arXiv subjects

A. Maeda

Publications and source records attributed to A. Maeda.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

LiteBIRD Mission Overview after Mission Reformation

LiteBIRD is a JAXA-led space mission designed to produce all-sky microwave polarization maps. Its primary science goal is to test representative inflationary models by measuring the cosmic microwave background $B$-mode polarization generated by primordial gravitational waves, while also providing new insights into cosmology, particle physics, and astrophysics. The mission concept has been updated following the reformation activities initiated after the Mission Definition Review in 2024. The current concept preserves the central scientific objectives, while simplifying the payload configuration: a single telescope covers 12 frequency bands with band centers spanning 40 to 402~GHz, corresponding to an optical coverage of 34--448~GHz. The telescope is a cross-Dragone reflector with a 500~mm aperture diameter, cooled to approximately 5~K and coupled to transition-edge-sensor bolometer arrays operated at 0.1~K. LiteBIRD will observe from a Lissajous orbit around the Sun--Earth L2 point during a nominal 3-year survey. More specifically, the primary scientific objective is to achieve total uncertainty in the tensor-to-scalar ratio of $\delta r < 0.002$ (68\% C.L.), including contributions from foreground residuals, statistical uncertainties, instrumental systematics, and margin contingency. The corresponding map-noise requirements are specified separately for the low-, mid-, and high-frequency ranges over the reionization and recombination multipole ranges. This sensitivity makes LiteBIRD unique not only for inflationary science but also for a broad range of scientific investigations probing the history of both the early and late Universe, as well as for astrophysical processes, including Galactic science. This paper summarizes the scientific objectives, updated payload and instrument concepts, observation strategy, and ground segment plans.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

The Imaging Time-of-Propagation Detector at Belle II

We report on the construction, operation, and performance of the Time-of-Propagation detector with imaging used for the Belle II experiment running at the Super-KEKB $e^+e^-$ collider. This detector is located in the central barrel region and uses Cherenkov light to provide particle identification among hadrons. The Cherenkov light is radiated in highly polished bars of synthetic fused silica (quartz) and transported to the ends of the bars via total internal reflection. One bar end is instrumented with finely segmented micro-channel-plate photomultiplier tubes to record the light, while the other end has a mirror attached to reflect the photons back to the instrumented end. Both the propagation times and hit positions of the Cherenkov photons are measured; these depend on the Cherenkov angle and together provide good discrimination among charged pions, kaons, and protons with momenta up to around 4 GeV/$c$. To date, the detector has been used to record and analyze almost 600 fb$^{-1}$ of Belle II data.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Microwave flux-flow Hall effect in a multi-band superconductor FeSe

We have measured the flux-flow Hall effect in a multi-band superconductor FeSe pure single crystal to investigate the nature of the vortex core state by means of the cross-shaped bimodal cavity technique. We found that the flux-flow Hall angle of FeSe at low temperatures is about 0.5, which is equal to or smaller than that evaluated by the effective viscous drag coefficient measurements. This feature is in contrast to the cuprate superconductors. The conductivity tensor of multi-band superconductors that are contributed from holes and electrons shows partial cancellation of the flux-flow Hall voltage by the electrons and holes, wchich can explain the observed feature. Therefore, our study suggests the appearance of the multi-band nature in the vortex dynamics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Pure nematic state in iron-based superconductor

Lattice and electronic states of thin FeSe films on LaAlO$_3$ substrates are investigated in the vicinity of the nematic phase transition. No evidence of structural phase transition is found by x-ray diffraction below $T^\ast \sim 90$ K, while results obtained from resistivity measurement and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy clearly show the appearance of a nematic state. These results indicate formation of a pure nematic state in the iron-based superconductor and provide conclusive evidence that the nematic state originates from the electronic degrees of freedom. This pure nematicity in the thin film implies difference in the electron-lattice interaction from bulk FeSe crystals. FeSe films provide valuable playgrounds for observing the pure response of "bare" electron systems free from the electron-lattice interaction, and should make important contribution to investigate nematicity and its relationship with superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Interface superconductivity in FeSe thin films on SrTiO$_3$grown by the PLD technique

