arXiv subjects

Cao Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Cao Wang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Magnetism and Correlated Electrons in LaCr$_2$Ge$_2$N

We report the synthesis, structure and physical properties of a new quaternary nitride LaCr$_2$Ge$_2$N. The compound crystallizes in the CeCr$_2$Si$_2$C-type structure (P4/mmm), featuring distinctive Cr$_2$N square sheets within Cr$_2$Ge$_2$N block layers. Physical characterizations reveal enhanced electron correlations evidenced by a Sommerfeld coefficient substantially larger than band calculations and pressure-induced deviation from Fermi-liquid behavior. Magnetic measurements show short-range antiferromagnetic correlations developing around 460 K, followed by long-range magnetic ordering at 14 K. Additionally, subtle anomalies at 378 K suggest possible electronic ordering. First-principles calculations reveal nearly-flat Cr-3d bands near the Fermi level and predict a striped antiferromagnetic ground state. This work demonstrates how electron count variation in the CeCr$_2$Si$_2$C-type structure family leads to magnetic ordering in LaCr$_2$Ge$_2$N, contrasting with the paramagnetic behavior of LnCr$_2$Si$_2$C compounds.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Criticality by Interaction Frustration in a Square-Planar Lattice

We report experimental and theoretical investigations on ThCr$_2$Ge$_2$C, a metallic compound in which Cr$_2$C planes form a square-planar lattice. Neutron powder diffraction, magnetization, and specific heat measurements reveal no evidence of long-range magnetic order or short-range spin freezing down to 70~mK. Quantum critical behavior was indicated through logarithmic divergences in both the magnetic susceptibility and the specific heat divided by temperature. Resistivity measurements exhibit non-Fermi-liquid behavior, with a Fermi liquid recovered under magnetic fields or high pressures. First-principles calculations identify competing nearest-neighbor ($J_1$) and next-nearest-neighbor ($J_2$) exchange interactions, with $J_2/J_1 \sim -0.5$, pointing to strong magnetic frustration. The interaction frustration is reduced, and magnetically ordered phases are stabilized upon the application of negative or positive pressures. This work offers a rare example of zero-field, ambient pressure quantum criticality mainly driven by interaction frustration in a square lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Potential Paradigm Shift in Hazard Risk Management: AI-Based Weather Forecast for Tropical Cyclone Hazards

The advents of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven models marks a paradigm shift in risk management strategies for meteorological hazards. This study specifically employs tropical cyclones (TCs) as a focal example. We engineer a perturbation-based method to produce ensemble forecasts using the advanced Pangu AI weather model. Unlike traditional approaches that often generate fewer than 20 scenarios from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulations for one event, our method facilitates the rapid nature of AI-driven model to create thousands of scenarios. We offer open-source access to our model and evaluate its effectiveness through retrospective case studies of significant TC events: Hurricane Irma (2017), Typhoon Mangkhut (2018), and TC Debbie (2017), affecting regions across North America, East Asia, and Australia. Our findings indicate that the AI-generated ensemble forecasts align closely with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ensemble predictions up to seven days prior to landfall. This approach could substantially enhance the effectiveness of weather forecast-driven risk analysis and management, providing unprecedented operational speed, user-friendliness, and global applicability.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2023

Superconductivity and Charge-density-wave-like Transition in Th2Cu4As5

We report the synthesis, crystal structure, and physical properties of a novel ternary compound, Th$_2$Cu$_4$As$_5$. The material crystallizes in a tetragonal structure with lattice parameters $a=4.0716(1)$ Å and $c=24.8131(4)$ Å. Its structure can be described as an alternating stacking of fluorite-type Th$_2$As$_2$ layers with antifluorite-type double-layered Cu$_4$As$_3$ slabs. The measurement of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat reveals that Th$_2$Cu$_4$As$_5$ undergoes bulk superconducting transition at 4.2 K. Moreover, all these physical quantities exhibit anomalies at 48 K, where the Hall coefficient change the sign. These findings suggest a charge-density-wave-like (CDW) transition, making Th$_2$Cu$_4$As$_5$ a rare example for studying the interplay between CDW and superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Realization of high-dynamic-range broadband magnetic-field sensing with ensemble nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

