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The neutron density distributions and neutron skin thicknesses in $^{40,48}$Ca are determined from the angular distributions of the cross sections and analyzing powers of polarized proton elastic scattering at $E_p = 295$ MeV. Based on the framework of the relativistic impulse approximation with the density-dependent effective $NN$ interaction, the experimental data is successfully analyzed, providing precise information of neutron and proton density profiles of $^{40,48}$Ca with small uncertainties. The extracted neutron and proton density distributions give neutron skin thicknesses in $^{40,48}$Ca for $-0.010^{+0.022}_{-0.024}$ fm and $0.168^{+0.025}_{-0.028}$ fm, respectively. The results of the density profiles and the neutron skin thickness in $^{48}$Ca are directly compared with the {\it ab initio} coupled-cluster calculations with interactions derived from chiral effective field theory, as well as relativistic and non-relativistic energy density functional theories., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

The quantum Hall effect (QHE) in two-dimensional (2D) electron gases, which is one of the most striking phenomena in condensed matter physics, involves the topologically protected dissipationless charge current flow along the edges of the sample. Integer or fractional electrical conductance are measured in units of $e^2/2\pi\hbar$, which is associated with edge currents of electrons or quasiparticles with fractional charges, respectively. Here we discover a novel type of quantization of the Hall effect in an insulating 2D quantum magnet. In $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ with dominant Kitaev interaction on 2D honeycomb lattice, the application of a parallel magnetic field destroys the long-range magnetic order, leading to a field-induced quantum spin liquid (QSL) ground state with massive entanglement of local spins. In the low-temperature regime of the QSL state, we report that the 2D thermal Hall conductance $\kappa_{xy}^{2D}$ reaches a quantum plateau as a function of applied magnetic field. $\kappa_{xy}^{2D}/T$ attains a quantization value of $(\pi/12)(k_B^2/\hbar)$, which is exactly half of $\kappa_{xy}^{2D}/T$ in the integer QHE. This half-integer thermal Hall conductance observed in a bulk material is a direct signature of topologically protected chiral edge currents of charge neutral Majorana fermions, particles that are their own antiparticles, which possess half degrees of freedom of conventional fermions. These signatures demonstrate the fractionalization of spins into itinerant Majorana fermions and $Z_2$ fluxes predicted in a Kitaev QSL. Above a critical magnetic field, the quantization disappears and $\kappa_{xy}^{2D}/T$ goes to zero rapidly, indicating a topological quantum phase transition between the states with and without chiral Majorana edge modes. Emergent Majorana fermions in a quantum magnet are expected to have a major impact on strongly correlated topological quantum matter., Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures. Submitted version

The Kitaev quantum spin liquid displays the fractionalization of quantum spins into Majorana fermions. The emergent Majorana edge current is predicted to manifest itself in the form of a finite thermal Hall effect, a feature commonly discussed in topological superconductors. Here we report on thermal Hall conductivity $\kappa_{xy}$ measurements in $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$, a candidate Kitaev magnet with the two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. In a spin-liquid (Kitaev paramagnetic) state below the temperature characterized by the Kitaev interaction $J_K/k_B \sim 80$ K, positive $\kappa_{xy}$ develops gradually upon cooling, demonstrating the presence of highly unusual itinerant excitations. Although the zero-temperature property is masked by the magnetic ordering at $T_N=7$ K, the sign, magnitude, and $T$-dependence of $\kappa_{xy}/T$ at intermediate temperatures follows the predicted trend of the itinerant Majorana excitations., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

The first elastic electron scattering has been successfully performed at the self-confining RI ion target (SCRIT) facility, the world's first electron scattering facility for exotic nuclei. The SCRIT technique achieved high luminosity (over 10$^{27}$~cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$, sufficient for determining the nuclear shape) with only 10$^8$ target ions. While $^{132}$Xe used in this time as a target is stable isotope, the charge density distribution was firstly extracted from the momentum transfer distributions of the scattered electrons by comparing the results with those calculated by a phase shift calculation., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

