SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Ji-Yong Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Ji-Yong Liu.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Altermagnetism and Room-Temperature Metal-to-Insulator Transition in CsCr$_2$S$_2$O

Metal-to-insulator transitions (MITs), particularly near room temperature, have been extensively studied in nonmagnetic and conventional ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic systems, yet the co-emergence of MIT and altermagnetism (AM) remains unexplored. Here, a layered chromium-based compound CsCr$_2$S$_2$O that realizes this coexistence was synthesized. It crystalizes in CeCr$_2$Si$_2$C-type structure with Cr moments orders in a C-type antiferromagnetic configuration below $T_\mathrm{N}$ = 326 K, constituting a room-temperature d-wave altermagnet. In the altermagnetic state, a subsequent Verwey-type MIT appears at $T_\mathrm{MI}$ = 305 K, driven by a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural distortion and stripe charge ordering of Cr$^{+2}$/Cr$^{+3}$ ions, while maintaining its altermagnetic character. First-principles calculations show moment-dependent spin-split electronic structures with maximum splitting energies of ~0.6 eV and ~0.3 eV in the metallic and insulating states, respectively. Our work links the two prominent phenomena, MIT and AM, in a single material, establishing a new platform for potential spintronic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid and charge-density wave in a quasi-one-dimensional material

In one-dimensional (1D) electron systems, the Fermi liquid state breaks down due either to electron interactions, which results in a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) state, or to Peierls instability, which leads to an insulating charge-density-wave (CDW) phase. In general, these two phenomena are mutually exclusive, and their coexistence remains elusive in real materials. Here, we report the discovery of a new quasi-1D material, Cs$_{1-δ}$Cr$_3$S$_3$, which unexpectedly exhibits coexistence of the antithetical CDW and TLL states. The CDW state is evidenced by the intra-unit-cell dimerization, and the opening of an optical band gap of $\sim$250 meV. Meanwhile, TLL behaviour is unambiguously demonstrated by the measurements of electrical transport and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which reveal a power-law scaling with temperature, bias voltage and electron energy. Band structure calculations reveal isolated, linearly dispersive, 1D bands around the Fermi level. For the dimerized CDW phase, the 1D Fermi-surface sheets located at the boundary of the Brillouin zone are gapped from intra-unit-cell bond symmetry breaking. Experimentally, subtle Cs vacancies shift the Fermi level into the linearly dispersive valence band, enabling the observation of TLL behaviour without interrupting the CDW order. This work establishes Cs$_{1-δ}$Cr$_3$S$_3$ as a rare material platform in which the antagonistic Fermi-liquid instabilities coexist and intertwine, opening new avenues for studying emergent quantum phenomena in 1D systems.

cond-mat.str-el

Cs$_3$V$_9$Te$_{13}$: A Correlated Electron System with Topological Flat Bands

Correlated electron systems with topological flat bands show great promise in exploring exotic quantum phenomena. However, such crystalline materials remain rare. Here we report the discovery of a novel material, Cs$_3$V$_9$Te$_{13}$, which unexpectedly exhibits magnetism and significant electron correlations. The crystal structure features two interpenetrating sets of vanadium triangles that can be linked with an ideal kagome lattice. The physical property measurements demonstrate a cascade of correlated electron phenomena, including quasi-two-dimensional bad metal, non-Fermi-liquid behavior, antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave transition at $T_\mathrm{N}$ = 47 K, possible short-range spin ordering at $\sim$350 K, a large Sommerfeld coefficient of 246 mJ mol-fu$^{-1}$ K$^{-2}$, and pressure-induced quantum criticality. These correlated electron behaviors are associated with the topological flat bands at the Fermi level, the latter of which are generated from the V2 sublattice in terms of a bipartite kagome model. Our findings establish Cs$_3$V$_9$Te$_{13}$ as a brand new correlated matter that synergistically combines flat-band physics and tunable properties.

cond-mat.str-el

Physical properties and first-principles calculations of an altermagnet candidate Cs$_{1-δ}$V$_2$Te$_2$O

We report the crystal growth, structure, physical properties, and first-principles calculations of a vanadium-based oxytelluride Cs$_{1-δ}$V$_2$Te$_2$O. The material possesses two-dimensional V$_2$O square nets sandwiched by tellurium layers, with local crystallographic symmetry satisfying the spin symmetry for a $d$-wave altermagnet. An antiferromagnetic transition at 293 K is unambiguously evidenced from the measurements of magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. In addition, a secondary transition at $\sim$70 K is also observed, possibly associated with a Lifshitz transition. The first-principles calculations indicate robust Néel-type collinear antiferromagnetism in the V$_2$O plane. Consequently, spin splittings show up in momentum space, in relation with the real-space mirror/rotation symmetry. Interestingly, the V-$d_{yz}/d_{xz}$ electrons, which primarily contribute the quasi-one-dimensional Fermi surface, turns out to be fully orbital- and spin-polarized, akin to the case of a half metal. Our work lays a solid foundation on the potential applications utilizing altermagnetic properties in vanadium-based oxychalcogenides.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Charge density wave with suppressed long-range structural modulation in canted antiferromagnetic kagome FeGe

