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Quantum systems are always subject to interactions with an environment, typically resulting in decoherence and distortion of quantum correlations. It has been recently shown that a controlled interaction with the environment may actually help to create a state, dubbed as “dark”, which is immune to decoherence. To encode quantum information in the dark states, they need to span a space with a dimensionality larger than one, so different orthogonal states act as a computational basis. Here, we devise a symmetry-based conceptual framework to engineer such degenerate dark spaces (DDS), protected from decoherence by the environment. We illustrate this construction with a model protocol, inspired by the fractional quantum Hall effect, where the DDS basis is isomorphic to a set of degenerate Laughlin states. The long-time steady state of our driven-dissipative model exhibits thus all the characteristics of degenerate vacua of a unitary topological system., To design and manipulate qubits, it is necessary to engineer multidimensional non-equilibrium steady states immune to decoherence in an open system. Here the authors devise a symmetry-based framework to create such non-equilibrium steady states showing characteristics of degenerate vacua of a unitary topological system.

We report on the observation of non-metallic electrical conduction, resistive switching, and a negative temperature coefficient of resistance in cluster-assembled nanostructured gold films above the electrical percolation and in strong-coupling regime, from room to cryogenic temperatures (24K). The structure of the films is characterized by an extremely high density of randomly oriented crystalline nanodomains, separated by grain boundaries. The observed behavior can be explained by considering space charge limited conduction and Coulomb blockade phenomena highlighting the influence of the high density of defects and grain boundaries on the localization of conduction electrons. Our findings have implications for a broad class of resistive switching systems based on random assemblies of nanoobjects., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

Within the framework of the generalized time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations, we studied the influence of the magnetic self-field induced by the currents inside a superconducting sample driven by an applied transport current. The numerical simulations of the resistive state of the system show that neither material inhomogeneity nor a normal contact smaller than the sample width are required to produce an inhomogeneous current distribution inside the sample, which leads to the emergence of a kinematic vortex-antivortex pair (vortex street) solution. Further, we discuss the behaviors of the kinematic vortex velocity, the annihilation rates of the supercurrent, and the superconducting order parameters alongside the vortex street solution. We prove that these two latter points explain the characteristics of the resistive state of the system. They are the fundamental basis to describe the peak of the current-resistance characteristic curve and the location where the vortex-antivortex pair is formed., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Scientific Reports

Gold is a noble metal typically stable as a solid in a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure under ambient conditions; however, under particular circumstances aberrant allotropes have been synthesized. In this work, we document the phase transformation of 25 nm thick nanocrystalline (NC) free-standing gold thin-film via in situ ion irradiation studied using atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Utilizing precession electron diffraction (PED) techniques, crystallographic orientation and the radiation-induced relative strains were measured and furthermore used to determine that a combination of surface and radiation-induced strains lead to an FCC to hexagonal close packed (HCP) crystallographic phase transformation upon a 10 dpa radiation dose of Au4+ ions. Contrary to previous studies, HCP phase in nanostructures of gold was stabilized and did not transform back to FCC due to a combination of size effects and defects imparted by damage cascades.

Immiscible semiconductors are of premier importance since the source of lighting has been replaced by white light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) composed of thermodynamically immiscible InxGa1−xN blue LEDs and yellow phosphors. For realizing versatile deep-ultraviolet to near-infrared light-emitters, Al1−xInxN alloys are one of the desirable candidates. Here we exemplify the appearance and self-formation sequence of compositional superlattices in compressively strained m-plane Al1−xInxN films. On each terrace of atomically-flat m-plane GaN, In- and Al-species diffuse toward a monolayer (ML) step edge, and the first and second uppermost $$\stackrel{-}{1}\stackrel{-}{1}20$$ 1 - 1 - 20 > cation-rows are preferentially occupied by Al and In atoms, respectively, because the configuration of one In-N and two Al-N bonds is more stable than that of one Al-N and two In-N bonds. Subsequent coverage by next $$\stackrel{-}{1}\stackrel{-}{1}20$$ 1 - 1 - 20 > Al-row buries the $$\stackrel{-}{1}\stackrel{-}{1}20$$ 1 - 1 - 20 > In-row, producing nearly Al0.5In0.5N cation-stripe ordering along [0001]-axis on GaN. At the second Al0.72In0.28N layer, this ordinality suddenly lessens but In-rich and In-poor $$\stackrel{-}{1}\stackrel{-}{1}20$$ 1 - 1 - 20 >-rows are alternately formed, which grow into respective {0001}-planes. Simultaneously, approximately 5-nm-period Al0.70In0.30N/Al0.74In0.26N ordering is formed to mitigate the lattice mismatch along [0001], which grow into approximately 5-nm-period Al0.70In0.30N/Al0.74In0.26N {$$10\stackrel{-}{1}2$$ 10 1 - 2 } superlattices as step-flow growth progresses. Spatially resolved cathodoluminescence spectra identify the emissions from particular structures.

