arXiv subjects

D. Le

Publications and source records attributed to D. Le.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Emergence of a correlated insulating state in bulk 1T-NbSe$_2$ via metal intercalation

The 1T polymorph of NbSe$_2$, long confined to the monolayer limit, has remained inaccessible in bulk. Here, we report the realization of bulk 1T-NbSe$_2$ via electrochemical Sn intercalation. Transmission electron microscopy directly reveals the formation of the 1T structure induced by Sn intercalation. The intercalated samples exhibit insulating transport behavior, in stark contrast to metallic 2H-NbSe$_2$. Density functional theory calculations, however, predict a metallic band structure, highlighting the crucial role of emergent electronic correlations in the observed insulating state. Raman spectroscopy further reveals vibrational modes associated with Sn intercalation and possible charge density wave order. Our results establish electrochemical intercalation as an effective route to stabilize otherwise inaccessible bulk polytypes, positioning bulk 1T-NbSe$_2$ as a new platform for investigating correlated electronic states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature due to multiband effect in the topological nodal-line semimetal Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_{x}$TaSe$_{2}$

We report a systematic study of the normal-state and superconducting properties of single crystal Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_{x}$TaSe$_{2}$ $(0\leq x \leq 0.23)$. Sn doping enhances the superconducting temperature $T_{c}$ up to 5.1 K while also significantly increasing impurity scattering in the crystals. For $x=0$ and 0.018, the specific heat jump at $T_{c}$ exceeds the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) weak-coupling value of 1.43, indicating the realization of strong-coupling superconductivity in undoped and slightly Sn-doped PbTaSe$_{2}$. Substituting Pb with more Sn lowers the specific heat jump at $T_{c}$ below the BCS value of 1.43, which cannot be explained by a single-gap model. Rather, the observed specific heat data of moderately Sn-doped PbTaSe$_{2}$ ($x= 0.08$ and 0.15) are reproduced by a two-gap model. Our density functional theory calculations suggest that three-dimensional Fermi pockets appear due to a reduction of the spin-orbit gap with Sn doping, and the multiband effect arising from these emergent Fermi pockets enhances the effective electron-phonon coupling strength, leading to the increase in $T_{c}$ of Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_{x}$TaSe$_{2}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Correlated electron metal properties of the honeycomb ruthenate Na$_2$RuO$_3$

We report the synthesis and characterisation of polycrystalline Na$_2$RuO$_3$, a layered material in which the Ru$^{4+}$ ($4d^4$ configuration) form a honeycomb lattice. The optimal synthesis condition was found to produce a nearly ordered Na$_2$RuO$_3$ ($C2/c$ phase), as assessed from the refinement of the time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal a large temperature-independent Pauli paramagnetism ($\chi_0 \sim 1.42(2)\times10^{-3}$ emu/mol Oe) with no evidence of magnetic ordering down to 1.5 K, and with an absence of dynamic magnetic correlations, as evidenced by neutron scattering spectroscopy. The intrinsic susceptibility ($\chi_0$) together with the Sommerfeld coeficient of $\gamma=11.7(2)$ mJ/Ru mol K$^2$ estimated from heat capacity measurements, gives an enhanced Wilson ratio of $R_W\approx8.9(1)$, suggesting that magnetic correlations may be present in this material. While transport measurements on pressed pellets show nonmetallic behaviour, photoemission spectrocopy indicate a small but finite density of states at the Fermi energy, suggesting that the bulk material is metallic. Except for resistivity measurements, which may have been compromised by near surface and interface effects, all other probes indicate that Na$_2$RuO$_3$ is a moderately correlated electron metal. Our results thus stand in contrast to earlier reports that Na$_2$RuO$_3$ is an antiferromagnetic insulator at low temperatures.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Ordered magnetism in the intrinsically decorated $j\rm{_{eff}}$ = $\frac{1}{2}$ $\alpha$-CoV$_{3}$O$_{8}$

