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When spin-orbit-entangled $d$-electrons reside on a honeycomb lattice, rich quantum states are anticipated to emerge, as exemplified by the $d^5$ Kitaev materials. Distinct yet equally intriguing physics may be realized with a $d$-electron count other than $d^5$. We found that the layered ruthenate Ag$_3$LiRu$_2$O$_6$ with $d^4$ Ru$^{4+}$ ions at ambient pressure forms a honeycomb lattice of spin-orbit-entangled singlets, which is a playground for frustrated excitonic magnetism. Under pressure, the singlet state does not develop the expected excitonic magnetism but experiences two successive transitions to other nonmagnetic phases, first to an intermediate phase with moderate distortion of honeycomb lattice, and eventually to a high-pressure phase with very short Ru-Ru dimer bonds. While the strong dimerization in the high-pressure phase originates from a molecular orbital formation as in the sister compound Li$_2$RuO$_3$, the intermediate phase represents a spin-orbit-coupled $J$-dimer state which is stabilized by the admixture of upper-lying $J_{\rm eff} = 1$-derived states. We argue that the $J$-dimer state is induced by a pseudo-Jahn-Teller effect associated with the low-lying spin-orbital excited states and is unique to spin-orbit-entangled $d^4$ systems. The discovery of competing singlet phases demonstrates rich spin-orbital physics of $d^4$ honeycomb compounds and paves the way for realization of unconventional magnetism., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures

We report the first study of electrical resistivity, magnetization, and specific heat on YbCo$_2$. The measurements on a single-phased sample of YbCo$_2$ bring no evidence of magnetic ordering down to 0.3 K in a zero magnetic field. The manifestations of low Kondo temperature are observed. The specific heat value divided by temperature, C/T, keeps increasing logarithmically beyond 7 J/mol.K2 with decreasing temperature down to 0.3 K without no sign of magnetic ordering, suggesting a very large electronic specific heat. Analysis of the magnetic specific heat indicates that the large portion of the low-temperature specific heat is not explained simply by the low Kondo temperature but is due to the strong intersite magnetic correlation in both the 3d and 4f electrons. Temperature-dependent measurements under static magnetic fields up to 7 T are carried out, which show the evolution of field-induced transition above 2 T. The transition temperature increases with increasing field, pointing to a ferromagnetic character. The extrapolation of the transition temperature to zero field suggests that YbCo$_2$ is in the very proximity of the quantum critical point. These results indicate that in the unique case of YbCo$_2$, the itinerant electron magnetism of Co 3d-electrons and the Kondo effect within the vicinity of quantum criticality of Yb 4f-local moments can both play a role.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectromicroscopy on IrTe2 reveals evolution of mesoscopic striped domains across its first order phase transition at about 280 K. The striped texture of the domains is characterized by a herringbone arrangement of the electronic anisotropy axes. Under further cooling down to 47 K, the striped domains evolve into trijunction domains with the electronic anisotropy in three directions. Each domain harbors quasi one-dimensional surface bands forming Fermi arcs with peculiar spin polarization. The Fermi arc corresponds to an edge state of the two-dimensional bulk electronic states truncated at the surface, indicating an interesting interplay between the symmetry breaking and the surface electronic states., Comment: 11 pages + 5 figures

This paper considers a constrained discrete-time linear system subject to actuation attacks. The attacks are modelled as false data injections to the system, such that the total input (control input plus injection) satisfies hard input constraints. We establish a sufficient condition under which it is not possible to maintain the states of the system within a compact state constraint set for all possible realizations of the actuation attack. The developed condition is a simple function of the spectral radius of the system, the relative sizes of the input and state constraint sets, and the proportion of the input constraint set allowed to the attacker., Comment: Submitted to the 21st IFAC World Congress (IFAC 2020)

Negative thermal expansion is an unusual phenomenon appearing in only a handful of materials, but pursuit and mastery of the phenomenon holds great promise for applications across disciplines and industries. Here we report use of X-ray spectroscopy and diffraction to investigate the 4f-electronic properties in Y-doped SmS and employ the Kondo volume collapse model to interpret the results. Our measurements reveal an unparalleled decrease of the bulk Sm valence by over 20% at low temperatures in the mixed-valent golden phase, which we show is caused by a strong coupling between an emergent Kondo lattice state and a large isotropic volume change. The amplitude and temperature range of the negative thermal expansion appear strongly dependent on the Y concentration and the associated chemical disorder, providing control over the observed effect. This finding opens new avenues for the design of Kondo lattice materials with tunable, giant and isotropic negative thermal expansion.

