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Bing Xia

Publications and source records attributed to Bing Xia.

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Signatures of nodal superconductivity in stoichiometric FeTe

Superconductivity in stoichiometric FeTe opens access to the FeTe endpoint of the Fe(Se,Te) phase diagram, yet the nature of its superconducting pairing state remains unresolved. In this work, we combine scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) microscopy, electrical transport, scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/S), and mean-field calculations to investigate the local superfluid response and pairing state of FeTe thin films with tunable stoichiometry. Even in stoichiometric FeTe, we observe micrometer-scale spatial variations in both superfluid stiffness and superconducting transition temperature $T_c$, while the London penetration depth remains non-saturating down to 0.02$T_c$ and follows a power-law temperature dependence with an exponent of approximately 1-1.5. Together with a V-shaped low-energy density of states and two-gap modeling, these results indicate a superconducting state with gap nodes or deep minima, consistent with either a $d$-wave or nodal $s$-wave superconducting state. Our findings establish stoichiometric FeTe as a distinct superconducting regime that departs from the trend toward more isotropic gaps at intermediate Se/Te compositions, providing a new benchmark for modern microscopic theories of iron-chalcogenide superconductivity. Our work also reveals a crossover from weak to rapid suppression of $T_c$ as superfluid stiffness decreases, connecting FeTe to the broader phenomenology observed in unconventional superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con

Stoichiometric FeTe is a Superconductor

Iron-based superconductors are a fascinating family of materials in which multiple electronic bands and strong antiferromagnetic (AFM) correlations are key ingredients for competing ground states, including antiferromagnetism, electronic nematicity, and unconventional superconductivity. FeTe, unlike its superconducting isostructural counterpart FeSe, has long been regarded as an AFM metal sans superconductivity. In this work, we employ molecular beam epitaxy to grow FeTe films and perform post-growth annealing under a Te flux. By performing spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the AFM order in as-grown FeTe films is induced by interstitial Fe atoms that disrupt the ideal 1:1 stoichiometry. Remarkably, the removal of these interstitial Fe atoms through Te annealing yields stoichiometric FeTe films that show no AFM order and instead exhibit robust superconductivity with a critical temperature of ~13.5K. This superconducting state is further confirmed by the observation of Cooper pair tunneling, zero electrical resistance, and the Meissner effect. Therefore, our results demonstrate that stoichiometric FeTe is inherently a superconductor, overturning a long-held view that it is an AFM metal. This work clarifies the origin of superconductivity in FeTe-based heterostructures and demonstrates the importance of stoichiometry control in understanding the competition between AFM and superconductivity in iron-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con

A Lightweight MPC Bidding Framework for Brand Auction Ads

Brand advertising plays a critical role in building long-term consumer awareness and loyalty, making it a key objective for advertisers across digital platforms. Although real-time bidding has been extensively studied, there is limited literature on algorithms specifically tailored for brand auction ads that fully leverage their unique characteristics. In this paper, we propose a lightweight Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework designed for brand advertising campaigns, exploiting the inherent attributes of brand ads -- such as stable user engagement patterns and fast feedback loops -- to simplify modeling and improve efficiency. Our approach utilizes online isotonic regression to construct monotonic bid-to-spend and bid-to-conversion models directly from streaming data, eliminating the need for complex machine learning models. The algorithm operates fully online with low computational overhead, making it highly practical for real-world deployment. Simulation results demonstrate that our approach significantly improves spend efficiency and cost control compared to baseline strategies, providing a scalable and easily implementable solution for modern brand advertising platforms.