We present a new magnetometry method integrating an ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in a single-crystal diamond with an extended dynamic range for monitoring the fast changing magnetic-field. The NV-center spin resonance frequency is tracked using a closed-loop frequency locked technique with fast frequency hopping to achieve a 10 kHz measurement bandwidth, thus, allowing for the detection of fast changing magnetic signals up to 0.723 T/s.This technique exhibits an extended dynamic range subjected to the working bandwidth of the microwave source. This extended dynamic range can reach up to 4.3 mT, which is 86 times broader than the intrinsic dynamic range. The essential components for NV spin control and signal processing such as signal generation, microwave frequency control, data processing and readout are integrated in a board-level system. With this platform, we demonstrate broadband magnetometry with an optimized sensitivity of 4.2 nT-Hz-1/2. This magnetometry method has the potential to be implemented in a multichannel frequency locked vector magnetometer suitable for a wide range of practical applications such as magnetocardiography and high-precision current sensors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Synthesis, structure and properties of layered phosphide nitrides $Ak$Th$_2$Mn$_4$P$_4$N$_2$ ($Ak$ = Rb, Cs)

We report the design, synthesis, structure, and properties of two complex layered phosphide nitrides, $Ak$Th$_2$Mn$_4$P$_4$N$_2$ ($Ak$ = Rb, Cs), which contain anti-fluorite-type [Mn$_2$P$_2$] bilayers separated by fluorite-type [Th2N2] layers as a result of the intergrowth between AkMn$_2$P$_2$ and ThMnPN. The new compounds are featured with an intrinsic hole doping associated with the interlayer charge transfer and a built-in chemical pressure from the [Th$_2$N$_2$] layers, both of which are reflected by the changes in the lattice and the atomic position of phosphorus. The measurements of magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, and specific heat indicate existence of local moments as well as itinerant electrons in relation with d-p hybridizations. The expected dominant antiferromagnetic interactions with enhanced d-p hybridizations were demonstrated by the first-principles calculations only when additional Coulomb repulsions are included. The density of states at the Fermi level derived from the specific-heat analysis are 3.5 and 7.5 times of the calculated ones for Ak = Rb and Cs, respectively, suggesting strong electron correlations in the title compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Superconductivity in ThMo2Si2C with Mo2C Square Net

We report the superconductivity of a new quaternary compound ThMo$_2$Si$_2$C, synthesized with the arc-melting technique. The compound crystallizes in a tetragonal CeCr$_2$Si$_2$C-type structure with cell parameters of $a$ = 4.2296 Åand $c$ = 5.3571 Å. An interlayer Si-Si covalent bonding is suggested by the atomic distance. The electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate a Pauli-paramagnetic metal with dominant electron-electron scattering in the normal-state. Bulk superconductivity at 2.2 K is demonstrated with a dimensionless specific-heat jump of $ΔC/γ_{\rm n}T$ = 0.98. The superconducting parameters of the critical magnetic fields, coherence length, penetration depth, and superconducting energy gap are given.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Discovery of the Superconductivity in 3d Element Ni doped IrTe$_2$