In situ high-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and complementary first-principles calculations have revealed that structural and spectroscopic properties of lithium amidoborane compound are largely determined by multiple heteropolar dihydrogen bonds. The crystal structure of the compound is stabilized by dimeric complexes, wherein molecular ions bind together by intermolecular dihydrogen bonds of unconventional type. This strong intermolecular coupling determines stable character of the crystal structure in the pressure range up to ~ 30 GPa and is spectroscopically manifested by pronounced changes related to molecular vibrations of the amino group: the splitting of stretching modes, the anomalous behavior of wagging modes as well as Fermi resonance due to vibrational coupling of bending and stretching modes, significantly enhanced above 10 GPa. Unconventional nature of dihydrogen bonds is confirmed by the frequency increase, blueshift, of NH stretching modes with pressure. A role of certain hydrogen mediated interactions in the process of dehydrogenation of ammonia borane and its alkali metal derivatives is speculated. Findings presented here call for reconsideration of hydrogen release mechanism from alkali metal ammonia borane derivatives. The work makes significant contribution towards establishing the general theory of ubiquitous and versatile hydrogen mediated interactions.

Non-Fermi-liquid (NFL), a significant deviation from Fermi-liquid theory, usually emerges near an order-disorder phase transition at absolute zero. Recently, a diverging susceptibility toward zero temperature was observed in a quasicrystal (QC). Since an electronic long-range ordering is normally absent in QCs, this anomalous behaviour should be a new type of NFL. Here we study high-resolution partial-fluorescence-yield x-ray absorption spectroscopy on Yb-based intermediate-valence icosahedral QCs and cubic approximant crystals (ACs), some of which are new materials, to unveil the mechanism of the NFL. We find that for both forms of QCs and ACs, there is a critical lattice parameter where Yb-valence and magnetism concomitantly exhibit singularities, suggesting a critical-valence-fluctuation-induced NFL. The present result provides an intriguing structure–property relationship of matter; size of a Tsai-type cluster (that is a common local structure to both forms) tunes the NFL whereas translational symmetry (that is present in ACs but absent in QCs) determines the nature of the NFL against the external/chemical pressure.

For understanding magnonic materials the fundamental characterization of their frequency response is essential. However, determining full dispersion relations and real space wavelength measurements are challenging and time-consuming tasks. We present an approach for spin wave excitation by a modified Sinc pulse, which combines a cosine signal with a conventional Sinc function. The resulting adjustable frequency bands lead to a broadband spin wave excitation at uniform power levels. Subsequently, time resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy is used for direct imaging of all excited spin waves in real space. To demonstrate the capabilities of this approach, a modified Sinc excitation of an ultra-thin yttrium-iron-garnet film is shown that simultaneously reveals phase, amplitude, and k-space information from a single measurement. Consequently, this approach allows a fast and thorough access to the full dispersion relation including spatial maps of the individual spin wave modes, enabling complete characterization of magnonic materials down to the nanoscale in real and reciprocal space.

Random field induced spontaneous excess moments appear in field cooled single crystals of diluted Ising antiferromagnets. Here we report results from low temperature measurements of field cooled (including zero field) magnetic hysteresis loops parallel and perpendicular to the c-axis of a single crystal of composition Fe0.6Zn0.4F2. We find that weak static ferromagnetic excess moments attained on field cooling give rise to an apparent exchange bias of the magnetic hysteresis loops, whose magnitude is controlled by temperature and the strength and direction of the cooling field. Random field induced temporal excess moments only become observable in cooling fields larger than 1 T applied along the c-axis direction of the Fe0.6Zn0.4F2 single crystal.

