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Interferometers probe the wave-nature and exchange statistics of indistinguishable particles—for example, electrons in the chiral one-dimensional edge channels of the quantum Hall effect (QHE). Quantum point contacts can split and recombine these channels, enabling interference of charged particles. Such quantum Hall interferometers (QHIs) can unveil the exchange statistics of anyonic quasi-particles in the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE). Here, we present a fabrication technique for QHIs in van der Waals (vdW) materials and realize a tunable, graphene-based Fabry–Perot (FP) QHI. The graphite-encapsulated architecture allows observation of FQHE at a magnetic field of 3T and precise partitioning of integer and fractional edge modes. We measure pure Aharonov–Bohm interference in the integer QHE, a major technical challenge in small FP interferometers, and find that edge modes exhibit high-visibility interference due to large velocities. Our results establish vdW heterostructures as a versatile alternative to GaAs-based interferometers for future experiments targeting anyonic quasi-particles. Interferometers can probe the wave-nature and exchange statistics of indistinguishable particles. Quantum Hall interferometers from graphite-encapsulated graphene heterostructures now enable the observation of the Aharonov–Bohm effect and of robust fractional quantum Hall states.

Reconstructing the emergence and weathering of continental crust in the Archean is crucial for our understanding of early ocean chemistry, biosphere evolution and the onset of plate tectonics. However, considerable disagreement exists between the various elemental and isotopic proxies that have been used to trace crustal input into marine sediments, and data are scarce prior to 3 billion years ago. Here we show that chemical weathering modified the Sr isotopic composition of Archean seawater as recorded in 3.52 to 3.20 Ga stratiform marine-hydrothermal barite deposits from three different cratons. We use a combination of barite crystal morphology, oxygen, multiple sulfur and strontium isotope data to select barite samples with the most seawater-like isotopic compositions, and subsequently use these in a hydrothermal mixing model to calculate a plausible seawater Sr isotope evolution trend from measured 87Sr/86Sr data. From modeled mixing ratios between seawater and hydrothermal fluids required for barite precipitation and comparison of 87Sr/86Sr in theoretical seawater-hydrothermal fluid mixtures with those recorded in the barite, we obtain a novel seawater Sr isotope evolution trend for Paleoarchean seawater that is much more radiogenic than the curve previously determined from carbonate rocks. Our findings require the presence and weathering of subaerial and evolved (high Rb/Sr) crust from 3.7 ± 0.1 Ga onwards, and demonstrate that crustal weathering affected the chemistry of the oceans 500 million years earlier than previously thought.

Reconstructing the emergence and weathering of continental crust in the Archean is crucial for our understanding of early ocean chemistry, biosphere evolution and the onset of plate tectonics. However, considerable disagreement exists between the elemental and isotopic proxies that have been used to trace crustal input into marine sediments and data are scarce prior to 3 billion years ago. Here we show that chemical weathering modified the Sr isotopic composition of seawater as recorded in 3.52-3.20 Ga stratiform barite deposits from three different cratons. Using a combination of Sr, S and O isotope data, barite petrography and a hydrothermal mixing model, we calculate a novel Sr isotope evolution trend for Paleoarchean seawater that is much more radiogenic than the curve previously determined from carbonate rocks. Our findings require the presence and weathering of subaerial and evolved (high Rb/Sr) crust from 3.7 ± 0.1 Ga onwards. This Eoarchean onset of crustal weathering affected the chemistry of the oceans and supplied nutrients to the marine biosphere 500 million years earlier than previously thought.

