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$^{187}$Ta ($Z=73$, $N=114$) is located in the neutron-rich $A \approx 190$ region where a prolate-to-oblate shape transition via triaxial softness is predicted to take place. A preceding work on the $K^{\pi} = (25/2^-)$ isomer and a rotational band to which the isomer decays carried out by the same collaboration revealed that axial symmetry is slightly violated in this nucleus. This paper focuses on a higher-lying isomer, which was previously identified at 2933(14) keV by mass measurements with the Experimental Storage Ring at GSI. The isomer of interest has been populated by a multi-nucleon transfer reaction with a $^{136}$Xe primary beam incident on a natural tungsten target, using the KEK Isotope Separation System at RIKEN. New experimental findings obtained in the present paper include the internal and external $\beta$-decay branches from the high-spin isomer and a revised half-life of 136(24) s. The evaluated hindrances for $K$-forbidden transitions put constraints on the spin-parity assignment, which can be interpreted as being ascribed to a prolate shape with a five-quasiparticle configuration by model calculations., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

Cognitive radar is developed to utilize the feedback of its operating environment obtained from a beam to make resource allocation decisions by solving optimization problems. Previous works focused on target tracking accuracy by designing an evaluation metric for an optimization problem. However, in a real combat situation, not only the tracking performance of the target but also its operational perspective should be considered. In this study, the usage of threats in the allocation of radar resource is proposed for a cognitive radar framework. Resource allocation regarding radar dwell time is considered to reflect the operational importance of target effects. The dwell time allocation problem is solved using a Second-Order Cone Program (SOCP). Numerical simulations are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

An investigation of the isospin equilibration process in the reactions $^{58,64}$Ni+$^{58,64}$Ni at two bombarding energies in the Fermi regime ($32\,$MeV/nucleon and $52\,$MeV/nucleon) is presented. Data have been acquired during the first experimental campaign of the coupled INDRA-FAZIA apparatus in GANIL. Selecting from peripheral to semi-central collisions, both the neutron content of the quasiprojectile residue and that of the light ejectiles coming from the quasiprojectile evaporation have been used as probes of the dynamical process of isospin diffusion between projectile and target for the asymmetric systems. The isospin transport ratio technique has been employed. The relaxation of the initial isospin imbalance with increasing centrality has been clearly evidenced. The isospin equilibration appears stronger for the reactions at $32\,$MeV/nucleon, as expected due to the longer projectile-target interaction time than at $52\,$MeV/nucleon. Coherent indications of isospin equilibration come from the quasiprojectile residue characteristics and from particles ascribed to the quasiprojectile decay.

De-excitation $\gamma $ rays associated with an isomeric state of $^{186}$Ta were investigated. The isomers were produced in multinucleon transfer reactions between a $^{136}$Xe beam and a natural W target, and were collected and separated by the KEK Isotope Separation System. Two $\gamma $ transitions with energies of 161.1(2) and 186.8(1) keV associated with an isomeric decay were observed for the first time. The half-life of the isomeric state of the neutral atom $^{186 \rm m}$Ta was deduced as 17(2) s. Based on the comparison with the previous measurements of the isomeric state using the ESR storage ring at GSI Darmstadt and the coupling of angular momenta of individual particle orbitals in odd-odd nuclei, a decay scheme of $^{186 \rm m}$Ta was proposed.

Mass-separated 187Ta in a high-spin isomeric state has been produced for the first time by multi-nucleon transfer reactions, employing an argon gas stopping cell and laser ionisation. Internal gamma rays revealed a 7.3 s isomer at 1778 keV, which decays through a rotational band with perturbations associated with the approach to a prolate-oblate shape transition. Model calculations show less influence from triaxiality compared to heavier elements in the same mass region. The isomer decay reduced E2 hindrance factor of 27 supports the interpretation that axial symmetry is approximately conserved., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