We have developed a position-sensitive Parallel Plate Avalanche Counter (PPAC), which has been used as a focal plane detector in the BigRIPS fragment separator and the subsequent RI-beam delivery lines at the RIKEN Nishina Center RI Beam Factory. The PPAC detector plays an important role not only in the tuning of the separator and delivery lines but also in the particle identification of rare isotope (RI) beams. The PPAC detector has a sensitive area of 240 mm x 150 mm, and the position information is obtained by a delay-line readout method. Being called double PPAC, it is composed of two full PPACs, each measuring the particle locus in two dimensions. High detection efficiency has been made possible by the twofold measurement using the double PPAC detector. The sensitivity uniformity is also found to be excellent. The root-mean-square position resolution is measured to be 0.25 mm using an alpha source, while the position linearity is as good as +/-0.1 mm for the detector size of 240 mm. Characteristics, operating principles, specifications, performance and issues of the PPAC detector are presented, including its signal transmission system using optical fiber cables.

We have developed a method for achieving excellent resolving power in in-flight particle identification of radioactive isotope (RI) beams at the BigRIPS fragment separator at the RIKEN Nishina Center RI Beam Factory (RIBF). In the BigRIPS separator, RI beams are identified by their atomic number Z and mass-to-charge ratio A/Q which are deduced from the measurements of time of flight (TOF), magnetic rigidity (Brho) and energy loss (delta-E), and delivered as tagged RI beams to a variety of experiments including secondary reaction measurements. High A/Q resolution is an essential requirement for this scheme, because the charge state Q of RI beams has to be identified at RIBF energies such as 200-300 MeV/nucleon. By precisely determining the Brho and TOF values, we have achieved relative A/Q resolution as good as 0.034% (root-mean-square value). The achieved A/Q resolution is high enough to clearly identify the charge state Q in the Z versus A/Q particle identification plot, where fully-stripped and hydrogen-like peaks are very closely located. The precise Brho determination is achieved by refined particle trajectory reconstruction, while a slew correction is performed to precisely determine the TOF value. Furthermore background events are thoroughly removed to improve reliability of the particle identification. In the present paper we present the details of the particle identification scheme in the BigRIPS separator. The isotope separation in the BigRIPS separator is also briefly introduced.

We have measured the production rates and production cross sections for a variety of radioactive isotopes which were produced from 124Xe, 48Ca, and 238U beams at an energy of 345 MeV/nucleon using the BigRIPS separator at the RIKEN Nishina Center RI Beam Factory (RIBF). Proton-rich isotopes with atomic numbers Z = 40 to 52 and neutron-rich isotopes with Z = 5 to 16 were produced by projectile fragmentation of the 124Xe and 48Ca beam on Be targets, respectively. Neutron-rich isotopes with Z = 20 to 59 were produced by in-flight fission of the 238U beam, in which both Be and Pb were used as production targets. The measured production rates and production cross sections were compared with those of the LISE++ calculations, and overall fairly good agreement has been obtained. Furthermore, in the measurements with the 124Xe beam, we have discovered four new isotopes on the proton-drip line, 85,86Ru and 81,82Mo, and obtained the clear evidence that 103Sb is particle unbound with an upper limit of 49 ns for the half-life. The measurements of projectile-fragment momentum distributions have been also performed with the 124Xe beam, in which the low-momentum tails of the distributions have been measured for the first time at the energy of 345 MeV/nucleon.

A complete set of analyzing powers for the dd->3Hp reaction at the kinetic beam energy of 200 MeV has been measured in the full angular range in the c.m. frame. The observed signs of the tensor analyzing powers Ayy, Axx, and Axz at forward and backward directions have clearly demonstrated the sensitivity to the ratio of the D- and S-wave components of the triton and deuteron, respectively. The new high-precision data are compared with the prediction of the relativistic multiple-scattering model by using standard wave functions of the three-nucleon bound state and of the deuteron.

The degree of freedom of spin in quantum systems serves as an unparalleled laboratory where intriguing quantum physical properties can be observed, and the ability to control spin is a powerful tool in physics research. We propose a novel method for controlling spin in a system of rare isotopes which takes advantage of the mechanism of the projectile fragmentation reaction combined with the momentum-dispersion matching technique. The present method was verified in an experiment at the RIKEN RI Beam Factory, in which a degree of alignment of 8% was achieved for the spin of a rare isotope Al-32. The figure of merit for the present method was found to be greater than that of the conventional method by a factor of more than 50., Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures

A search for isomeric gamma-decays among fission fragments from 345 MeV/nucleon 238U has been performed at the RIKEN Nishina Center RI Beam Factory. Fission fragments were selected and identified using the superconducting in-flight separator BigRIPS and were implanted in an aluminum stopper. Delayed gamma-rays were detected using three clover-type high-purity germanium detectors located at the focal plane within a time window of 20 microseconds following the implantation. We identified a total of 54 microsecond isomers with half-lives of ~0.1 - 10 microseconds, including discovery of 18 new isomers in very neutron-rich nuclei: 59Tim, 90Asm, 92Sem, 93Sem, 94Brm, 95Brm, 96Brm, 97Rbm, 108Nbm, 109Mom, 117Rum, 119Rum, 120Rhm, 122Rhm, 121Pdm, 124Pdm, 124Agm and 126Agm, and obtained a wealth of spectroscopic information such as half-lives, gamma-ray energies, gamma-ray relative intensities and gamma-gamma coincidences over a wide range of neutron-rich exotic nuclei. Proposed level schemes are presented for 59Tim, 82Gam, 92Brm, 94Brm, 95Brm, 97Rbm, 98Rbm, 108Nbm, 108Zrm, 109Mom, 117Rum, 119Rum, 120Rhm, 122Rhm, 121Pdm, 124Agm and 125Agm, based on the obtained spectroscopic information and the systematics in neighboring nuclei. Nature of the nuclear isomerism is discussed in relation to evolution of nuclear structure.

The structure of $^{19,20,22}$C has been investigated using high-energy (about 240 MeV/nucleon) one- and two-neutron removal reactions on a carbon target. Measurements were made of the inclusive cross sections and momentum distributions for the charged residues. Narrow momentum distributions were observed for one-neutron removal from $^{19}$C and $^{20}$C and two-neutron removal from $^{22}$C. Two-neutron removal from $^{20}$C resulted in a relatively broad momentum distribution. The results are compared with eikonal-model calculations combined with shell-model structure information. The neutron-removal cross sections and associated momentum distributions are calculated for transitions to both the particle-bound and particle-unbound final states. The calculations take into account the population of the mass $A-1$ reaction residues, $^{A-1}$C, and, following one-neutron emission after one-neutron removal, the mass $A-2$ two-neutron removal residues, $^{A-2}$C. The smaller contributions of direct two-neutron removal, that populate the $^{A-2}$C residues in a single step, are also computed. The data and calculations are shown to be in good overall agreement and consistent with the predicted shell-model ground state configurations and the one-neutron overlaps with low-lying states in $^{18-21}$C. These suggest significant $\nu{s}_{1/2}^2$ valence neutron configurations in both $^{20}$C and $^{22}$C. The results for $^{22}$C strongly support the picture of $^{22}$C as a two-neutron halo nucleus with a dominant $\nu{s}_{1/2}^2$ ground state configuration., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

We report on the first spectroscopic study of the N=22 nucleus 32Ne at the newly completed RIKEN Radioactive Ion Beam Factory. A single gamma-ray line with an energy of 722(9) keV was observed in both inelastic scattering of a 226 MeV/u 32Ne beam on a Carbon target and proton removal from 33Na at 245 MeV/u. This transition is assigned to the de-excitation of the first J^pi = 2+ state in 32Ne to the 0+ ground state. Interpreted through comparison with state-of-the-art shell model calculations, the low excitation energy demonstrates that the Island of Inversion extends to at least N=22 for the Ne isotopes., Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. 11 pages, 3 figures

The longitudinal momentum distribution (P_{//}) of fragments after one-proton removal from ^{23} Al and reaction cross sections (\sigma_R) for ^{23,24} Al on carbon target at 74A MeV have been measured. The ^{23,24} Al ions were produced through projectile fragmentation of 135 A MeV ^{28} Si primary beam using RIPS fragment separator at RIKEN. P_{//} is measured by a direct time-of-flight (TOF) technique, while \sigma_R is determined using a transmission method. An enhancement in \sigma_R is observed for ^{23} Al compared with ^{24} Al. The P_{//} for ^{22} Mg fragments from ^{23} Al breakup has been obtained for the first time. FWHM of the distributions has been determined to be 232 \pm 28 MeV/c. The experimental data are discussed by using Few-Body Glauber model. Analysis of P_{//} demonstrates a dominant d-wave configuration for the valence proton in ground state of ^{23} Al, indicating that ^{23} Al is not a proton halo nucleus.