Reducing the energy bandwidth of electrons in a lattice below the long-range Coulomb interaction energy promotes correlation effects. Moire superlattices—which are created by stacking van der Waals heterostructures with a controlled twist angle1–3—enable the engineering of electron band structure. Exotic quantum phases can emerge in an engineered moire flat band. The recent discovery of correlated insulator states, superconductivity and the quantum anomalous Hall effect in the flat band of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene4–8 has sparked the exploration of correlated electron states in other moire systems9–11. The electronic properties of van der Waals moire superlattices can further be tuned by adjusting the interlayer coupling6 or the band structure of constituent layers9. Here, using van der Waals heterostructures of twisted double bilayer graphene (TDBG), we demonstrate a flat electron band that is tunable by perpendicular electric fields in a range of twist angles. Similarly to magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene, TDBG shows energy gaps at the half- and quarter-filled flat bands, indicating the emergence of correlated insulator states. We find that the gaps of these insulator states increase with in-plane magnetic field, suggesting a ferromagnetic order. On doping the half-filled insulator, a sudden drop in resistivity is observed with decreasing temperature. This critical behaviour is confined to a small area in the density–electric-field plane, and is attributed to a phase transition from a normal metal to a spin-polarized correlated state. The discovery of spin-polarized correlated states in electric-field-tunable TDBG provides a new route to engineering interaction-driven quantum phases. Twisted double bilayer graphene devices show tunable spin-polarized correlated states that are sensitive to electric and magnetic fields, providing further insights into correlated states in two-dimensional moire materials.

We use δ 18 O and δ 13 C of oyster shells, inferred seawater δ 18 O (δ w ), and temperature tolerance ranges of modern zooxanthellate coral communities to constrain and model paleo-salinities of marginal-marine waters of the Miocene Lorca Basin, Spain. Salinities ranged from 22 to 32 PSU during growth of coral bioherms and carpets of the Soriana and Parrilla formations, and from 35 to 39 PSU during deposition of the Hondo Formation reef complex. The periods with lower modeled salinities correspond with deltaic and alluvial-fan sedimentation in the area. The modeling is supported by 87 Sr/ 86 Sr data and provides new insights into the evolution of the local depositional settings. Departures of Sr-isotope values from the global oceanic curve occur within the intervals with the lowest modeled salinities, and the non-oceanic 87 Sr/ 86 Sr preserved in individual oyster shells was probably sourced from uplifted Aquitanian–Burdigalian limestones. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values that plot along the global ocean Sr-isotope curve for the late Miocene indicate a Tortonian age for the upper part of the Soriana Formation and the Parrilla Formation, and a Messinian age for the Hondo Formation. More generally, we demonstrate how the chemical analyses of oyster shells provide additional information regarding short-term oscillations of salinity and temperature of seawater beyond what can be obtained by traditional paleoecological methods.

The unique zero-energy Landau level of graphene has a particle-hole symmetry in the bulk, which is lifted at the boundary leading to a splitting into two chiral edge modes. It has long been theoretically predicted that the splitting of the zero-energy Landau level inside the bulk can lead to many interesting physics, such as quantum spin Hall effect, Dirac-type singular points of the chiral edge modes, and others. However, so far the obtained splitting with high magnetic field even on a h-BN substrate is not amenable to experimental detection, and functionality. Guided by theoretical calculations, here we produce a large-gap zero-energy Landau-level splitting (similar to 150 meV) with the usage of a one-dimensional (1D) superlattice potential. We have created tunable 1D superlattice in a h-BN encapsulated graphene device using an array of metal gates with a period of similar to 100 nm and carried out magnetocapacitance spectroscopy as a function of superlattice potential. At zero magnetic field we observe the modification of the density of states in our capacitance measurement which is consistent with the existing literature. At finite perpendicular magnetic field, we monitor the splitting of the zeroth Landau level as a function of superlattice potential. The observed splitting energy is an order higher in magnitude compared to the previous studies of splitting due to the symmetry breaking in pristine graphene. The origin of such large Landau-level splitting in 1D potential is explained with a degenerate perturbation theory. We find that owing to the periodic potential, the Landau level becomes dispersive, and acquires sharp peaks at the tunable band edges. Our study will pave the way to create the tunable 1D periodic structure for multifunctionalization and device application like graphene electronic circuits from appropriately engineered periodic patterns in near future.