IrTe$_2$ with large spin-orbital coupling (SOC) shows a CDW-like first order structural phase transition from high-temperature trigonal phase to low-temperature monoclinic phase at 270 K, accompanying with a large jump in transport and magnetic measurement as well as in heat capacity. Here, the 3d element Ni has been doped into IrTe$_2$ by growing Ir$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$Te$_2$ single crystals. Both XRD and XPS results reveal that the Ni atoms have substituted for Ir, which is consistent with the calculation result. Like the CDW behaviour, the structural phase transition shows competition and coexistence with the superconductivity. The monoclinic phase transition has been suppressed gradually with the increase of the doping amount of Ni, at last giving rise to the stabilization of the trigonal phase with superconductivity. Within 0.1$\leq$x$\leq$0.2, Ir$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$Te$_2$ shows the superconductive behaviour with T$_c$ around 2.6K. The superconductivity shows anisotropy with dimensionless anisotropy parameter $γ$=$ξ_{//}$$/$$ξ_{\perp}$$\sim$ 2. Even Ni element shows ferromagnetic behaviour, Ir$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$Te$_2$ only shows weak paramagnetism, no ferromagnetic order is observed in it, which is coincident with the calculation result that their up and down spin density of states compensate each other well. In addition, for other 3d elements Fe, Co and Mn doped IrTe$_2$, only Ir$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$Te$_2$ owns magnetism with magnetic moment of 3.0$μ$$_B$ to the supercell, theoretically.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

The Layer-inserting Growth of Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ Based on Symmetry and Its X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The antiferromagnetic topological insulator has attracted lots of attention recently, as its intrinsic magnetism and topological property makes it a potential material to realize the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) at relative high temperature. Until now, only MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ is predicted and grown successfully. The other MB$_2$T$_4$-family materials predicted (MB$_2$T$_4$:M=transition-metal or rare-earth element, B=Bi or Sb, T=Te, Se, or S) with not only antiferromagnetic topological property but also rich and exotic topological quantum states and dynamically stable (or metastable) structure have not been realized on experiment completely. Here, MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ single crystals have been grown successfully and tested. It shows typical antiferromagnetic character, with Neel temperature of 24.5K and a spin-flop transition at H$\thickapprox$35000 Oe, 1.8K. After obtaining MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ single crystals, we have tried to synthesize the other members of MB$_2$T$_4$-family materials, but things are not going so well. Then it inspires us to discuss the growth mechanism of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. The growth mode may be the layer-inserting growth mode based on symmetry, which is supported by our X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement. The XPS measurement combing with the $Ar^+$ ion sputtering is done to investigate the chemical state of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. Binding energies (BE) of the MnBi$_2$Te$_4$-related contributions to Mn2p and Te3d spectra agree well with those of inserting material $α$-MnTe. Rising intensity of the Mn2p satellite for divalent Mn (bound to chalcogen) with atomic number of ligand (from MnO to MnBi$_2$Te$_4$) has been observed, thus suggesting classification of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ as the charge-transfer compound. Understanding the growth mode of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ can help us to grow the other members of MB$_2$T$_4$-family materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Metal-to-metal transition and heavy-electron state in Nd$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$

The trilayer nickelate Nd$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10-δ}$ ($δ\approx$ 0.15) was investigated by the measurements of x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity. The crystal structure data suggest a higher Ni valence in the inner perovskite-like layer. At ambient pressure the resistivity shows a jump at 162 K, indicating a metal-to-metal transition (MMT). The MMT is also characterized by a magnetic susceptibility drop, a sharp specific-heat peak, and an isotropic lattice contraction. Below $\sim$ 50 K, a resistivity upturn with a log$T$ dependence shows up, accompanying with a negative thermal expansion. External hydrostatic pressure suppresses the resistivity jump progressively, coincident with the diminution of the log$T$ behavior. The low-temperature electronic specific-heat coefficient is extracted to be $\sim$ 150 mJ K$^{-2}$ mol-fu$^{-1}$, equivalent to $\sim$ 50 mJ K$^{-2}$ mol-Ni$^{-1}$, indicating an unusual heavy-electron correlated state. The novel heavy-electron state as well as the logarithmic temperature dependence of resistivity is explained in terms of the Ni$^{3+}$ centered Kondo effect in the inner layer of the (NdNiO$_3$)$_3$ trilayers.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

BaTh$_2$Fe$_4$As$_4$(N$_{0.7}$O$_{0.3}$)$_2$: An Iron-Based Superconductor Stabilized by Inter-Block-Layer Charge Transfer