We characterize harmonic spaces in terms of the dimensions of various spaces of radial eigen-spaces of the Laplacian $\Delta^0$ on functions and the Laplacian $\Delta^1$ on 1-forms. We examine the nature of the singularity as the geodesic distance $r$ tends to zero of radial eigen-functions and 1-forms. Via duality, our results give rise to corresponding results for radial vector fields. Many of our results extend to the context of spaces which are harmonic with respect to a single point., Comment: 10 pages

Using the waveforms from a digital electronic system, an offline analysis technique on pulse shape discrimination (PSD) has been developed to improve the neutron-gamma separation in a bar-shaped NE-213 scintillator that couples to a photomultiplier tube (PMT) at each end. The new improved method, called the ``valued-assigned PSD'' (VPSD), assigns a normalized fitting residual to every waveform as the PSD value. This procedure then facilitates the incorporation of longitudinal position dependence of the scintillator, which further enhances the PSD capability of the detector system. In this paper, we use radiation emitted from an AmBe neutron source to demonstrate that the resulting neutron-gamma identification has been much improved when compared to the traditional technique that uses the geometric mean of light outputs from both PMTs. The new method has also been modified and applied to a recent experiment at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) that uses an analog electronic system., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures

Non-Hermitian singularities known as exceptional-points (EPs) have been shown to exhibit increased sensitivities but the observation of EPs has so far been limited to wavelength scaled systems subject to diffraction limit. We propose a novel approach to EPs and report their first observation in plasmonics at room temperature. The plasmonic EPs are based on the hybridization of detuned resonances in multilayered plasmonic crystals to reach a critical complex coupling rate between nanoantennas arrays, and, resulting in the simultaneous coalescence of the resonances and loss rates. Because plasmons shrink the wavelength of light to make it compatible with biological relevant substances, enhanced sensing of anti-Immunoglobulin G, the most common antibody found in blood circulation, is observed. Our work opens the way to novel class of nanoscale devices, sensors, and imagers based on topological polaritonic effects.

An affine manifold is said to be geodesically complete if all affine geodesics extend for all time. It is said to be affine Killing complete if the integral curves for any affine Killing vector field extend for all time. We use the solution space of the quasi-Einstein equation to examine these concepts in the setting of homogeneous affine surfaces.

We performed low-temperature de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) effect measurements on a Ce$_{1-x}$Nd$_x$CoIn$_5$ series, for x = 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, and 1, down to T = 40 mK using torque magnetometry in magnetic felds up to 35 T. Our results indicate that a Fermi-surface (FS) reconstruction occurs from a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) topology for Nd-2% to a rather three-dimensional (3D) for Nd-5%, thus reducing the possibility of perfect FS nesting. The FS evolves further with increasing Nd content with no observed divergence of the effective mass between Nd-2% and 10%, consistent with the crossing of a spin density wave (SDW) type of quantum critical point (QCP). Our results elucidate the origin of the Q-phase observed at the 5% Nd-doping level [Raymond et al., J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 83, 013707 (2014)]., Comment: 7 pages

In two-dimensional (2D) superconductors an insulating state can be induced either by applying a magnetic field, $H$, or by increasing disorder. Many scenarios have been put forth to explain the superconductor to insulator transition (SIT): dominating fermionic physics after the breaking of Cooper pairs, loss of phase coherence between superconducting islands embedded in a metallic or insulating matrix and localization of Cooper pairs with concomitant condensation of vortex-type excitations. The difficulty in characterizing the insulating state and its origin stems from the lack of a continuous mapping of the superconducting to insulating phase diagram in a single sample. Here we use the two-dimensional (2D) electron liquid formed at the interface between the two insulators (111) SrTiO$_3$ and LaAlO$_3$ to study the superconductor to insulator transition. This crystalline interface surprisingly exhibits very strong features previously observed only in amorphous systems. By use of electrostatic gating and magnetic fields, the sample is tuned from the metallic region, where supeconductivity is fully manifested, deep into the insulating state. Through examination of the field dependence of the sheet resistance and comparison of the response to fields in different orientations we identify a new magnetic field scale, H$_{pairing}$, where superconducting fluctuations are muted. Our findings show that vortex fluctuations excitations and Cooper pair localization are responsible for the observed SIT and that these excitations surprisingly persist deep into the insulating state.