Hyperhoneycomb iridate $\beta$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ is a three-dimensional analogue of two-dimensional honeycomb iridates, such as $\alpha$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$, which recently appeared as another playground for the physics of Kitaev-type spin liquid. $\beta$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ shows a non-collinear spiral ordering of spin-orbital-entangled $J_{\rm eff}$ = 1/2 moments at low temperature, which is known to be suppressed under a pressure of $\sim$2 GPa. With further increase of pressure, a structural transition is observed at $P_{\rm S}$ $\sim$ 4 GPa at room temperature. Using the neutron powder diffraction technique, the crystal structure in the high-pressure phase of $\beta$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ above $P_{\rm S}$ was refined, which indicates the formation of Ir$_2$ dimers on the zig-zag chains, with the Ir-Ir distance even shorter than that of metallic Ir. We argue that the strong dimerization stabilizes the bonding molecular orbital state comprising the two local $d_{zx}$-orbitals on the Ir-O$_2$-Ir bond plane, which conflicts with the equal superposition of $d_{xy}$-, $d_{yz}$- and $d_{zx}$- orbitals in the $J_{\rm eff}$ = 1/2 wave function produced by strong spin-orbit coupling. The results of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements and the electronic structure calculations are fully consistent with the collapse of the $J_{\rm eff}$ = 1/2 state. A subtle competition of various electronic phases is universal in honeycomb-based Kitaev materials.

The electronic-structural modulations of Ir$_{1-x}$Pt$_x$Te$_2$ (0 $\leqq x\leqq$ 0.12) have been examined by resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) techniques at both the Ir and Te edges. Charge-density-wave-like superstructure with wave vectors of $\mathbf{Q}$=(1/5 0 $-$1/5), (1/8 0 $-$1/8), and (1/6 0 $-$1/6) are observed on the same sample of IrTe$_2$ at the lowest temperature, the patterns of which are controlled by the cooling speeds. In contrast, superstructures around $\mathbf{Q}$=(1/5 0 $-$1/5) are observed for doped samples (0.02 $\leqq x\leqq$ 0.05). The superstructure reflections persist to higher Pt substitution than previously assumed, demonstrating that a charge density wave (CDW) can coexists with superconductivity. The analysis of the energy-dependent REXS and RIXS lineshape reveals the importance of the Te 5$p$ state rather than the Ir 5$d$ states in the formation of the spatial modulation of these systems. The phase diagram re-examined in this work suggests that the CDW incommensurability may correlate the emergence of superconducting states as-like Cu$_x$TiSe$_2$ and Li$_x$TaS$_2$., Comment: 10 pages ,9 figures

Recent observations indicate that >99% of the small bodies in the Solar System reside in its outer reaches --- in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. Kuiper Belt bodies are probably the best preserved representatives of the icy planetesimals that dominated the bulk of the solid mass in the early Solar System. They likely contain preserved materials inherited from the protosolar cloud, held in cryogenic storage since the formation of the Solar System. Despite their importance, they are relatively underrepresented in our extraterrestrial sample collections by many orders of magnitude ($\sim$10$^{13}$ by mass) as compared with the asteroids, represented by meteorites, which are composed of materials that have generally been strongly altered by thermal and aqueous processes. We have only begun to scratch the surface in understanding Kuiper Belt objects, but it is already clear that the very limited samples of them that we have in our laboratories hold the promise of dramatically expanding our understanding of the formation of the Solar System. Stardust returned the first samples from a known small solar-system body, the Jupiter-family comet 81P/Wild 2, and, in a separate collector, the first solid samples from the local interstellar medium. The first decade of Stardust research resulted in more than 142 peer-reviewed publications, including 15 papers in Science. Analyses of these amazing samples continue to yield unexpected discoveries and to raise new questions about the history of the early Solar System. We identify 9 high-priority scientific objectives for future Stardust analyses that address important unsolved problems in planetary science., Comment: In press at Meteoritics and Planetary Science