Recently, An electron-doped 12442-type iron-based superconductor BaTh$_2$Fe$_4$As$_4$(N$_{0.7}$O$_{0.3}$)$_2$ has been successfully synthesized with high-temperature solid-state reactions on basis of a structural design. The inter-block-layer charge transfer between the constituent units of "BaFe$_2$As$_2$" and "ThFeAsN$_{0.7}$O$_{0.3}$" was found to be essential to stabilize the target compound. Dominant electron-type conduction and bulk superconducting transition at ~22 K were demonstrated.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Neutron powder diffraction study on the non-superconducting phases of ThFeAsN$_{1-x}$O$_x$ ($x=0.15, 0.6$) iron pnictide

We use neutron powder diffraction to study on the non-superconducting phases of ThFeAsN$_{1-x}$O$_x$ with $x=0.15, 0.6$. In our previous results on the superconducting phase ThFeAsN with $T_c=$ 30 K, no magnetic transition is observed by cooling down to 6 K, and possible oxygen occupancy at the nitrogen site is shown in the refinement(H. C. Mao \emph{et al.}, EPL, 117, 57005 (2017)). Here, in the oxygen doped system ThFeAsN$_{1-x}$O$_x$, two superconducting region ($0\leqslant x \leqslant 0.1$ and $0.25\leqslant x \leqslant 0.55$) have been identified by transport experiments (B. Z. Li \emph{et al.}, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 30, 255602 (2018)). However, within the resolution of our neutron powder diffraction experiment, neither the intermediate doping $x=0.15$ nor the heavily overdoped compound $x= 0.6$ shows any magnetic order from 300 K to 4 K. Therefore, while it shares the common phenomenon of two superconducting domes as most of 1111-type iron-based superconductors, the magnetically ordered parent compound may not exist in this nitride family.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Peculiar Phase Diagram with Isolated Superconducting Regions in ThFeAsN$_{1-x}$O$_x$

ThFeAsN$_{1-x}$O$_x$ ($0\leq x\leq0.6$) system with heavy electron doping has been studied by the measurements of X-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. The non-doped compound exhibits superconductivity at $T_\mathrm{c}^\mathrm{onset}=30$ K, which is possibly due to an internal uniaxial chemical pressure that is manifested by the extremely small value of As height with respect to the Fe plane. With the oxygen substitution, the $T_\mathrm{c}$ value decreases rapidly to below 2 K for $0.1\leq x\leq0.2$, and surprisingly, superconductivity re-appears in the range of $0.25\leq x\leq0.5$ with a maximum $T_\mathrm{c}^\mathrm{onset}$ of 17.5 K at $x=0.3$. For the normal-state resistivity, while the samples in intermediate non-superconducting interval exhibit Fermi liquid behavior, those in other regions show a non-Fermi-liquid behavior. The specific heat jump for the superconducting sample of $x=0.4$ is $ΔC/(γT_\mathrm{c})=0.89$, which is discussed in terms of anisotropic superconducting gap. The peculiar phase diagram in ThFeAsN$_{1-x}$O$_x$ presents additional ingredients for understanding the superconducting mechanism in iron-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Multigap superconductivity in ThAsFeN investigated using muSR measurements