The data on the tensor Ayy, Axx, Axz and vector Ay analyzing powers in the dd->3Hen obtained at Td= 270 MeV in the angular range 0 - 110 degrees in the c.m. are presented. The observed negative sign of the tensor analyzing powers Ayy, Axx and Axz at small angles clearly demonstrate the sensitivity to the ratio of the D and S wave component of the 3He wave function. However, the one-nucleon exchange calculations by using the standard 3He wave functions have failed to reproduce the strong variation of the tensor analyzing powers as a function of the angle in the c.m., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to EPJA

We have measured photoemission spectra of SrTiO3/LaTiO3 superlattices with a topmost SrTiO3 layer of variable thickness. Finite coherent spectral weight with a clear Fermi cut-off was observed at chemically abrupt SrTiO3/LaTiO3 interfaces, indicating that an ``electronic reconstruction'' occurs at the interface between the Mott insulator LaTiO3 and the band insulator SrTiO3. For SrTiO3/LaTiO3 interfaces annealed at high temperatures (~ 1000 C), which leads to Sr/La atomic interdiffusion and hence to the formation of La1-xSrxTiO3-like material, the intensity of the incoherent part was found to be dramatically reduced whereas the coherent part with a sharp Fermi cut-off is enhanced due to the spread of charge. These important experimental features are well reproduced by layer dynamical-mean-field-theory calculation.

We have investigated the interfacial electronic structure of La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 (LSMO)/ SrTiO3 (STO)/ LSMO heterojunctions utilizing the elemental selectivity of photoemission spectroscopy. The Ti 2p core-level spectra clearly show Ti4+ states and do not exhibit any indication of Ti3+ states in TiO2 layers irrespective of a different kind of adjacent atomic layer with different chemical carrier concentration. This result indicates that the Ti ions in the TiO2 atomic layers preserve their tetravalent states even in the vicinity of the valence-mismatched interface between LSMO and STO, reflecting chemical stability of the Ti4+ states., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures

Nb-doped SrTiO$_{3}$ epitaxial thin films have been prepared on (001) SrTiO$_{3}$ substrates using pulsed laser deposition. A high substrate temperature ($>1000^{\circ}{C}$) was found to be necessary to achieve 2-dimensional growth. Atomic force microscopy reveals atomically flat surfaces with 3.9 \AA $ $ steps. The films show a metallic behavior, residual resistivity ratios between 10 and 100, and low residual resistivity of the order of 10$^{-4}$$\Omega$cm. At 0.3 K, a sharp superconducting transition, reaching zero resistance, is observed., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

A novel laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) system for the fabrication of atomically controlled oxides superlattices and an x-ray diffractometer that measures spatially-resolved x-ray diffraction spectra have been developed based on the concept of combinatorial methodology. The LMBE chamber has two moving masks, an automated target stage, a substrate heating laser, and an in-situ scanning reflection high-energy electron diffraction system. The x-ray diffractometer with a curved monochromator and two-dimensional detector is used for rapid concurrent x-ray diffraction intensity mapping with the two axes of the detector corresponding to the diffraction angle and a position in the sample., Comment: 19pages, 9figures

We have performed an in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on single-crystal surfaces of La$_{0.6}$Sr$_{0.4}$MnO$_{3}$ (LSMO) thin films grown on SrTiO$_{3}$ (001) substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy, and investigated the electronic structure near the Fermi level ($E_{F}$). The experimental results were compared with the band-structure calculation based on LDA + $U$. The band structure of LSMO thin films consists of several highly dispersive O 2$p$ derived bands in the binding energy range of 2.0 - 6.0 eV and Mn 3$d$ derived bands near $E_{F}$. ARPES spectra around the $Gamma$ point show a dispersive band near $E_{F}$ indicative of an electron pocket centered at the $Gamma$ point, although it was not so clearly resolved as an electronlike pocket due to the suppression of spectral weight in the vicinity of $E_{F}$. Compared with the band-structure calculation, the observed conduction band is assigned to the Mn 3$de_{g}$ majority-spin band responsible for the half-metallic nature of LSMO. We have found that the estimated size of the Fermi surface is consistent with the prediction of the band-structure calculation, while the band width becomes significantly narrower than the calculation. Also, the intensity near $E_{F}$ is strongly reduced. The origin of these discrepancies between the experiment and the calculation is discussed., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