Kagome lattice can host abundant exotic quantum states such as superconductivity and charge density wave (CDW). Recently, successive orders of A-type antiferromagnetism (AFM), CDW and canted AFM have been manifested upon cooling in kagome FeGe. However, the mechanism of CDW and interaction with magnetism remains unclear. Here we investigate the evolution of CDW with temperature across the canted AFM by single-crystal x-ray diffraction, scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS). Interestingly, CDW-induced superlattice reflections become weak after the canted AFM, although long-range CDW order is still detectable by STM and REXS. We uncover a novel long-range CDW order with suppressed structural modulation, likely due to the competition for the underlying crystal structure between CDW and canted AFM. Additionally, occupational modulations of Ge1 in the kagome plane and displacive modulations of all atoms were extracted. The results confirm Ge dimerization along the c axis and suggest a dynamic transformation between different CDW domains.

cond-mat.str-el

Superconductivity emerging from density-wave-like order in a correlated kagome metal

Unconventional superconductivity (USC) in a highly correlated kagome system has been theoretically proposed for years, yet the experimental realization is hard to achieve. The recently discovered vanadium-based kagome materials, which exhibit both superconductivity and charge density wave (CDW) orders, are nonmagnetic and weakly correlated, thus unlikely host USC as theories proposed. Here we report the discovery of a chromium-based kagome metal, CsCr$_3$Sb$_5$, which is contrastingly characterised by strong electron correlations, frustrated magnetism, and characteristic flat bands close to the Fermi level. Under ambient pressure, it undergoes a concurrent structural and magnetic phase transition at 55 K, accompanying with a stripe-like $4a_0$ structural modulation. At high pressure, the phase transition evolves into two transitions, probably associated with CDW and antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave orderings, respectively. These density-wave (DW)-like orders are gradually suppressed with pressure and, remarkably, a superconducting dome emerges at 3.65-8.0 GPa. The maximum of the superconducting transition temperature, $T_\mathrm{c}^{\mathrm{max}}=$ 6.4 K, appears when the DW-like orders are completely suppressed at 4.2 GPa, and the normal state exhibits a non-Fermi-liquid behaviour, reminiscent of USC and quantum criticality in iron-based superconductors. Our work offers an unprecedented platform for investigating possible USC in a correlated kagome system.

cond-mat.supr-con

Topological Dirac states in a layered telluride TaPdTe$_5$ with quasi-one-dimensional PdTe$_2$ chains

We report the synthesis and systematic studies of a new layered ternary telluride TaPdTe5 with quasi-one-dimensional PdTe2 chains. This compound crystalizes in a layered orthorhombic structure with space group Cmcm. Analysis of its curved field-dependent Hall resistivity, using the two-band model, indicates the hole-dominated transport with a high mobility $μ_h$ = 2.38 $\times$ 10$^3$ cm$^2$ V$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$ at low temperatures. The in-plane magnetoresistance (MR) displays significant anisotropy with field applied along the crystallographic $b$ axis. The MR with the current applied along the $c$-axis is also measured in high magnetic fields up to 51.7 T. Remarkably, it follows a power-law dependence and reaches (9.5 $\times$ 10$^3$)% at 2.1 K without any signature of saturation. The De Haas-van Alphen oscillations show a small Fermi-surface pocket with a nontrivial Berry phase. The Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations are detected at low temperatures and under magnetic fields above 28.5 T. Two effective masses $m^*$ (0.26$m_e$ and 0.41$m_e$) are extracted from the oscillatory SdH data. Our first-principles calculations unveil a topological Dirac cone in its surface states, and, in particular, the topological index indicates that TaPdTe$_5$ is a topologically nontrivial material.

cond-mat.str-el

Superconductivity in quasi-one-dimensional K$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$ with significant electron correlations

We report the discovery of bulk superconductivity (SC) at 6.1 K in a quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) chromium pnictide K$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$ which contains [(Cr$_3$As$_3$)$^{2-}$]$_{\infty}$ double-walled subnano-tubes with face-sharing Cr$_{6/2}$ (As$_{6/2}$) octahedron linear chains in the inner (outer) wall. The material has a large electronic specific-heat coefficient of 70$\sim$75 mJ K$^{-2}$ mol$^{-1}$, indicating significantly strong electron correlations. Signature of non-Fermi liquid behavior is shown by the linear temperature dependence of resistivity in a broad temperature range from 7 to 300 K. Unconventional SC is preliminarily manifested by the estimated upper critical field exceeding the Pauli limit by a factor of three to four. The title compound represents a rare example that possibly unconventional SC emerges in a Q1D system with strong electron correlations.

cond-mat.supr-con