The search for a Fermi surface in the absence of a conventional Fermi liquid has thus far yielded very few potential candidates. Among promising materials are spin-frustrated Mott insulators near the insulator-metal transition, where theory predicts a Fermi surface associated with neutral low energy excitations. Here we reveal another route to experimentally realise a Fermi surface in the absence of a Fermi liquid by the experimental study of a Kondo insulator SmB$_6$ positioned close to the insulator-metal transition. We present experimental signatures down to low temperatures ($\ll 1$ K) associated with a Fermi surface in the bulk, including a sizeable linear specific heat coefficient, and on the application of a finite magnetic field, bulk magnetic quantum oscillations, finite quantum oscillatory entropy, and substantial enhancement in thermal conductivity well below the charge gap energy scale. Thus, the weight of evidence indicates that despite an extreme instance of Fermi liquid breakdown in Kondo insulating SmB$_6$, a Fermi surface arises from novel itinerant low energy excitations that couple to magnetic fields, but not weak DC electric fields.

Orbital angular momentum is a fundamental degree of freedom of light that manifests itself even at the single photon level. The coherent generation and beaming of structured light usually requires bulky and slow components. Using wave singularities known as bound states in continuum, we report an integrated device that simultaneously generates and beams powerful coherent beams carrying orbital angular momentum. The device brings unprecedented opportunities in the manipulation of micro-particles and micro-organisms, and, will also find applications in areas such as biological sensing, microscopy, astronomy, and, high-capacity communications., Comment: 11pages, and 4 figures

A subtle balance between competing interactions in strongly correlated systems can be easily tipped by additional interfacial interactions in a heterostructure. This often induces exotic phases with unprecedented properties, as recently exemplified by high-Tc superconductivity in FeSe monolayer on the nonmagnetic SrTiO3. When the proximity-coupled layer is magnetically active, even richer phase diagrams are expected in iron-based superconductors (FeSCs), which however has not been explored due to the lack of a proper material system. One promising candidate is Sr2VO3FeAs, a naturally-assembled heterostructure of a FeSC and a Mott-insulating vanadium oxide. Here, using high-quality single crystals and high-accuracy 75As and 51V nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements, we show that a novel electronic phase is emerging in the FeAs layer below T0 ~ 155 K without either static magnetism or a crystal symmetry change, which has never been observed in other FeSCs. We find that frustration of the otherwise dominant Fe stripe and V Neel fluctuations via interfacial coupling induces a charge/orbital order with C4-symmetry in the FeAs layers, while suppressing the Neel antiferromagnetism in the SrVO3 layers. These findings demonstrate that the magnetic proximity coupling is effective to stabilize a hidden order in FeSCs and, more generally, in strongly correlated heterostructures., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

This White Paper details the intentions and plans of the East Asian Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) community for pushing the frontiers of millimeter/submillimeter VLBI. To this end, we shall endeavor to actively promote coordinated efforts in the East Asia region. Our goal is to establish firm collaborations among the East Asia VLBI community in partnership with related institutes in North America and Europe and to expand existing global mm/submm VLBI arrays for (a) exploring the vicinity of black holes with an ultimate angular resolution down to 1~R$_{S}$ (Schwarzschild radius) and (b) investigating the dynamics of circumstellar gas in star-forming regions and late-type stars, and circumnuclear gas around active galactic nuclei (AGNs). In the first half of this White Paper, we highlight scientific accomplishments of the East Asia (EA) VLBI community. Various VLBI research results on M87, Sgr A*, blazars, narrow-line Seyfert~1 galaxies, and compact symmetric objects are described, and future visions of our VLBI science are briefly presented. Maser science of star formation, stellar evolution, and physics of accretion disks around AGNs are also discussed. A new vision for conducting multi-transition maser studies using mm/submm VLBI together with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) is described. In the second half of this White Paper, we describe the EA community's vision for using mm/submm VLBI arrays in the framework or extended version of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA). The accomplishment of the aforementioned goal will maximize the overall scientific outcomes of mm/submm VLBI in the world., Comment: 93 pages, 54 figures. White Paper from East Asia VLBI community

