stanford Underground Facility (SUF) between December 2001 and June 2002, yielding 118 live days of raw exposure. Three of the germanium and both silicon detectors were analyzed with a new low-threshold technique, making it possible to lower the germanium and silicon analysis thresholds down to the actual trigger thresholds of ~1 keV and ~2 keV, respectively. Limits on the spin-independent cross section for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) to elastically scatter from nuclei based on these data exclude interesting parameter space for WIMPs with masses below 9 GeV/c^2. Under standard halo assumptions, these data partially exclude parameter space favored by interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA and CoGeNT experiments' data as WIMP signals, and exclude new parameter space for WIMP masses between 3 GeV/c^2 and 4 GeV/c^2., Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables

Similar to silicon that is the basis of conventional electronics, strontium titanate (SrTiO3) is the bedrock of the emerging field of oxide electronics. SrTiO3 is the preferred template to create exotic two-dimensional (2D) phases of electron matter at oxide interfaces, exhibiting metal-insulator transitions, superconductivity, or large negative magnetoresistance. However, the physical nature of the electronic structure underlying these 2D electron gases (2DEGs) remains elusive, although its determination is crucial to understand their remarkable properties. Here we show, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), that there is a highly metallic universal 2DEG at the vacuum-cleaved surface of SrTiO3, independent of bulk carrier densities over more than seven decades, including the undoped insulating material. This 2DEG is confined within a region of ~5 unit cells with a sheet carrier density of ~0.35 electrons per a^2 (a is the cubic lattice parameter). We unveil a remarkable electronic structure consisting on multiple subbands of heavy and light electrons. The similarity of this 2DEG with those reported in SrTiO3-based heterostructures and field-effect transistors suggests that different forms of electron confinement at the surface of SrTiO3 lead to essentially the same 2DEG. Our discovery provides a model system for the study of the electronic structure of 2DEGs in SrTiO3-based devices, and a novel route to generate 2DEGs at surfaces of transition-metal oxides., Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures

The interplay between magnetism and superconductivity has been a central issue in unconventional superconductors. While the dynamic magnetism could be the source of electron pairing, the static magnetism is generally believed to compete with superconductivity. In this sense, the observation of Q phase, the coupled spin-density wave order and superconductivity, in the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 is very puzzling. Whether this Q phase origins from the novel Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state is under hot debate. Here we report the resistivity and thermal conductivity study of a newly discovered heavy-fermion superconductor Ce2PdIn8 down to 50 mK. We find an unusual field-induced quantum critical point at the upper critical field Hc2 and unconventional nodal superconductivity in Ce2PdIn8. The jump of thermal conductivity k(H)/T near Hc2 suggests a first-order-like phase transition at low temperatures. These results mimic the features of the Q phase in CeCoIn5, implying that Ce2PdIn8 is another promising compound to investigate the exotic Q phase and FFLO state. The comparison between CeCoIn5 and Ce2PdIn8 may help to clarify the origin of the Q phase., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures

Reply to comment by T. Terashima et al. on "Quantum criticality and nodal superconductivity in the FeAs-based superconductor KFe$_2$As$_2$", Comment: 1 page, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett

The in-plane resistivity $\rho$ and thermal conductivity $\kappa$ of FeAs-based superconductor KFe$_2$As$_2$ single crystal were measured down to 50 mK. We observe non-Fermi-liquid behavior $\rho(T) \sim T^{1.5}$ at $H_{c_2}$ = 5 T, and the development of a Fermi liquid state with $\rho(T) \sim T^2$ when further increasing field. This suggests a field-induced quantum critical point, occurring at the superconducting upper critical field $H_{c_2}$. In zero field there is a large residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$, and the field dependence of $\kappa_0/T$ mimics that in d-wave cuprate superconductors. This indicates that the superconducting gaps in KFe$_2$As$_2$ have nodes, likely d-wave symmetry. Such a nodal superconductivity is attributed to the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations near the quantum critical point., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures - replaces arXiv:0909.4855