cs.GT

Moire Engineering of Cooper-Pair Density Modulation States

Cooper-pair density modulation (CPDM) states are superconducting phases in which the order parameter varies periodically in real space without breaking translational symmetry. Recently, moire superlattices in layered materials have emerged as powerful platforms for engineering charge density with tunable lattice symmetry, offering a new route to creating and controlling CPDM states. In this work, we demonstrate moire-induced CPDM states in a bilayer heterostructure formed by epitaxially stacking one quintuple layer (1 QL) of topological insulator Sb2Te3 on a six-unit-cell (6 UC) antiferromagnetic FeTe layer. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/S) measurements reveal a moir\'e superlattice formed between the hexagonal Te lattice of Sb2Te3 and the square Te lattice of FeTe, which spatially modulates the two superconducting gaps of the 1 QL Sb2Te3/6 UC FeTe bilayer. Our Josephson STM/S measurements provide direct real-space imaging of the CPDM states with a wavelength corresponding to the periodicity of the moire superlattice. By substituting Sb2Te3 with Bi2Te3, we achieve control over both the periodicity and magnitude of the CPDM states. Our work demonstrates an epitaxial strategy for synthesizing moire superlattices from materials with different crystal symmetries and reveals a new mechanism for engineering CPDM states in designer bilayer heterostructures.

cond-mat.supr-con

Interplay of Quantum Size Effect and Tensile Strain on Surface Morphology of Sn(100) Islands

The quantum size effect (QSE) and strain effect are two key factors influencing the surface morphology of thin films, which can increase film surface roughness through QSE-induced thickness oscillation and strain-induced island formation, respectively. Surface roughness usually manifests in the early stages of film growth and diminishes beyond a critical thickness. In this work, we employ molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to grow Sn(100) islands with varying thickness N on bilayer graphene-terminated 6H-SiC(0001) substrates. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements reveal an inverse surface roughness effect that highlights the interplay of QSE and misfit strain in shaping the surface morphology of Sn(100) islands. For N =< 10, the islands exhibit flat surfaces, while for N >= 26, the island surfaces become corrugated and patterned. For the intermediate range, i.e., 12 =< N =<24, both flat and patterned surfaces coexist, with the percentage coverage of the patterned surface oscillating as a function of N. By performing density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that the unusual surface pattern evolution in our MBE-grown Sn(100) islands is a result of the interplay between QSE-induced surface roughing and tensile strain-induced smoothening effect.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Orbital Hybridization-Induced Ising-Type Superconductivity in a Confined Gallium Layer

In low-dimensional superconductors, the interplay between quantum confinement and interfacial hybridization effects can reshape Cooper pair wavefunctions and induce novel forms of unconventional superconductivity. In this work, we employ a plasma-free, carbon buffer layer-assisted confinement epitaxy method to synthesize trilayer gallium (Ga) sandwiched between a graphene layer and a 6H-SiC(0001) substrate, forming an air-stable graphene/trilayer Ga/SiC heterostructure. In this confined light-element Ga layer, we demonstrate interfacial Ising-type superconductivity driven by atomic orbital hybridization between the Ga layer and the SiC substrate. Electrical transport measurements reveal that the in-plane upper critical magnetic field u0Hc2,|| reaches ~21.98T at T=400 mK, approximately 3.38 times the Pauli paramagnetic limit (~6.51T). Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements combined with theoretical calculations confirm the presence of split Fermi surfaces with Ising-type spin textures at the K and K' valleys of the confined Ga layer strongly hybridized with SiC. Moreover, by incorporating finite relaxation time induced by impurity scattering into an Ising-type superconductivity model, we reproduce the entire temperature-dependent u0Hc2,|| phase diagram. This work establishes a new strategy to realize unconventional pairing wavefunctions by combining quantum confinement and interfacial hybridization effects in superconducting thin films. It also opens new avenues for designing scalable superconducting quantum electronic and spintronic devices through interfacial engineering.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Tunable topological edge states in black phosphorus-like Bi(110)

We have investigated the structures and electronic properties of ultra-thin Bi(110) films grown on an s-wave superconductor substrate using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Remarkably, our experimental results validate the theoretical predictions that the manipulation of Bi(110) surface atom buckling can control the topological phase transition. Notably, we have observed robust unreconstructed edge states at the edges of both 3-bilayer (BL) and 4-BL Bi(110) films, with the 4-BL film displaying stronger edge state intensity and a smaller degree of atomic buckling. First-principle calculations further substantiate these findings, demonstrating a gradual reduction in buckling as the film thickness increases, with average height differences between two Bi atoms of approximately 0.19 Å, 0.10 Å, 0.05 Å, and 0.00 Å for the 1-BL, 2-BL, 3-BL, and 4-BL Bi(110) films, respectively. When Bi films are larger than 2 layers, the system changes from a trivial to a non-trivial phase. This research sets the stage for the controlled realization of topological superconductors through the superconducting proximity effect, providing a significant platform for investigating Majorana zero modes and fabricating quantum devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Strain Tunable Semimetal-Topological-Insulator Transition in Monolayer 1T'-WTe2