We have successfully synthesized single crystals of EuNi$_5$As$_3$ using a flux method and we present a comprehensive study of the physical properties using magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, electrical resistivity, thermoelectric power and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements. EuNi$_5$As$_3$ undergoes two close antiferromagnetic transitions at respective temperatures of $T_{N1}$ = 7.2 K and $T_{N2}$ = 6.4 K, which are associated with the Eu$^{2+}$ moments. Both transitions are suppressed upon applying a field and we map the temperature-field phase diagrams for fields applied parallel and perpendicular to the easy $a$ axis. XAS measurements reveal that the Eu is strongly divalent, with very little temperature dependence, indicating the localized Eu$^{2+}$ nature of EuNi$_5$As$_3$, with a lack of evidence for heavy fermion behavior., Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures

The aim of this work is to investigate contrasting spectral trends observed in carbonaceous chondrites by simulating space weathering effects on a subset of minerals found in these meteorites. We use pulsed laser irradiation to simulate micrometeorite impacts on aqueously altered minerals and observe their spectral and physical evolution as a function of irradiation time. Irradiation of the mineral lizardite, a Mg-phyllosilicate, produces little reddening and darkening, but a pronounced reduction in band depths. Irradiation of an Fe-rich aqueously altered mineral assemblage composed of cronstedtite, pyrite and siderite, produces significant darkening and band depth suppression. The spectral slopes of the Fe-rich assemblage initially redden then become bluer with increasing irradiation time. Analyses of the Fe-rich assemblage using scanning and transmission electron microscopy reveal the presence of micron sized carbon-rich particles that contain notable fractions of nitrogen and oxygen. Radiative transfer modeling of the Fe-rich assemblage suggests that npFe0 particles result in the initial spectral reddening of the samples, but the increasing production of micron sized carbon particles results in the subsequent spectral bluing. The presence of npFe0 and possibly cronstedtite likely promotes the synthesis of these organic-like compounds. These experiments indicate that space weathering processes may enable organic synthesis reactions on the surfaces of volatile-rich asteroids. Furthermore, Mg- and Fe-rich aqueously altered minerals are dominant at different phases of the alteration process. Thus, the contrasting spectral slope evolution between the Fe- and Mg-rich samples in these experiments may indicate that space weathering trends of volatile-rich asteroids have a compositional dependency that could be used to determine the aqueous histories of asteroid parent bodies., Comment: 27 Pages, 4 tables, 10 figures

We present bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) data of the Ce3d core levels and lifetime-reduced L edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in the partial fluorescence yield (PFY) mode of the CeMIn5 family with M = Co, Rh, and Ir. The HAXPES data are analyzed quantitatively with a combination of full multiplet and configuration interaction model which allows correcting for the strong plasmons in the CeMIn5 HAXPES data, and reliable weights wn of the different fn contributions in the ground state are determined. The CeMIn5 results are compared to HAXPES data of other heavy fermion compounds and a systematic decrease of the hybridization strength Veff from CePd3 to CeRh3B2 to CeRu2Si2 is observed, while it is smallest for the three CeMIn5 compounds. The f-occupation, however, increases in the same sequence and is close to one for the CeMIn5 family. The PFY-XAS data confirm an identical f-occupation in the three CeMIn5 compounds and a phenomenological fit to these PFY-XAS data combined with a configuration interaction model yields consistent results., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