Localization of light is the photon analog of electron localization in disordered lattices, for whose discovery Anderson received the Nobel prize in 1977. The question about its existence in open three-dimensional materials has eluded an experimental and full theoretical verification for decades. Here we study numerically electromagnetic vector wave transmittance through realistic digital representations of hyperuniform dielectric networks, a new class of highly correlated but disordered photonic band gap materials. We identify the evanescent decay of the transmitted power in the gap and diffusive transport far from the gap. Near the gap, we find that transport sets off diffusive but, with increasing slab thickness, crosses over gradually to a faster decay, signaling localization. We show that we can describe the transition to localization at the mobility edge using the self-consistent theory of localization based on the concept of a position-dependent diffusion coefficient., Localisation of light in 3D materials is still not fully verified. Here the authors numerically study wave propagation in 3D hyperuniform dielectric networks in order to observe the transition to localization at the mobility edge.

Understanding of how particles and light interact in a liquid environment is vital for optical and biological applications. MoS2 has been shown to enhance nonlinear optical phenomena due to the presence of a direct excitonic resonance. Its use in biological applications is predicated on knowledge of how MoS2 interacts with ultrafast (2 nanoparticles suspended in liquid is studied. We found that the laser pulses induce bubble formation on the surface of a nanoparticle and a nanoparticle aggregate then forms on the surface of the trapped bubble. The processes of formation of the bubble and the nanoparticle aggregation are intertwined.

Temperature (T = 40 ~ 300 K) dependence of Hall-effect analysis on the dual Si-δ-doped AlGaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum-well (QW) structures with various space layer thicknesses (tS = 5, 10 and 15 nm) was performed. An interesting hysteresis behavior of electron sheet concentration [n2D(T)] was observed for tS = 10 and 15 nm but not for tS = 5 nm. A model involving two different activation barriers encountered respectively by electrons in the active QW and by electrons in the δ-doped layers is proposed to account for the hysteresis behavior. However, for small enough tS (= 5 nm ≤ 2.5 s, where s = 2.0 nm is the standard deviation of the Gaussian fit to the Si-δ-doped profile), the distribution of Si dopants near active QW acted as a specific form of “modulation doping” and can not be regarded as an ideal δ-doping. These Si dopants nearby the active QW effectively increase the magnitude of n2D, and hence no hysteresis curve was observed. Finally, effects from tS on the T-dependence of electron mobility in active QW channel are also discussed.

The prediction of non-trivial topological electronic states hosted by half-Heusler compounds makes them prime candidates for discovering new physics and devices as they harbor a variety of electronic ground states including superconductivity, magnetism, and heavy fermion behavior. Here we report normal state electronic properties of a superconducting half-Heusler compound YPtBi using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). Our data reveal the presence of a Dirac state at the zone center of the Brillouin zone at 500 meV below the chemical potential. We observe the presence of multiple Fermi surface pockets including two concentric hexagonal and six half oval shaped pockets at the gamma and K points of the Brillouin zone, respectively. Furthermore, our measurements show Rashba-split bands and multiple surface states crossing the chemical potential which are supported by the first-principles calculations. Our finding of a Dirac state in YPtBi plays a significant role in establishing half-Heusler compounds as a new potential platform for novel topological phases and explore their connection with superconductivity., 6 pages, 4 figures

Lattice distortions (LD) in 4H-silicon carbide (SiC) wafers were quantified using synchrotron X-ray rocking curve mapping (RCM), and were resolved into their two components of lattice strain (Δd/d) and lattice plane curvature (LPC) for 150 mm diameter wafers. The evolution of these LDs were investigated for three sequential substrates from the same boule, one of which was the substrate reference, and the other two had a 10 µm thick, 1 × 1017 and 4 × 1014 cm-3 n-type doped epitaxial layer. The lattice strain, Δd/d, was highest for the lowest doped wafer due to higher mismatch with the substrate wafer. After epitaxial layer growth, the LPC variation across the wafer increases by a factor of 2, irrespective of doping. The LPC maps indicate presence of a twist in the lattice planes that increases after epitaxial growth. The LPC component has higher influence on wafer shape change, which can reduce device yields. The lattice strain component predominantly affects the glide of basal plane dislocations (BPDs), thereby reducing device reliability. From analysis of peak widths, it was determined that threading dislocations in the top 6 microns of the wafer increase after epitaxial layer growth.