In this study, we fabricate 5-30-nm-thick films of FeSe/STO using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The grown films exhibit superconductivity with an onset $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ that is much higher than that of bulk FeSe under ambient pressure. The observed $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ values are exceptionally high in terms of the strain vs. $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ relationship of the same material established so far. Furthermore, $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ increases as the film thickness decreases, except for films thinner than 10 nm. This thickness dependence of $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ is in good agreement with the results reported for films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) that exhibit interface superconductivity. These results indicate the realization of interface superconductivity in PLD-grown FeSe/STO. Furthermore, our PLD technique requires no post-annealing to realize interface superconductivity, which is different from MBE techniques. Because the PLD technique has the advantage that various interfaces can be fabricated easily by simply altering the target materials, our results open novel routes to study interface superconductivity toward higher $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ by systematic control of the interface.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Large Hall angle of vortex motion in high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors revealed by microwave flux-flow Hall effect

We investigated the nature of the quasi-particle state in the vortex core by means of the flux-flow Hall effect measurements at 15.8 GHz. We measured the flux-flow Hall effect in cuprate superconductors, Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{y}$ and YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{y}$ single crystals, whose equilibrium $B$-$T$ phase diagrams were different. As a result, we found that the Hall angle is independent of the magnetic field, and reaches an order of unity at low temperatures in BSCCO. However, in YBCO, the angle increases with increasing magnetic field even at low temperatures. We understood that this difference in the magnetic field dependence of the Hall angle is due to the difference in the influence of the pinning, which originated from the difference in the vortex state (liquid vs. solid) between the two materials. However, as a common feature, both materials showed a large tangent of the Hall angle at low temperatures, which was larger by an order of magnitude than those obtained in the effective viscous drag coefficient measurements. We discussed the origin of the discrepancy both in terms of the possible nonlinearity of the viscous drag force and possible hidden dissipation mechanisms. The unexpectedly large Hall angle of the vortex motion in cuprates revealed in our flux-flow Hall effect study poses a serious question on the fundamental understanding of the motion of the quantized vortex in superconductors, and it deserves further investigation.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Relationships between Superconductivity and Nematicity in FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$ ($x=0-0.5$) Films Studied by Complex Conductivity Measurements

We measured the complex conductivity, $\sigma$, of FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$ ($x=0-0.5$) films in the superconducting state which show a drastic increase of the superconducting transition temperature, $T_\textrm{c}$, when the nematic order disappears. Since the magnetic penetration depth, $\lambda$ $(>$ 400 nm), of Fe(Se,Te) is longer than the typical thickness of the film ($\sim$100 nm), we combined the coplanar waveguide resonator and cavity perturbation techniques to evaluate both the real and imaginary parts of $\sigma$. Films with a nematic order showed a qualitatively different temperature dependence in penetration depth and quasiparticle scattering time when compared with those without nematic order, suggesting that nematic order influences the superconducting gap structure. Conversely, the proportionality between superfluid density, $n_\textrm{s}$ ($\propto\lambda^{-2}$), and $T_\textrm{c}$ was observed irrespective of the presence or absence of nematic order. This result indicates that the amount of superfluid has a stronger impact on the $T_\textrm{c}$ of Fe(Se,Te) than the presence or absence of nematic order. Combining these results with band dispersions calculated using density functional theory, we propose that the change of the Fermi surface associated with nematicity is the primary factor influencing the change of $T_\textrm{c}$ and the superconducting gap structure in Fe(Se,Te).

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Evolution of charge dynamics in FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_{x}$: Effects of electronic correlations and nematicity

We systematically studied in-plane optical conductivity of FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_{x}$ thin films fabricated on CaF$_{2}$ substrates for $x$ = 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4. This system shows a large enhancement of superconducting transition temperature $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ at $x \sim$ 0.2 and a gentle decrease in $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ with further increasing $x$. The low-energy optical conductivity spectrum is described by the sum of narrow and broad Drude components, associated with coherent and incoherent charge dynamics, respectively. With increasing Te content, the spectral weight of the narrow Drude component decreases, while the total weight of the two Drude components increases. As a consequence, the fraction of the narrow Drude weight significantly decreases, indicating that Te substitution leads to stronger electronic correlations. Below the nematic transition temperature, the narrow Drude weight decreases with decreasing temperature. This indicates the reduction of the coherent carrier density, resulting from the Fermi-surface modification induced by the development of the orbital order. The reduction of the narrow Drude weight with temperature stopped at $x \sim$ 0.2, corresponding to the disappearance of the nematic transition. Our result suggests that the increase in the coherent carrier density induced by the suppression of the nematic transition gives rise to the enhancement of $T_{\mathrm{c}}$. The decrease in $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ with further Te substitution likely arises from too strong electronic correlations, which are not favorable for superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Positive and negative chemical pressure effects investigated in electron-doped FeSe films with an electric-double-layer structure