We report measurements of the physical properties and electronic structure of the hexagonal compounds Yb2Ni12Pn7 (Pn = P, As) by measuring the electrical resistivity, magnetization, specific heat and partial fluorescence yield x-ray absorption spectroscopy (PFY-XAS). These demonstrate a crossover upon reducing the unit cell volume, from an intermediate valence state in Yb2Ni12As7 to a heavy-fermion paramagnetic state in Yb2Ni12P7, where the Yb is nearly trivalent. Application of pressure to Yb2Ni12P7 suppresses T_FL, the temperature below which Fermi liquid behavior is recovered, suggesting the presence of a quantum critical point (QCP) under pressure. However, while there is little change in the Yb valence of Yb2Ni12P7 up to 30 GPa, there is a strong increase for Yb2Ni12As7 under pressure, before a near constant value is reached. These results indicate that any magnetic QCP in this system is well separated from strong valence fluctuations. The pressure dependence of the valence and lattice parameters of Yb2Ni12As7 are compared and at 1 GPa, there is an anomaly in the unit cell volume as well as a change in the slope of the Yb valence, indicating a correlation between structural and electronic changes., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures

We report a photoemission and x-ray absorption study on Au1-xPtxTe2 (x = 0 and 0.35) triangular lattice in which superconductivity is induced by Pt substitution for Au. Au 4f and Te 3d core-level spectra of AuTe2 suggests a valence state of Au2+(Te2)2-, which is consistent with its distorted crystal structure with Te-Te dimers and compressed AuTe6 otahedra. On the other hand, valence-band photoemission spectra and pre-edge peaks of Te 3d absorption edge indicate that Au 5d bands are almost fully occupied and that Te 5p holes govern the transport properties and the lattice distortion. The two apparently conflicting pictures can be reconciled by strong Au 5d/Au 6s-Te 5p hybridization. Absence of a core-level energy shift with Pt substitution is inconsistent with the simple rigid band picture for hole doping. The Au 4f core-level spectrum gets slightly narrow with Pt substitution, indicating that the small Au 5d charge modulation in distorted AuTe2 is partially suppressed., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Physical Review B

The effects of lithium absorption on the crystal structure and electronic properties of IrSi3, a binary silicide with a noncentrosymmetric crystal structure, were studied. X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments revealed that hexagonal IrSi3 (space group P6_3mc) transforms into trigonal Li2IrSi3 (space group P31c) upon lithium absorption. The structure of Li2IrSi3 is found to consist of a planar kagome network of silicon atoms with Li and Ir spaced at unequal distances between the kagome layers, resulting in a polar structure along the c-axis. Li2IrSi3 exhibited type-II superconductivity with a transition temperature Tc of 3.8 K, displaying a structure type that no previous superconductors have been reported to have., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 table

A search for neutron-antineutron ($n-\bar{n}$) oscillation was undertaken in Super-Kamiokande using the 1489 live-day or $2.45 \times 10^{34}$ neutron-year exposure data. This process violates both baryon and baryon minus lepton numbers by an absolute value of two units and is predicted by a large class of hypothetical models where the seesaw mechanism is incorporated to explain the observed tiny neutrino masses and the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe. No evidence for $n-\bar{n}$ oscillation was found, the lower limit of the lifetime for neutrons bound in ${}^{16}$O, in an analysis that included all of the significant sources of experimental uncertainties, was determined to be $1.9 \times 10^{32}$~years at the 90\% confidence level. The corresponding lower limit for the oscillation time of free neutrons was calculated to be $2.7 \times 10^8$~s using a theoretical value of the nuclear suppression factor of $0.517 \times 10^{23}$~s$^{-1}$ and its uncertainty., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures

The rare decay K0(L) --> pi0 pi0 nu nu-bar was studied with the E391a detector at the KEK 12-GeV proton synchrotron. Based on 9.4 x 10^9 K0L decays, an upper limit of 8.1 x 10^{-7} was obtained for the branching fraction at 90% confidence level. We also set a limit on the K0(L) --> pi0 pi0 X (X --> invisible particles) process; the limit on the branching fraction varied from 7.0 x 10^{-7} to 4.0 x 10^{-5} for the mass of X ranging from 50 MeV/c^2 to 200 MeV/c^2., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