Kitaev quantum spin liquid is a topological magnetic quantum state characterized by Majorana fermions of fractionalized spin excitations, which are identical to their own antiparticles. Here, we demonstrate emergence of Majorana fermions thermally fractionalized in the Kitaev honeycomb spin lattice {\alpha}-RuCl3. The specific heat data unveil the characteristic two-stage release of magnetic entropy involving localized and itinerant Majorana fermions. The inelastic neutron scattering results further corroborate these two distinct fermions by exhibiting quasielastic excitations at low energies around the Brillouin zone center and Y-shaped magnetic continuum at high energies, which are evident for the ferromagnetic Kitaev model. Our results provide an opportunity to build a unified conceptual framework of fractionalized excitations, applicable also for the quantum Hall states, superconductors, and frustrated magnets.

Anderson proposed structural topology in frustrated magnets hosting novel quantum spin liquids (QSLs). The QSL state is indeed exactly derived by fractionalizing the spin excitation into spinless Majorana fermions in a perfect two dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice, the so-called Kitaev lattice, and its experimental realisation is eagerly being pursued. Here we, for the first time, report the Kitaev lattice stacking with van der Waals (vdW) bonding in a high quality {\alpha}-RuCl$_3$ crystal using x-ray and neutron diffractions. Even in absence of apparent monoclinic distortion, the system exhibits antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering below 6.5 K, likely due to minute magnetic interaction from trigonal distortion and/or interlayer coupling additionally to the Kitaev Hamiltonian. We also demonstrate 2D Ising-like critical behaviors near the N\'eel temperature in the order parameter and specific heat, capturing the characteristics of short-range spin-spin correlations underlying the Kitaev model. Our findings hold promise for unveiling enigmatic physics emerging from the Kitaev QSL.

Magnetic dipole moment and mean-square charge radius of $^{199}$Pt ($I^{\pi}=$ 5/2$^-$) have been evaluated for the first time from the investigation of the hyperfine splitting of the $\lambda_1=$ 248.792 nm transition by in-gas-cell laser ionization spectroscopy. Neutron-rich nucleus $^{199}$Pt was produced by multi-nucleon transfer reaction at the KISS where the nuclear spectroscopy in the vicinity of $N=$ 126 is planed from the aspect of an astrophysical interest as well as the nuclear structure. Measured magnetic dipole moment $+$0.63(13)$\mu_{\rm N}$ is consistent with the systematics of those of nuclei with $I^{\pi}=$ 5/2$^-$. The deformation parameter $|<\beta_2^2>^{1/2}|$ evaluated from the isotope shift indicates the gradual shape change to spherical shape of platinum isotopes with increasing neutron number toward $N=$ 126., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

We detect in real time inter-dot tunneling events in a weakly coupled two electron double quantum dot in GaAs. At finite magnetic fields, we observe two characteristic tunneling times, T_d and T_b, belonging to, respectively, a direct and a blocked (spin-flip-assisted) tunneling. The latter corresponds to lifting of a Pauli spin blockade and the tunneling times ratio eta=T_b/T_d characterizes the blockade efficiency. We find pronounced changes in the behavior of eta upon increasing the magnetic field, with eta increasing, saturating and increasing again. We explain this behavior as due to the crossover of the dominant blockade lifting mechanism from the hyperfine to spin-orbit interactions and due to a change in the contribution of the charge decoherence., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures

We give a general Lie-theoretic construction for anti-invariant almost Hermitian Riemannian submersions, anti-invariant quaternion Riemannian submersions, anti-invariant para-Hermitian Riemannian submersions, anti-invariant para-quaternion Riemannian submersions, and anti-invariant octonian Riemannian submersions. This yields many compact Einstein examples., Comment: 10 pages

Insulators occur in more than one guise, a recent finding was a class of topological insulators, which host a conducting surface juxtaposed with an insulating bulk. Here we report the observation of an unusual insulating state with an electrically insulating bulk that simultaneously yields bulk quantum oscillations with characteristics of an unconventional Fermi liquid. We present quantum oscillation measurements of magnetic torque in high purity single crystals of the Kondo insulator SmB6, which reveal quantum oscillation frequencies characteristic of a large three-dimensional conduction electron Fermi surface similar to the metallic rare earth hexaborides such as PrB6 and LaB6. The quantum oscillation amplitude strongly increases at low temperatures, appearing strikingly at variance with conventional metallic behaviour.