A quantum spin hall insulator(QSHI) is manifested by its conducting edge channels that originate from the nontrivial topology of the insulating bulk states. Monolayer 1T'-WTe2 exhibits this quantized edge conductance in transport measurements, but because of its semimetallic nature, the coherence length is restricted to around 100 nm. To overcome this restriction, we propose a strain engineering technique to tune the electronic structure, where either a compressive strain along a axis or a tensile strain along b axis can drive 1T'-WTe2 into an full gap insulating phase. A combined study of molecular beam epitaxy and in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy then confirmed such a phase transition. Meanwhile, the topological edge states were found to be very robust in the presence of strain.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Combining quantum spin hall effect and superconductivity in few-layer stanene

Stanene was proposed to be a quantum spin hall insulator containing topological edges states and a time reversal invariant topological superconductor hosting helical Majorana edge mode. Recently, experimental evidences of existence of topological edge states have been found in monolayer stanene films and superconductivity has been observed in few-layer stanene films excluding single layer. An integrated system with both topological edge states and superconductivity are higly pursued as a possible platform to realize topological superconductivity. Few-layer stanene show great potential to meet this requirement and is highly desired in experiment. Here we successfully grow few-layer stanene on bismuth (111) substrate. Both topological edge states and superconducting gaps are observed by in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS). Our results take a further step towards topological superconductivity by stanene films.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Protein-protein docking by generalized Fourier transforms on 5D rotational manifolds

Energy evaluation using fast Fourier transforms enables sampling billions of putative complex structures and hence revolutionized rigid protein-protein docking. However, in current methods efficient acceleration is achieved only in either the translational or the rotational subspace. Developing an efficient and accurate docking method that expands FFT based sampling to 5 rotational coordinates is an extensively studied but still unsolved problem. The algorithm presented here retains the accuracy of earlier methods but yields at least tenfold speedup. The improvement is due to two innovations. First, the search space is treated as the product manifold $\mathbf{SO(3)x(SO(3)\setminus S^1)}$, where $\mathbf{SO(3)}$ is the rotation group representing the space of the rotating ligand, and $\mathbf{(SO(3)\setminus S^1)}$ is the space spanned by the two Euler angles that define the orientation of the vector from the center of the fixed receptor toward the center of the ligand. This representation enables the use of efficient FFT methods developed for $\mathbf{SO(3)}$. Second, we select the centers of highly populated clusters of docked structures, rather than the lowest energy conformations, as predictions of the complex, and hence there is no need for very high accuracy in energy evaluation. Therefore it is sufficient to use a limited number of spherical basis functions in the Fourier space, which increases the efficiency of sampling while retaining the accuracy of docking results. A major advantage of the method is that, in contrast to classical approaches, increasing the number of correlation function terms is computationally inexpensive, which enables using complex energy functions for scoring.

q-bio.BM

Anomalous emissions of 103mRh biphoton transitions

In this report, the anomalous emissions, centered on the one half transition energy 39.76/2 keV, are observed from the long-lived Mossbauer state of 103mRh excited by bremsstrahlung exposure. Strong coupling with identical nuclei in Rh crystals opens cascade channels for biphoton transitions.

physics.gen-ph

Observations on spectral deformations of 103mRh excited by bremsstrahlung

Spectral deformation of K alpha, K beta and gamma emissions from the nuclear state 103mRh excited by bremsstrahlung are investigated. Nonlinear increase for excitation number density of 103mRh with radiation exposure is observed. The spectral profiles are broadened, attributable to a triplet splitting. Interesting time-evolution behaviors of the spectral deformations are obtained.

physics.atom-ph

Cooling effect in emissions of 103mRh excited by bremsstrahlung

Nonlinear characteristic emissions of K alpha, K beta and gamma with a significant triplet splitting at room temperature are observed from the long-lived nuclear state of 103mRh excited by bremsstrahlung irradiation. A pronounced phase-transition-like narrowing of the emission profiles occurs immediately after the sample is cooled down to 77 K. The room temperature profiles reappear again abruptly and almost reversibly as the temperature drifts freely back to approximately the ice point after the filling of liquid nitrogen is stopped. These emission properties at 300 K and at low temperature may indicate that the 103mRh nuclei are in collective states.

