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Ji-Hai Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Ji-Hai Zhang.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Distinct Surface and Bulk Superconductivity in the Kagome Superconductor SrSn$_3$

Surface and bulk superconductivity may possess fundamentally different superconducting properties in quantum materials with nontrivial electronic structures, yet their superimposed spectroscopic signatures often prevent direct experimental access to each superconducting channel. Here we reveal, in epitaxial films of the kagome superconductor SrSn$_3$, distinct surface and bulk superconducting channels with markedly different superconducting gaps, upper critical fields, and vortex-core electronic states by tuning the tunneling junction resistance in scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The surface superconductivity is characterized by a thickness-independent superconducting gap and an enhanced upper critical field, whereas the bulk superconducting channel exhibits a larger superconducting gap that decreases with reducing film thickness and a much lower upper critical field. Within magnetic vortex cores, robust non-split zero-bias conductance peaks are observed exclusively in the surface superconducting channel, while pronounced zero-bias suppression is consistently associated with the bulk superconducting channel. These findings demonstrate that the vortex-core electronic structure depends sensitively on the underlying superconducting channel, providing new insight into vortex-bound states in topological quantum materials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Antiferromagnetic Quantum Criticality in Infinite-Layer Cuprates Sr1-xNdxCuO2

The interplay between quantum criticality and Fermi surface reconstruction is central to elucidating the phase diagram of high-temperature cuprate superconductors. While studies on electron-doped T'-structure cuprates suggest an antiferromagnetic origin of this reconstruction, quantitative consensus has been hindered by apical oxygen instabilities and uncontrolled oxygen vacancies. Here, we overcome these limitations by utilizing ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy to synthesize high-quality, oxygen-stoichiometric thin films of infinite-layer cuprate Sr1-xNdxCuO2 across its entire superconducting dome. Hall transport measurements reveal a sharp carrier-type transition signaling a Fermi surface reconstruction at a critical doping xc ~ 0.155. We show that a spin-density-wave tight-binding model quantitatively reproduces the transport evolution, supporting an antiferromagnetic origin of this quantum phase transition. Furthermore, upon suppressing superconductivity with magnetic fields, the normal-state resistivity exhibits a pristine strange metal behavior that persists down to 2 K in the vicinity of xc. Our findings establish an intrinsic, universal antiferromagnetic quantum criticality in electron-doped cuprates, positioning the structurally simplest infinite-layer cuprates as a clean benchmark platform for theories of unconventional superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