We have demonstrated that ferroelectric polarization in a spin-driven multiferroic CuFe1-xGaxO2 with x = 0.035 can be controlled by the application of uniaxial pressure. Our neutron diffraction and in-situ ferroelectric polarization measurements have revealed that the pressure dependence of the ferroelectric polarization is explained by repopulation of three types of magnetic domains originating from the trigonal symmetry of the crystal. We conclude that the spin-driven anisotropic lattice distortion and the fixed relationship between the directions of the magnetic modulation wave vector and the ferroelectric polarization are the keys to this spin-mediated piezoelectric effect., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We performed a search for the decay $K_L^0 \rightarrow 3\gamma$ with the E391a detector at KEK. In the data accumulated in 2005, no event was observed in the signal region. Based on the assumption of $K_L^0 \rightarrow 3\gamma$ proceeding via parity-violation, we obtained the single event sensitivity to be $(3.23\pm0.14)\times10^{-8}$, and set an upper limit on the branching ratio to be $7.4\times10^{-8}$ at the 90% confidence level. This is a factor of 3.2 improvement compared to the previous results. The results of $K_L^0 \rightarrow 3\gamma$ proceeding via parity-conservation were also presented in this paper.

We present a study of charge transfer in Na-intercalated FeOCl and polyaniline-intercalated FeOCl using high-resolution x-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy at the Fe-K edge. By comparing the experimental data with ab-initio simulations, we are able to unambiguously distinguish the spectral changes which appear due to intercalation into those of electronic origin and those of structural origin. For both systems, we find that about 25% of the Fe sites are reduced to Fe2+ via charge transfer between FeOCl and the intercalate. This is about twice as large as the Fe2+ fraction reported in studies using Mossbauer spectroscopy. This discrepancy is ascribed to the fact that the charge transfer occurs on the same time scale as the Mossbauer effect itself. Our result suggests that every intercalated atom or molecule is involved in the charge-transfer process, thus making this process a prerequisite for intercalation. The Fe2+ fraction is found to increase with pressure for polyaniline-FeOCl, hinting at an enhancement of the conductivity in the FeOCl intercalation compounds under pressure.

Using high resolution x-ray absorption spectroscopy and state-of-the-art electronic structure calculations we demonstrate that the pre-edge region at the Cu K-edge of high T$_c$ cuprates is composed of several excitationsinvisible in standard X-ray absorption spectra. We consider in detail the case of Ca$_{2-x}$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$ and show that the many pre-edge excitations (two for c-axis polarization, four for in-plane polarization and out-of-plane incident X-ray momentum) are dominated by off-site transitions and intersite hybridization. This demonstrates the relevance of approaches beyond the single-site model for the description of the pre-edges of correlated materials. Finally, we show the occurrence of a doubling of the main edge peak that is most visible when the polarization is along the c-axis. This doubling, that has not been seen in any previous absorption data in cuprates, is not reproduced by first principles calculations. We suggest that this peak is due to many-body charge-transfer excitations, while all the other visible far-edge structures are single particle in origin. Our work indicates that previous interpretations of the Cu K-edge X-ray absorption spectra in high T$_c$ cuprates can be profitably reconsidered., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, revised version, new XAS data available for Ca$_{2-x}$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$. To appear on Phys. Rev. B

The time-dependent variational approach to the pure Yang-Mills gauge theory, especially a color su(3) gauge theory, is formulated in the functional Schroedinger picture with a Gaussian wave functional approximation. The equations of motion for the quantum gauge fields are formulated in the Liouville-von Neumann form. This variational approach is applied in order to derive the transport coefficients, such as the shear viscosity, for the pure gluonic matter by using the linear response theory. As a result, the contribution to the shear viscosity from the quantum gluons is zero up to the lowest order of the coupling g in the quantum gluonic matter., Comment: 19 pages, no figures, using PTPTeX.cls