nucl-ex

Rhodium Mossbauer Superradiance of Observable Gravitational Effect

We summarize the experimental observations of three case studies on the long-lived rhodium Mossbauer Effect. Extraordinary observations reported in this work manifest the open-up of photonic band gap in analogy to the superconducting gap. Observable gravitational effect is manifested by the superradiance of different sample orientations corresponding to the earth gravity. These observations are of potential importance for detecting gravitational waves and development of the two-photon gamma laser.

quant-ph

Gamma Standing Wave in the Photonic Crystal of Resonant Rh Nuclei

In a previous report, we have shown that the rhodium lattice consisting of resonant nuclei is an ideal photonic crystal in nature. Plenty of extraordinary observations are attributed to the collective down conversion of the multipolar nuclear transition; in particular the spontaneous open up of photonic band gap. Emissions of directionality depending on the macroscopic geometry manifest that the standing wave is global in the polycrystalline sample. In this work, further observations of the directional emissions are summarized. By applying an external magnetic field at room temperature, not only the predicted macroscopic nuclear polarization but also its strong directionality are demonstrated. The standing wave lasts for more than hundred hours at room temperature in the single crystal despite its natural half-life of one hour. The so-called nuclear Raman Effect between two M4 transitions of 193mIr and 195mPt and the E3 transition of 103mRh is discovered, which gives the brand new aspects to detect gravitational waves.

quant-ph

Phase Transition of Trapped Nuclear Exciton of Long-lived Rhodium Mossbauer States

We report experimental observations of the long-lived rhodium Mossbauer emissions by the time- and energy-resolved spectroscopy. The extraordinary observations manifest the open-up of photonic band gap in analogy to the superconducting gap of remarkable symmetry breakings at transition point. These observations are of potential importance for detecting gravitational waves and development of the two-photon gamma laser. Firstly, phase transitions shown by spectral evolution of characteristic emissions reveal the different aggregate exciton orderings at room temperature. Six different phases are identified by spectra profiles emitted from the color centers. Secondly, the cascade branching of the multipolar nuclear transition is discovered being the spontaneous cascade down-conversion to generate entangled gammas. The macroscopic angular distribution of entangled gammas from the polycrystalline sample manifests a global photon-nucleus-photon bound state across the grain boundaries. Thirdly, the gamma-energy distributions depending on exciton phases reveal the photonic band gap typically on the order of several hundred eV.

quant-ph

Rhodium Mossbauer Supperadiance Induced by Liquid-Nitrogen Cooling

In the previous report, we have demonstrated cascade branching channels of the multipolar E3 transition of rhodium Mossbauer gamma via the time- and energy-resolved spectroscopy. Moreover, superradiance in the Borrmann channel from inverted nuclei gives gamma entanglement. In this letter, we report further four observations of superradiance and its associated gamma entanglement at the liquid-nitrogen temperature, i.e. (i) speed-up decay, (ii) immediate recovery of the speed-up decay after quenching, (iii) simultaneous suppression of gamma and K lines, and (iv) enhanced multiple ionizations. Anisotropic superradiant channels open by quenching and recover back immediately after quenching. Enhanced K satellites and K hypersatellites induced by cooling are attributed to the inelastic scattering of more than three entangled gammas.

quant-ph

Generation of Long-Lived Isomeric States via Bremsstrahlung Irradiation

A method to generate long-lived isomeric states effectively for Mossbauer applications is reported. We demonstrate that this method is better and easier to provide highly sensitive Mossbauer effect of long-lived isomers (>1ms) such as 103Rh. Excitation of (gamma,gamma) process by synchrotron radiation is painful due mainly to their limited linewidth. Instead,(gamma,gamma') process of bremsstrahlung excitation is applied to create these long-lived isomers. Isomers of 45Sc, 107Ag, 109Ag, and 103Rh have been generated from this method. Among them, 103Rh is the only one that we have obtained the gravitational effect at room temperature.

quant-ph