The data on the tensor analyzing power T20 in the dd->^3Hen and dd-> ^3Hp reactions at 140, 200 and 270 MeV of the deuteron kinetic energy and at zero degree obtained at RIKEN Accelerator Research Facility are presented. The observed positive sign of T20 clearly demonstrates the sensitivity to the D/S wave ratios in the ^3He and ^3H in the energy domain of the measurements. The T20 data for the ^3He-n and ^3H-p channels are in agreement within experimental accuracy., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, submitted in Phys.Lett.B

The deuteron to proton polarization transfer coefficients for the $d$--$p$ elastic scattering were precisely measured with an incoming deuteron energy of 135 MeV/u at the RIKEN Accelerator Research Facility. The data are compared to theoretical predictions based on exact solutions of three-nucleon Faddeev equations with high--precision nucleon--nucleon forces combined with different three-nucleon forces (3NFs), representing the current, most popular models: the $2\pi$-exchange Tucson-Melbourne model, a modification thereof closer to chiral symmetry TM'(99), and the Urbana IX 3NF. Theory predicts large 3NF effects, especially in the angular range around the cross section minimum, but the present data only partially concurs, predominantly for $K_{xx}^{y'}-K_{yy}^{y'}$ ($K_{xx}^{y'}$, $K_{yy}^{y'}$). For the induced polarization, $P^{y'}$, the TM$'$(99) and Urbana IX 3NFs reproduce the data, but the Tucson-Melbourne 3NF fails to describe the data. For the polarization transfer coefficients, $K_{y}^{y'}$ and $K_{xz}^{y'}$, the predicted 3NF ffects are in drastic conflict to the data. These facts clearly reveal the defects of the 3NF models currently used., Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, Submitted to Physical Review C

The electric quadrupole transition from the first 2+ state to the ground 0+ state in 16C is studied through measurement of the lifetime by a recoil shadow method applied to inelastically scattered radioactive 16C nuclei. The measured lifetime is 75 +- 23 ps, corresponding to a B(E2;2_1+ -> 0^+) value of 0.63 +- 0.19 e2fm4, or 0.26 +- 0.08 Weisskopf units. The transition strength is found to be anomalously small compared to the empirically predicted value., Comment: 4pages, 4figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters

We have measured the cross sections and analyzing powers Ay and Ayy for the elastic and inelastic scattering of deuterons from the 0+(g.s.), 2+(4.44 MeV), 3-(9.64 MeV), 1+(12.71 MeV), and 2-(18.3 MeV) states in 12C at an incident energy of 270 MeV. The data are compared with microscopic distorted-wave impulse approximation calculations where the projectile-nucleon effective interactionis taken from the three-nucleon t-matrix given by rigorous Faddeev calculations presently available at intermediate energies. The agreement between theory and data compares well with that for the (p,p') reactions at comparable incident energies/nucleon., Comment: 17 pages, 3 Postscript figures

The deuteron single and double spin-flip probabilities, S1 and S2, have been measured for the 12C(pol{d},pol{d}') reaction at Ed = 270 MeV for an excitation energy range between 4 and 24 MeV and a scattering angular range between Theta_lab = 2.5 and 7.5 deg. The extracted S1 exhibits characteristic values depending on the structure of the excited state. The S2 is close to zero over the measured excitation energy range. The SFP angular distribution data for the 2+ (4.44 MeV) and 1+ (12.71 MeV) states are well described by the microscopic DWIA calculations.

For backward elastic scattering of deuterons by ^3He, cross sections \sigma and tensor analyzing power T_{20} are measured at E_d=140-270 MeV. The data are analyzed by the PWIA and by the general formula which includes virtual excitations of other channels, with the assumption of the proton transfer from ^3He to the deuteron. Using ^3He wave functions calculated by the Faddeev equation, the PWIA describes global features of the experimental data, while the virtual excitation effects are important for quantitative fits to the T_{20} data. Theoretical predictions on T_{20}, K_y^y (polarization transfer coefficient) and C_{yy} (spin correlation coefficient) are provided up to GeV energies., Comment: REVTEX+epsfig, 17 pages including 6 eps figs, to be published in Phys. Rev. C