The antiferromagnetic mixed valence ternary oxide $\alpha$-CoV$_{3}$O$_{8}$ displays disorder on the Co$^{2+}$ site that is inherent to the $Ibam$ space group. The zero field structural and dynamic properties of $\alpha$-CoV$_{3}$O$_{8}$~have been investigated using a combination of neutron and x-ray diffraction, DC susceptibility, and neutron spectroscopy. The low temperature magnetic and structural properties are consistent with a random macroscopic distribution of Co$^{2+}$ over the 16$k$ metal sites. However, by applying the sum rules of neutron scattering we observe the collective magnetic excitations are parameterized with an ordered Co$^{2+}$ arrangement and critical scattering consistent with a three dimensional Ising universality class. The low energy spectrum is well-described by Co$^{2+}$ cations coupled $via$ a three dimensional network composed of competing ferromagnetic and stronger antiferromagnetic superexchange within the $ab$ plane and along $c$, respectively. While the extrapolated Weiss temperature is near zero, the 3D dimensionality results in long range antiferromagnetic order at $T\rm{_{N}}\sim$ 19 K. A crystal field analysis finds two bands of excitations separated in energy at $\hbar \omega$ $\sim$ 5 meV and 25 meV, consistent with a $j\rm{_{eff}}=\frac{1}{2}$ ground state with little mixing between spin-orbit split Kramers doublets. A comparison of our results to the random 3D Ising magnets and other compounds where spin-orbit coupling is present indicate that the presence of an orbital degree of freedom, in combination with strong crystal field effects and well-separated $j\rm{_{eff}}$ manifolds may play a key role in making the dynamics largely insensitive to disorder.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Disentangling orbital and spin exchange interactions for Co$^{2+}$ on a rocksalt lattice

Neutron spectroscopy was applied to study the magnetic interactions of orbitally degenerate Co$^{2+}$ on a host MgO rocksalt lattice where no long range spin or orbital order exists. The paramagnetic nature of the substituted monoxide Co$_{0.03}$Mg$_{0.97}$O allows for the disentanglement of spin-exchange and spin-orbit interactions. By considering the prevalent excitations from Co$^{2+}$ spin pairs, we extract 7 exchange constants out to the fourth coordination shell. An antiferromagnetic next nearest neighbor 180$^{\circ}$ exchange interaction is dominant, however dual ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions are observed for pairings with other pathways. These interactions can be understood in terms of a combination of orbital degeneracy in the $t_{2g}$ channel and the Goodenough-Kanamori-Anderson (GKA) rules. Our work suggests that such a hierarchy of exchange interactions exists in transition metal-based oxides with a $t_{2g}$ orbital degeneracy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

The Pan-STARRS1 Surveys

Pan-STARRS1 has carried out a set of distinct synoptic imaging sky surveys including the $3\pi$ Steradian Survey and the Medium Deep Survey in 5 bands ($grizy_{P1}$). The mean 5$\sigma$ point source limiting sensitivities in the stacked 3$\pi$ Steradian Survey in $grizy_{P1}$ are (23.3, 23.2, 23.1, 22.3, 21.4) respectively. The upper bound on the systematic uncertainty in the photometric calibration across the sky is 7-12 millimag depending on the bandpass. The systematic uncertainty of the astrometric calibration using the Gaia frame comes from a comparison of the results with Gaia: the standard deviation of the mean and median residuals ($ \Delta ra, \Delta dec $) are (2.3, 1.7) milliarcsec, and (3.1, 4.8) milliarcsec respectively. The Pan-STARRS system and the design of the PS1 surveys are described and an overview of the resulting image and catalog data products and their basic characteristics are described together with a summary of important results. The images, reduced data products, and derived data products from the Pan-STARRS1 surveys are available to the community from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) at STScI.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

A tight-binding model for MoS$_2$ monolayers

We propose an accurate tight-binding parametrization for the band structure of MoS$_2$ monolayers near the main energy gap. We introduce a generic and straightforward derivation for the band energies equations that could be employed for other monolayer dichalcogenides. A parametrization that includes spin-orbit coupling is also provided. The proposed set of model parameters reproduce both the correct orbital compositions and location of valence and conductance band in comparison with ab initio calculations. The model gives a suitable starting point for realistic large-scale atomistic electronic transport calculations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