It was recently shown that in situ epitaxial aluminum coating of indium arsenide nanowires is possible and yields superior properties relative to ex-situ evaporation of aluminum ( Nat. Mater. 2015 , 14 , 400 - 406 ). We demonstrate a robust and adaptive epitaxial growth protocol satisfying the need for producing an intimate contact between the aluminum superconductor and the indium arsenide nanowire. We show that the (001) indium arsenide substrate allows successful aluminum side-coating of reclined indium arsenide nanowires that emerge from (111)B microfacets. A robust, induced hard superconducting gap in the obtained indium arsenide/aluminum core/partial shell nanowires is clearly demonstrated. We compare epitaxial side-coating of round and hexagonal cross-section nanowires and find the surface roughness of the round nanowires to induce a more uniform aluminum profile. Consequently, the extended aluminum grains result in increased strain at the interface with the indium arsenide nanowire, which is found to induce dislocations penetrating into round nanowires only. A unique feature of proposed growth protocol is that it supports in situ epitaxial deposition of aluminum on all three arms of indium arsenide nanowire intersections in a single growth step. Such aluminum coated intersections play a key role in engineering topologically superconducting networks required for Majorana based quantum computation schemes.

Electronic systems harboring one dimensional helical modes, where the spin and momentum of the electron are locked, have lately become an important field of its own. When coupled to a conventional superconductor, such systems are expected to manifest topological superconductivity, a unique phase that gives rise to exotic Majorana zero modes. Even more interesting are fractional helical states which have not been observed before and which open the route for the realization of the generalized para fermions quasiparticles. Possessing non abelian exchange statistics, these quasiparticles may serve as building blocks in topological quantum computing. Here, we present a new approach to form protected one dimensional helical and fractional helical edge modes in the quantum Hall regime. The novel platform is based on a carefully designed double quantum well structure in a high mobility GaAs based system. In turn, the quantum well hosts two sub bands of 2D electrons, each tuned to the quantum Hall effect regime. By electrostatic gating of different areas of the structure, counter propagating integer, as well as fractional, edge modes, belonging to Landau levels with opposite spins are formed, rendering the modes helical. We demonstrate that due to spin protection, these helical modes remain ballistic, without observed mixing for large distances. In addition to the formation of helical modes, this new platform can be exploited as a rich playground for an artificial induction of compounded fractional edge modes, as well as construction of interferometers based on chiral edge modes.

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of merging InAs nanowire intersections, that is, a first step toward the realization of a network of such nanowires, is reported. While InAs nanowires play already a leading role in the search for Majorana fermions, a network of these nanowires is expected to promote their exchange and allow for further development of this field. The structural properties of merged InAs nanowire intersections have been investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscope imaging. At the heart of the intersection, a sharp change of the crystal structure from wurtzite to perfect zinc blende is observed. The performed low-temperature conductance measurements demonstrate that the intersection does not impose an obstacle to current transport.

A novel nonlocal supercurrent, carried by quartets, each consisting of four electrons, is expected to appear in a voltage-biased three-terminal Josephson junction. This supercurrent results from a nonlocal Andreev bound state (ABS), formed among three superconducting terminals. While in a two-terminal Josephson junction the usual ABS, and thus the dc Josephson current, exists only in equilibrium, the ABS, which gives rise to the quartet supercurrent, persists in the nonlinear regime. In this work, we report such resonance in a highly coherent three-terminal Josephson junction made in an InAs nanowire in proximity to an aluminum superconductor. In addition to nonlocal conductance measurements, cross-correlation measurements of current fluctuations provided a distinctive signature of the quartet supercurrent. Multiple device geometries had been tested, allowing us to rule out competing mechanisms and to establish the underlying microscopic origin of this coherent nondissipative current.

arXiv:1609.01487.-- et al., Energy dissipation is a fundamental process governing the dynamics of physical, chemical and biological systems. It is also one of the main characteristics that distinguish quantum from classical phenomena. In particular, in condensed matter physics, scattering mechanisms, loss of quantum information or breakdown of topological protection are deeply rooted in the intricate details of how and where the dissipation occurs. Yet the microscopic behaviour of a system is usually not formulated in terms of dissipation because energy dissipation is not a readily measurable quantity on the micrometre scale. Although nanoscale thermometry has gained much recent interest, existing thermal imaging methods are not sensitive enough for the study of quantum systems and are also unsuitable for the low-temperature operation that is required. Here we report a nano-thermometer based on a superconducting quantum interference device with a diameter of less than 50 nanometres that resides at the apex of a sharp pipette: it provides scanning cryogenic thermal sensing that is four orders of magnitude more sensitive than previous devices-below 1 μKH . This non-contact, non-invasive thermometry allows thermal imaging of very low intensity, nanoscale energy dissipation down to the fundamental Landauer limit of 40 femtowatts for continuous readout of a single qubit at one gigahertz at 4.2 kelvin. These advances enable the observation of changes in dissipation due to single-electron charging of individual quantum dots in carbon nanotubes. They also reveal a dissipation mechanism attributable to resonant localized states in graphene encapsulated within hexagonal boron nitride, opening the door to direct thermal imaging of nanoscale dissipation processes in quantum matter., This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme (grant no. 655416), by the Minerva Foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry of Education and Research, and by a Rosa and Emilio Segré Research Award. L.S.L. and E.Z. acknowledge the support of the MISTI MIT-Israel Seed Fund.