We investigated chemical pressure effects in electron-doped (e-doped) FeSe by fabricating an electric-double-layer structure with single crystalline FeSe films on LaAlO$_3$ with Se substituted by isovalent Te and S. Our method enables transport measurements of e-doped FeSe. Electron doping by applying gate voltage of 5 V increases $T_{\mathrm c}$ of the FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$ and FeSe$_{1-y}$S$_y$ films with $0 \leq x \leq 0.4$ and $0 \leq y \leq 0.25$, while the e-doped $x=0.5$ film showed lower $T_{\mathrm c}$ than that of the undoped one. Both positive and chemical pressure suppress $T_{\mathrm c}$ of the e-doped FeSe. The obtained superconducting phase diagram in the e-doped samples is rather different from that in undoped samples. This might suggest that the superconductivity mechanism is different between undoped and e-doped systems. Alternatively, this is possibly explained by the absence of the nematic order in e-doped samples.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Sulfur-induced magnetism in FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$ thin films on LaAlO$_3$ revealed by muon spin rotation/relaxation

Muon spin rotation/relaxation measurements were performed to investigate magnetic properties of FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$ thin films on LaAlO$_3$. A drastic decrease of the initial asymmetry was observed together with the peak structure in the temperature dependence of the relaxation rate of muon spins almost at the same temperature where kink anomalies were observed in the temperature dependent resistivity. With increasing S content, the anomaly temperature increased and the magnetic fluctuations at the lowest temperature were suppressed. These results show that the S substitution induces magnetism at low temperatures in FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$ thin films. Although the behaviors of the magnetic and nematic phases in FeSe films towards chemical pressure by S substitution are similar to those for bulk FeSe towards hydrostatic pressure, the behavior of $T_{\mathrm c}$ is significantly different between these systems. Our results demonstrate that the detailed comparative investigation among physical and chemical pressure effects is essentially important to understand the interplay of the magnetism, the nematicity and the superconductivity in iron chalcogenides.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Dynamic Evolution of Flux Distributions in a Pulse-driven Superconductor by High-speed Magneto-optical Imaging

The accurate understanding of flux dynamics is essential for the design and operation of superconducting circuits. The time evolution of flux-density distribution in an NbN strip by the transport current was observed using high-speed magneto-optical microscopy. It was determined that even for the dynamic penetration and exclusion of vortices under the transport current, the surface barrier is essential. This feature is important for the correct understanding of the complex behavior of state-of-the-art superconducting devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Laboratory spectroscopic study of isotopic thioformaldehyde, H$_{2}$CS, and determination of its equilibrium structure

Thioformaldehyde is an abundant molecule in various regions of the interstellar medium. However, available laboratory data limit the accuracies of calculated transition frequencies in the submillimeter region, in particular for minor isotopic species. We aim to determine spectroscopic parameters of isotopologs of H2CS that are accurate enough for predictions well into the submillimeter region. We investigated the laboratory rotational spectra of numerous isotopic species in natural isotopic composition almost continuously between 110 and 377 GHz. Individual lines were studied for most species in two frequency regions between 566 and 930 GHz. Further data were obtained for the three most abundant species in the 1290-1390 GHz region. New or improved spectroscopic parameters were determined for seven isotopic species. Quantum-chemical calculations were carried out to evaluate the differences between ground state and equilibrium rotational parameters to derive semi-empirical equilibrium structural parameters. The spectroscopic parameters are accurate enough for predictions well above 1 THz with the exception of H2(13)C(34)S where the predictions should be reliable to around 700 GHz.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2018

Current and Magnetic Field Dependences of a Superconducting Coplanar Waveguide Resonator

We fabricated superconducting coplanar waveguide resonator with leads for dc bias, which enables the ac conductivity measurement under dc bias. The current and the magnetic field dependences of resonance properties were measured, and hysteretic behavior was observed as a function of the dc driving current. The observed shift in the inverse of the quality factor and the center frequency were understood by considering both the motion of vortices and the suppression of the order parameter with dc current. Our investigation revealed that the strongly pinned vortices have little infuluence on the change in the center frequency, while it still affects that of the quality factor. Our results indicate that an accurate understanding of the dynamics of driven vortices is indispensable when we attempt to control the resonance properties with high precision.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Effects of strain on the electronic structure, superconductivity, and nematicity in FeSe studied by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