The gas cloud G2 falling toward Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, is supposed to provide valuable information on the physics of accretion flows and the environment of the black hole. We observed Sgr A* with four European stations of the Global Millimeter Very Long Baseline Interferometry Array (GMVA) at 86 GHz on 1 October 2013 when parts of G2 had already passed the pericenter. We searched for possible transient asymmetric structure -- such as jets or winds from hot accretion flows -- around Sgr A* caused by accretion of material from G2. The interferometric closure phases remained zero within errors during the observation time. We thus conclude that Sgr A* did not show significant asymmetric (in the observer frame) outflows in late 2013. Using simulations, we constrain the size of the outflows that we could have missed to ~2.5 mas along the major axis, ~0.4 mas along the minor axis of the beam, corresponding to approximately 232 and 35 Schwarzschild radii, respectively; we thus probe spatial scales on which the jets of radio galaxies are suspected to convert magnetic into kinetic energy. As probably less than 0.2 Jy of the flux from Sgr A* can be attributed to accretion from G2, one finds an effective accretion rate eta*Mdot < 1.5*10^9 kg/s ~ 7.7*10^-9 Mearth/yr for material from G2. Exploiting the kinetic jet power--accretion power relation of radio galaxies, one finds that the rate of accretion of matter that ends up in jets is limited to Mdot < 10^17 kg/s ~ 0.5 Mearth/yr, less than about 20% of the mass of G2. Accordingly, G2 appears to be largely stable against loss of angular momentum and subsequent (partial) accretion at least on time scales < 1 year., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 table; A&A Letter, in press (submitted 2015 February 26; accepted 2015 March 31)

We report a de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) oscillation study on IrTe2 single crystals showing complex dimer formations. By comparing the angle dependence of dHvA oscillations with band structure calculations, we show distinct Fermi surface reconstruction induced by a 1/5-type and a 1/8-type dimerizations. This verifies that an intriguing quasi-two-dimensional conducting plane across the layers is induced by dimerization in both cases. A phase transition to the 1/8 phase with higher dimer density reveals that local instabilities associated with intra- and interdimer couplings are the main driving force for complex dimer formations in IrTe2., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. Lett

We use the solution space of a pair of ODEs of at least second order to construct a smooth surface in Euclidean space. We describe when this surface is a proper embedding which is geodesically complete with finite total Gauss curvature. If the associated roots of the ODEs are real and distinct, we give a universal upper bound for the total Gauss curvature of the surface which depends only on the orders of the ODEs and we show that the total Gauss curvature of the surface vanishes if the ODEs are second order. We examine when the surfaces are asymptotically minimal.

Resistance as a function of temperature down to 20mK and magnetic fields up to 18T for various carrier concentrations is measured for nanowires made from the SrTiO3/LaAlO3 interface using a hard mask shadow deposition technique. The narrow width of the wires (of the order of 50nm) allows us to separate out the magnetic effects from the dominant superconducting ones at low magnetic fields. At this regime hysteresis loops are observed along with the superconducting transition. From our data analysis we find that the magnetic order probed by the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect vanishes at TCurie = 954 mK. This order is not a simple ferromagnetic state but consists of domains with opposite magnetization having a preferred in-plane orientation., Comment: 5 pages 5 figures