The in-plane resistivity $\rho$ and thermal conductivity $\kappa$ of extremely overdoped KFe$_2$As$_2$ ($T_c$ = 3.0 K) single crystal were studied. It is found that $\rho \sim T^{1.5}$ at low temperature, a typical non-Fermi liquid behavior of electrons scattered by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. In zero field, we observed a large residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$, about one third of the normal-state value. In low magnetic fields, $\kappa_0/T(H)$ increases very fast. Such a behavior of $\kappa_0/T$ mimics the d-wave cuprate superconductors, therefore provides clear evidence for nodes in the superconducting gap of KFe$_2$As$_2$. Based on the Fermi surface topology of KFe$_2$As$_2$, it is believed that the dominant intraband pairing via antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations results in the unconventional superconducting gap with nodes., Comment: This paper is replaced by arXiv:0910.2806, which includes a detailed study of the quantum criticality in KFe2As2. The paper arXiv:0910.2806 supersedes this paper

The in-plane thermal conductivity $\kappa$ of overdoped FeAs-based superconductor BaFe$_{1.73}$Co$_{0.27}$As$_2$ ($T_c$ = 8.1 K) single crystal was measured down to 80 mK. In zero field, the residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$ is negligible, suggesting a nodeless superconducting gap in the $ab$-plane. In magnetic field, $\kappa_0/T$ increases rapidly, very different from that of conventional s-wave superconductors. This anomalous $\kappa_0/T(H)$ may reveal an exotic superconducting gap structure in overdoped BaFe$_{1.73}$Co$_{0.27}$As$_2$: the vanishing hole ($\beta$) pocket has a much larger gap than the electron ($\gamma$ and $\delta$) pockets which contain most of the carriers. Such an exotic gap structure is an evidence for superconducting state induced by interband interactions, in which the band with the {\it smaller} density of states has a {\it larger} gap., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We report on the analysis of the low-energy electron-recoil spectrum from the CDMS II experiment using data with an exposure of 443.2 kg-days. The analysis provides details on the observed counting rate and possible background sources in the energy range of 2 - 8.5 keV. We find no significant excess in the counting rate above background, and compare this observation to the recent DAMA results. In the framework of a conversion of a dark matter particle into electromagnetic energy, our 90% confidence level upper limit of 0.246 events/kg/day at 3.15 keV is lower than the total rate above background observed by DAMA by 8.9$\sigma$. In absence of any specific particle physics model to provide the scaling in cross section between NaI and Ge, we assume a Z^2 scaling. With this assumption the observed rate in DAMA differs from the upper limit in CDMS by 6.8$\sigma$. Under the conservative assumption that the modulation amplitude is 6% of the total rate we obtain upper limits on the modulation amplitude a factor of ~2 less than observed by DAMA, constraining some possible interpretations of this modulation., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

The in-plane thermal conductivity $\kappa$ of the iron selenide superconductor FeSe$_x$ ($T_c$ = 8.8 K) were measured down to 120 mK and up to 14.5 T ($\simeq 3/4 H_{c2}$). In zero field, the residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$ at $ T \to 0$ is only about 16 $\mu$W K$^{-2}$ cm$^{-1}$, less than 4% of its normal state value. Such a small $\kappa_0/T$ does not support the existence of nodes in the superconducting gap. More importantly, the field dependence of $\kappa_0/T$ in FeSe$_x$ is very similar to that in NbSe$_2$, a typical multi-gap s-wave superconductor. We consider our data as strong evidence for multi-gap nodeless superconductivity in FeSe$_x$. This kind of superconducting gap structure may be generic for all Fe-based superconductors., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

The in-plane thermal conductivity $\kappa$ of electron-doped iron-arsenide superconductor BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_2$ ($T_c$ = 20.3 K) single crystal was measured down to 70 mK. In zero field, the absence of a residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$ at $ T \to 0$ is strong evidence for nodeless superconducting gap. In magnetic field, $\kappa_0/T$ shows a slow field dependence up to $H$ = 14.5 T ($\approx$ 30% $H_{c_2}$). This is consistent with the superconducting gap structure demonstrated by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments in BaFe$_{1.85}$Co$_{0.15}$As$_2$ ($T_c$ = 25.5 K), where isotropic superconducting gaps with similar size on hole and electron pockets were observed., Comment: In-field data re-measured with sample cooled in magnetic field from above Tc

Atomistic simulation has been a powerful study tool in mechanics research, but how to objectively compute the atomic stress equivalent to Cauchy stress is still controversial, especially on the velocity-related part in the virial stress definition. In this paper, by strictly following the classical definition of the Cauchy stress for continuum medium, the fundamental Lagrangian atomic stress is proposed and can be used to obtain the correct Cauchy stress under any circumstances. Furthermore, the Lagrangian virial stress is proposed, which is still in virial form but does not include velocities to avoid controversial velocity treatments. It is also found that the widely used classical virial stress is actually the Eulerian virial stress, which includes the velocities of atoms, and is valid only when the impulse-momentum theorem is applicable to estimate the internal forces. However this requirement for the Eulerian atomic stress can not always be met in practical cases, such as the material volume element in rotation and the examples presented in this paper, but the proposed Lagrangian atomic stress can avoid these velocity-related nonobjectivities.

For ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers, rotation of the easy axis has been \textit{for the first time} observed during measurements of training effect and the recovery of exchange bias using FeNi/FeMn system. These salient phenomena strongly suggest irreversible motion of antiferromagnet spins during subsequent measurements of hysteresis loops. It is found that the rotation of the easy axis can partly account for the training effect and the recovery of the exchange bias., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We report the first formation of the metallic $p$-$n$ junctions, the ferroelectric (Ba,Sr)TiO$_3$ (BST) switched optimally electron-doped ($n$-type) metallic T'-phase superconductor, (La,Ce)$_2$CuO$_4$ (LCCO), and hole-doped ($p$-type) metallic CMR manganite (La,Sr)MnO$_3$ (LSMO) junctions. In contrast with the previous semiconductor $p$-$n$ ($p$-$I$-$n$) junctions which are switched by the built-in field $V_0$, the present metallic oxides $p$-$I$-$n$ junctions are switched by double barrier fields, the built-in field $V_0$, and the ferroelectric reversed polarized field $V_{rp}$, both take together to lead the junctions to possess definite parameters, such as definite negligible reversed current ($10^{-9}$ A), large breakdown voltage ($>$7 V), and ultrahigh rectification ($>2\times10^4$) in the bias voltage 1.2 V to 2.0 V and temperature range from 5 to over 300 K. The related transport feature, barrier size effect, and temperature effect are also observed and defined., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Thin films of the optimally electron-doped $T'$-phase superconductor La$_{1.89}$Ce$_{0.11}$CuO$_{4\pm \d}$ are investigated by dilute Co doping, formed as La$_{1.89}$Ce$_{0.11}$(Cu$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)O$_{4\pm\d}$ (LCCCO) with $x$ = 0.01 -- 0.05. The following results are obtained for the first time: for the whole dilute Co doping range, LCCCO thin films show long-range ferromagnetic ordering at the temperature range from 5 K to 300 K, which is likely due to the RKKY interaction; in the very dilute Co doping, $x$ = 0.01 and 0.02, the superconductivity is maitained, the system shows the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in the CuO$_{2}$ plane. This may be based on the nature of the charge carriers in electron-doped high-$T_{c}$ cuprate superconductors., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review B

We have studied the evolution with temperature of the local as well as the average crystal structure of MgB$_2$ using the real-space atomic pair distribution function (PDF) measured by high resolution neutron powder diffraction. We have investigated the correlations of the B-B and B-Mg nearest neighbor pair motion by comparing, in the wide temperature range from T=10 K up to T=600 K, the mean-square displacements (MSD) of single atoms with the mean-square relative displacements (MSRD) obtained from the PDF peak linewidths. The results show that the single atom B and Mg vibrations are mostly decoupled from each other, with a small predominance of positive (in phase) correlation factor for both the B-B and B-Mg pairs. The small positive correlation is almost temperature independent, in contrast with our theoretical calculations; this can be a direct consequence of the strong decay processes of the $E_{2g}$ anharmonic phonons.

Near normal incident far-infrared reflectivity spectra of [111] dysprosium titanate (Dy2Ti2O4) single crystal have been measured at different temperatures. Seven phonon modes (eight at low temperature) are identified at frequency below 1000 cm-1. Optical conductivity spectra are obtained by fitting all the reflectivity spectra with the factorized form of the dielectric function. Both the Born effective charges and the static optical primitivity are found to increase with decreasing temperature. Moreover, phonon linewidth narrowering and phonon modes shift with decreasing temperature are also observed, which may result from enhanced charge localization. The redshift of several low frequency modes is attributed to the spin-phonon coupling. All observed optical properties can be explained within the framework of nearest neighbor ferromagnetic(FM) spin ice model.