One of central issues in iron-based superconductors is the role of structural change to the superconducting transition temperature (T_c). It was found in FeSe that the lattice strain leads to a drastic increase in T_c, accompanied by suppression of nematic order. By angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on tensile- or compressive-strained and strain-free FeSe, we experimentally show that the in-plane strain causes a marked change in the energy overlap (DeltaE_{h-e}) between the hole and electron pockets in the normal state. The change in DeltaE_{h-e} modifies the Fermi-surface volume, leading to a change in T_c. Furthermore, the strength of nematicity is also found to be characterized by DeltaE_{h-e}. These results suggest that the key to understanding the phase diagram is the fermiology and interactions linked to the semimetallic band overlap.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Point-contact Andreev-reflection spectroscopy in Fe(Te,Se) films: multiband superconductivity and electron-boson coupling

We report on a study of the superconducting order parameter in Fe(Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$) thin films (with different Se contents: x=0.3, 0.4, 0.5) by means of point-contact Andreev-reflection spectroscopy (PCARS). The PCARS spectra show reproducible evidence of multiple structures, namely two clear conductance maxima associated to a superconducting gap of amplitude $Δ_E \simeq 2.75 k_B T_c$ and additional shoulders at higher energy that, as we show, are the signature of the strong interaction of charge carriers with a bosonic mode whose characteristic energy coincides with the spin-resonance energy. The details of some PCARS spectra at low energy suggest the presence of a smaller and not easily discernible gap of amplitude $Δ_H \simeq 1.75 k_B T_c$. The existence of this gap and its amplitude are confirmed by PCARS measurements in Fe(Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$) single crystals. The values of the two gaps $Δ_E$ and $Δ_H$, once plotted as a function of the local critical temperature $T_c^A$, turn out to be in perfect agreement with the results obtained by various experimental techniques reported in literature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Microscopic analysis of the chemical reaction between Fe(Te,Se) thin films and underlying CaF$_2$

To understand the chemical reaction at the interface of materials, we performed a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation in four types of Fe(Te,Se) superconducting thin films prepared on different types of substrates: CaF2 substrate, CaF2 substrate with a CaF2 buffer layer, CaF2 substrate with a FeSe buffer layer, and a LaAlO3 substrate with a CaF2 buffer layer. Based on the energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) analysis, we found possible interdiffusion between fluorine and selenium that has a strong influence on the superconductivity in Fe(Te,Se) films. The chemical interdiffusion also plays a significant role in the variation of the lattice parameters. The lattice parameters of the Fe(Te,Se) thin films are primarily determined by the chemical substitution of anions, and the lattice mismatch only plays a secondary role.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Microwave Surface Impedance Measurements of the Electronic State and Dissipation of Magnetic Vortices in Superconducting Iron-Based LiFeAs Single Crystals

LiFeAs is one of the iron-based superconductors having multiple gaps with the possible sign reversal. To clarify how those novel natures affect the energy dissipation of magnetic vortices, we investigated the microwave surface impedance of LiFeAs single crystals under finite magnetic fields. The flux-flow resistivity enhanced rapidly at low magnetic fields, which is similar to the case of MgB$_{2}$. This is probably the consequence of the multiple-gap nature and the gap anisotropy. This suggest that the sign-reversal is not important for the flux-flow even for multiple-gap superconductors. As for the electronic state, the vortex core of LiFeAs turned out to be "moderately clean". Furthermore, the mean free path inside the vortex core was much shorter than that outside, and was close to the core radius. These results strongly suggest a process specific to the core boundary is important for a scattering mechanism inside the vortex core.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Epitaxial growth of FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ thin films on CaF$_2$ substrates with high critical current density

In-situ epitaxial growth of FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ thin films is demonstrated on a non-oxide substrate CaF$_2$. Structural analysis reveals that compressive stress is moderately added to 36-nm thick FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$, which pushes up the critical temperature above 15 K, showing higher values than that of bulk crystals. Critical current density at $T$ = 4.5 K reaches 5.9 x 10$^4$ Acm$^{-2}$ at $μ_0H$ = 10 T, and 4.2 x 10$^4$ Acm$^{-2}$ at $μ_0H$ = 14 T. These results indicate that fluoride substrates have high potential for the growth of iron-based superconductors in comparison with popular oxide substrates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