The Fermi surface of a metal is the fundamental basis from which its properties can be understood. In underdoped cuprate superconductors, the Fermi surface undergoes a reconstruction that produces a small electron pocket, but whether there is another, as yet undetected portion to the Fermi surface is unknown. Establishing the complete topology of the Fermi surface is key to identifying the mechanism responsible for its reconstruction. Here we report the discovery of a second Fermi pocket in underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy, detected as a small quantum oscillation frequency in the thermoelectric response and in the c-axis resistance. The field-angle dependence of the frequency demonstrates that it is a distinct Fermi surface and the normal-state thermopower requires it to be a hole pocket. A Fermi surface consisting of one electron pocket and two hole pockets with the measured areas and masses is consistent with a Fermi-surface reconstruction caused by the charge-density-wave order observed in YBa2Cu3Oy, provided other parts of the reconstructed Fermi surface are removed by a separate mechanism, possibly the pseudogap., Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures

We derive the Chern-Gauss-Bonnet Theorem for manifolds with smooth non-degenerate boundary in the pseudo-Riemannian context from the corresponding result in the Riemannian setting by examining the Euler-Lagrange equations associated to the Pfaffian of a complex "metric" on the tangent space and then applying analytic continuation., Comment: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors. A later improved version is available upon request from the authors but will not be posted to the arXiv

We give a characterization of a contact metric manifold as a special almost contact metric manifold and discuss an almost contact metric manifold which is {a} natural generalization of the contact metric manifolds introduced by Y. Tashiro., Comment: 15 pages

We relate certain universal curvature identities for Kaehler manifolds to the Euler-Lagrange equations of the scalar invariants which are defined by pairing characteristic forms with powers of the Kaehler form.

We use the solution set of a real ordinary differential equation which has order n which is at least 2 to construct a smooth curve C in R^n. We describe when C is a proper embedding of infinite length with finite total first curvature.

We have observed a massive reconstruction of the Fermi surface of single crystal chromium as a function of high pressure and high magnetic fields caused by the spin-flip transition, with multiple new orbits appearing above 0.93 GPa. Additionally, some orbits have field-induced effective masses of ~0.06-0.07 me, seen only at high magnetic fields. Based on the temperature insensitivity displayed by the oscillation amplitudes at these frequencies, we attribute the orbits to quantum interference rather than to Landau quantization.

The vortex-state electrodynamics of s-wave superconductors has been studied by infrared spectroscopy. Far-infrared transmission and reflection spectra of superconducting NbTiN and NbN thin films were measured in a magnetic field perpendicular to the film surface, and the optical conductivity was extracted. The data show clear reduction of superconducting signature. We consider the vortex state as a two-component effective medium of normal cores embedded in a BCS superconductor. The spectral features are well explained by the Maxwell-Garnett theory. Our analysis supports the presence of magnetic-field-induced pair-breaking effects in the superconducting component outside of the vortex cores.

The upper critical field Hc2 is a fundamental measure of the pairing strength, yet there is no agreement on its magnitude and doping dependence in cuprate superconductors. We have used thermal conductivity as a direct probe of Hc2 in the cuprates YBa2Cu3Oy and YBa2Cu4O8 to show that there is no vortex liquid at T = 0, allowing us to use high-field resistivity measurements to map out the doping dependence of Hc2 across the phase diagram. Hc2(p) exhibits two peaks, each located at a critical point where the Fermi surface undergoes a transformation. The condensation energy obtained directly from Hc2, and previous Hc1 data, undergoes a 20-fold collapse below the higher critical point. These data provide quantitative information on the impact of competing phases in suppressing superconductivity in cuprates., Comment: to appear in Nature Communications; Supplementary Information file available upon request

We say that a germ G of a geometric structure can be transplanted into a manifold M if there is a suitable geometric structure on M which agrees with G on a neighborhood of some point P of M. We show for a wide variety of geometric structures that this transplantation is always possible provided that M does in fact admit some such structure of this type. We use this result to show that a curvature identity which holds in the category of compact manifolds admitting such a structure holds for germs as well and we present examples illustrating this result. We also use this result to show geometrical realization problems which can be solved for germs of structures can in fact be solved in the compact setting as well.