New data, backed up by simulations, support the existence of Majorana fermions in the one-dimensional topological superconductor that is induced by placing an aluminium superconductor close to an indium-arsenide nanowire.

Non-linear charge transport in SIS Josephson junctions has a unique signature in the shuttled charge quantum between the two superconductors. In the zero-bias limit Cooper pairs, each with twice the electron charge, carry the Josephson current. An applied bias $V_{SD}$ leads to multiple Andreev reflections (MAR), which in the limit of weak tunneling probability should lead to integer multiples of the electron charge $ne$ traversing the junction, with $n$ integer larger than $2{\Delta}/eV_{SD}$ and ${\Delta}$ the superconducting order parameter. Exceptionally, just above the gap, $eV_{SD}>2{\Delta}$, with Andreev reflections suppressed, one would expect the current to be carried by partitioned quasiparticles; each with energy dependent charge, being a superposition of an electron and a hole. Employing shot noise measurements in an SIS junction induced in an InAs nanowire (with noise proportional to the partitioned charge), we first observed quantization of the partitioned charge $q=e^*/e=n$, with $n=1-4$; thus reaffirming the validity of our charge interpretation. Concentrating next on the bias region $eV_{SD}{\approx}2{\Delta}$, we found a reproducible and clear dip in the extracted charge to $q{\approx}0.6$, which, after excluding other possibilities, we attribute to the partitioned quasiparticle charge. Such dip is supported by numerical simulations of our SIS structure.

It is well established that 'density reconstruction' at the edge of a two dimensional electron gas takes place for 'hole-conjugate' states in the fractional quantum Hall effect (such as ${\nu}=2/3, 3/5,$ etc.). Such reconstruction leads, after equilibration between counter propagating edge channels, to a downstream chiral current edge mode accompanied by upstream chiral neutral modes (carrying energy without net charge). Short equilibration length prevented thus far observation of the counter propagating current channels - the hallmark of density reconstruction. Here, we provide evidence for such non-equilibrated counter-propagating current channels, in short regions $(l=4{\mu}m$ and $l=0.4{\mu}m)$ of fractional filling ${\nu}=2/3$, and, unexpectedly, ${\nu}=1/3$, sandwiched between two regions of integer filling ${\nu}=1$. Rather than a two-terminal fractional conductance, the conductance exhibited a significant ascension towards unity quantum conductance $(G_Q=e^2/h)$ at or near the fractional plateaus. We attribute this conductance rise to the presence of a non-equilibrated downstream ${\nu}=1$ channel in the fractional short regions., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, supplemental material

The fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) is a canonical example of a topological phase in a correlated 2D electron gas under strong magnetic field. While electric currents propagate as chiral downstream edge modes, chargeless upstream chiral neutral edge modes were recently observed only in hole-conjugate states (states filling \nu, n+1/2

Entanglement is at the heart of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, where the non-locality is a necessary ingredient. Cooper pairs in superconductors can be split adiabatically, thus forming entangled electrons. Here, we fabricate such an electron splitter by contacting an aluminium superconductor strip at the centre of a suspended InAs nanowire. The nanowire is terminated at both ends with two normal metallic drains. Dividing each half of the nanowire by a gate-induced Coulomb blockaded quantum dot strongly impeds the flow of Cooper pairs due to the large charging energy, while still permitting passage of single electrons. We provide conclusive evidence of extremely high efficiency Cooper pair splitting via observing positive two-particle correlations of the conductance and the shot noise of the split electrons in the two opposite drains of the nanowire. Moreover, the actual charge of the injected quasiparticles is verified by shot noise measurements.