Lack of directional bonding between two-dimensional crystals like graphene or monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides provides unusual freedom in the selection of components for vertical van der Waals heterostructures. However, even for identical layers, their stacking, in particular the relative angle between their crystallographic directions, modifies properties of the structure. We demonstrate that the interatomic coupling between two two-dimensional crystals can be determined from angle-resolved photoemission spectra of a trilayer structure with one aligned and one twisted interface. Each of the interfaces provides complementary information and together they enable self-consistent determination of the coupling. We parametrise interatomic coupling for carbon atoms by studying twisted trilayer graphene and show that the result can be applied to structures with different twists and number of layers. Our approach demonstrates how to extract fundamental information about interlayer coupling in a stack of two-dimensional crystals and can be applied to many other van der Waals interfaces., Here, the authors show that the interatomic coupling between two layers of a 2D crystal can be determined by studying the angle-resolved photoemission spectra of a trilayer structure with one aligned and one twisted interface, and obtain the inter-atomic coupling for carbon atoms in twisted trilayer graphene.

We consider escape from a metastable state of a nonlinear oscillator driven close to triple its eigenfrequency. The oscillator can have three stable states of period-3 vibrations and a zero-amplitude state. Because of the symmetry of period-tripling, the zero-amplitude state remains stable as the driving increases. However, it becomes shallow in the sense that the rate of escape from this state exponentially increases, while the system still lacks detailed balance. We find the escape rate and show how it scales with the parameters of the oscillator and the driving. The results facilitate using nanomechanical, Josephson-junction based, and other mesoscopic vibrational systems for studying, in a well-controlled setting, the rates of rare events in systems lacking detailed balance. They also describe how fluctuations spontaneously break the time-translation symmetry of a driven oscillator.

Many complex systems, from earthquakes and financial markets to Barkhausen effect in ferromagnetic materials, respond with a noise consisting of discrete avalanche-like events with broad range of sizes and durations, separated by waiting times. Here we focus on the waiting-time statistics in magnetic systems. By investigating the Barkhausen noise in amorphous and polycrystalline ferromagnetic films having different thicknesses, we uncover the form of the waiting-time distribution in time series recorded from the irregular and irreversible motion of magnetic domain walls. Further, we address the question of if the waiting-time distribution evolves with the threshold level, as well as with the film thickness and structural character of the materials. Our results, besides informing on the temporal avalanche correlations, disclose the waiting-time statistics in magnetic systems also bring fingerprints of the universality classes of Barkhausen avalanches and a dimensional crossover in the domain wall dynamics.

In this paper, applying the density scaling idea to an associated liquid 4-methyl-2-pentanol used as an example, we identify different pressure-volume-temperature ranges within which molecular dynamics is dominated by either complex H-bonded networks most probably leading to supramolecular structures or non-specific intermolecular interactions like van der Waals forces. In this way, we show that the density scaling law for molecular dynamics near the glass transition provides a sensitive tool to detect thermodynamic regions characterized by intermolecular interactions of different type and complexity for a given material in the wide pressure-volume-temperature domain even if its typical form with constant scaling exponent is not obeyed. Moreover, we quantify the observed decoupling between dielectric and mechanical relaxations of the material in the density scaling regime. The suggested methods of analyses and their interpretations open new prospects for formulating models based on proper effective intermolecular potentials describing physicochemical phenomena near the glass transition.

Here we report on the effects of material strength factors on the generation of surface structure due to nonuniform laser irradiation. The influence of material strength on the generation of perturbation on a diamond surface subjected to nonuniform laser irradiation was experimentally investigated. Our previous investigations suggested that stiffer and denser materials reduce surface perturbation due to spatially nonuniform laser irradiation, which was reproduced well by calculations with multi-dimensional hydrodynamic simulation code. In this work, we found that local fractures due to yield strength failure are generated by high degrees of irradiation non-uniformity. A characteristic crack-like surface structure was observed, which was not reproduced by the 2D simulation code calculations at all. The 2D simulations showed that the pressure at the diamond surface locally exceeds the Hugoniot elastic limit due to nonuniform irradiation, implying the potential for development of surface perturbations. We also measured the areal-density distribution of perturbations for single-crystal diamond and diamond with a thin high atomic number (high-Z) coating on its surface. The experimental results imply that the combination of a stiff material and thin high-Z coating can suppress the solid-strength effects caused by large irradiation non-uniformity. The knowledge given here is applicable to inertial confinement fusion target design, laser material processing, and universal problems involving solids and high-energy-density plasmas.