We have investigated the superconducting ground state of the newly discovered superconductor ThFeAsN with a tetragonal layered crystal structure using resistivity, magnetization, heat capacity and transverse-field (TF) muon-spin rotation ($μ$SR) measurements. Our resistivity and magnetization measurements reveal an onset of bulk superconductivity with $T_{\bf c}\sim$ 30 K. The heat capacity results show a very small anomaly, $Δ$C$_{ele}$$\sim$0.214 (J/mol-K) at $T_{\bf c}\sim$ 30 K and exhibits exponential behavior below $T_{\bf c}$, which fits better to two superconducting gaps rather than a single gap. Further a nonlinear magnetic field dependence of the electronic specific heat coefficient $γ$(H) has been found in the low temperature limit, which indicates that the smaller energy gap is nodal. Our analysis of the TF-$μ$SR results shows that the temperature dependence of the superfluid density is better described by a two-gap model either isotropic $s$+$s$-wave or $s$+$d$-wave than a single gap isotropic $s$-wave model for the superconducting gap, consistent with other Fe-based superconductors. The combine $γ$(H) and TF-$μ$SR results confirm $s$+$d$-wave model for the gap structure of ThFeAsN. The observation of two gaps in ThFeAsN suggests multiband nature of the superconductivity possibly arising from the d-bands of Fe ions. Furthermore, from our TF-$μ$SR study we have estimated the magnetic penetration depth, in the polycrystalline sample, of $λ_{\mathrm{L}}$$(0)$ = 375 nm, superconducting carrier density $n_s = 4.6 \times 10^{27}~ $m$^{-3}$, and carrier's effective-mass $m^*$ = 2.205\textit{m}$_{e}$. We will compare the results of our present study with those reported for the Fe-pnictide family of superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Neutron powder diffraction study on the iron-based nitride superconductor ThFeAsN

We report neutron diffraction and transport results on the newly discovered superconducting nitride ThFeAsN with $T_c=$ 30 K. No magnetic transition, but a weak structural distortion around 160 K, is observed cooling from 300 K to 6 K. Analysis on the resistivity, Hall transport and crystal structure suggests this material behaves as an electron optimally doped pnictide superconductors due to extra electrons from nitrogen deficiency or oxygen occupancy at the nitrogen site, which together with the low arsenic height may enhance the electron itinerancy and reduce the electron correlations, thus suppress the static magnetic order.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

A New ZrCuSiAs-Type Superconductor: ThFeAsN

We report the first nitrogen-containing iron-pnictide superconductor ThFeAsN, which is synthesized by a solid-state reaction in an evacuated container. The compound crystallizes in a ZrCuSiAs-type structure with the space group P4/nmm and lattice parameters a=4.0367(1) Å and c=8.5262(2) Å at 300 K. The electrical resistivity and dc magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate superconductivity at 30 K for the nominally undoped ThFeAsN.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Relationship between Superconductivity and Antiferromagnetism in LaFe(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)O Revealed by $^{31}$P-NMR

We performed $^{31}$P-NMR measurements on LaFe(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)O to investigate the relationship between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. The antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering temperature $T_{\rm N}$ and the moment $μ_{\rm ord}$ are continuously suppressed with increasing P content $x$ and disappear at $x = 0.3$ where bulk superconductivity appears. At this superconducting $x = 0.3$, quantum critical AFM fluctuations are observed, indicative of the intimate relationship between superconductivity and low-energy AFM fluctuations associated with the quantum-critical point in LaFe(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)O. The relationship is similar to those observed in other isovalent-substitution systems, e.g., BaFe$_{2}$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_{2}$ and SrFe$_{2}$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_{2}$, with the "122" structure. Moreover, the AFM order reappears with further P substitution ($x > 0.4$). The variation of the ground state with respect to the P substitution is considered to be linked to the change in the band character of Fe-3$d$ orbitals around the Fermi level.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Self doping effect and successive magnetic transitions in superconducting Sr$_2$VFeAsO$_3$

We have studied a quinary Fe-based superconductor Sr$_2$VFeAsO$_3$ by the measurements of x-ray diffraction, x-ray absorption, Mössbauer spectrum, resistivity, magnetization and specific heat. This apparently undoped oxyarsenide is shown to be self doped via electron transfer from the V$^{3+}$ ions. We observed successive magnetic transitions within the VO$_2$ layers: an antiferromagnetic transition at 150 K followed by a weak ferromagnetic transition at 55 K. The spin orderings within the VO$_2$ planes are discussed based on mixed valence of V$^{3+}$ and V$^{4+}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