arXiv subjects

Mari Watanabe

Publications and source records attributed to Mari Watanabe.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Direct observation of multiple conduction-band minima in high-performance thermoelectric SnSe

We report time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on SnSe which currently attracts great interest due to its extremely high thermoelectric performance. Laser-assisted photoemission signals are observed within $\pm$20 fs of the pump pulse arrival. Around 30-50 fs after the photoexcitation, the conduction band minima are not populated by the photoexcited electrons while the valence bands are considerably broadened. In going from 90 fs to 550 fs after the photoexcitation, the photoexcited carriers are decayed into the multiple conduction band minima. The observed conduction bands are consistent with the band structure calculations. The multiple conduction minima suggest possibility of high and anisotropic thermoelectric performance of n-type SnSe single crystal if it is realized.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Photo-excitation band-structure engineering of 2H-NbSe$_2$ probed by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

We investigated the nonequilibrium electronic structure of 2H-NbSe$_2$ by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find that the band structure is distinctively modulated by strong photo-excitation, as indicated by the unusual increase in the photoelectron intensities around E$_F$. In order to gain insight into the observed photo-induced electronic state, we performed DFT calculations with modulated lattice structures, and found that the variation of the Se height from the Nb layer results in a significant change in the effective mass and band gap energy. We further study the momentum-dependent carrier dynamics. The results suggest that the relaxation is faster at the K-centered Fermi surface than at the $Γ$-centered Fermi surface, which can be attributed to the stronger electron-lattice coupling at the K-centered Fermi surface. Our demonstration of band structure engineering suggests a new role for light as a tool for controlling the functionalities of solid-state materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Detecting electron-phonon couplings during photo-induced phase transition

Photo-induced phase transitions have been intensively studied owing to the ability to control a material of interest in the ultrafast manner, which can induce exotic phases unable to be attained at equilibrium. However, the key mechanisms are still under debate, and it has currently been a central issue how the couplings between the electron, lattice, and spin degrees of freedom are evolving during photo-induced phase transitions. Here, we develop a new analysis method, frequency-domain angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, to gain precise insight into electron-phonon couplings during photo-induced insulator-to-metal transitions for Ta$_2$NiSe$_5$. We demonstrate that multiple coherent phonons generated by displacive excitations show band-selective coupling to the electrons. Furthermore, we find that the lattice modulation corresponding to the 2 THz phonon mode, where Ta lattice is sheared along the a-axis, is the most relevant for the photo-induced semimetallic state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Photo-induced Superconducting State with Long-lived Disproportionate Band Filling in FeSe

Photo-excitation is a very powerful way to instantaneously drive a material into a novel quantum state without any fabrication, and variable ultrafast techniques have been developed to observe how electron-, lattice-, and spin-degrees of freedom change. One of the most spectacular phenomena is photo-induced superconductivity, and it has been suggested in cuprates that the transition temperature Tc can be enhanced from original Tc with significant lattice modulations. Here we show another photo-induced high-Tc superconducting state in the iron-based superconductor FeSe with semi-metallic hole and electron bands. The transient electronic state in the entire Brillouin zone is directly observed by the time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy using extreme ultraviolet pulses obtained from high harmonic generation. Our results of dynamical behaviors on timescales from 50 fs to 800 ps consistently support the favorable superconducting state after photo-excitation well above Tc. This finding demonstrates that multiband iron-based superconductors emerge as an alternative candidate for photo-induced superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Photo-induced semimetallic states realised in electron-hole coupled insulators

Using light to manipulate materials into desired states is one of the goals in condensed matter physics, since light control can provide ultrafast and environmentally-friendly photonics devices. However, it is generally difficult to realise a photo-induced phase which is not merely a higher entropy phase corresponding to a high-temperature phase at equilibrium. Here, we report realization of photo-induced insulator-to-metal transitions in Ta2Ni(Se1-xSx)5 including the excitonic insulator phase using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. From the dynamic properties of the system, we determine that screening of excitonic correlations plays a key role in the timescale of the transition to the metallic phase, which supports the existence of an excitonic-insulator phase at equilibrium. The non-equilibrium metallic state observed unexpectedly in the direct-gap excitonic insulator opens up a new avenue to optical band engineering in electron-hole coupled systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Demonstration of Circadian Rhythm in Heart Rate Turbulence using Novel Application of Correlator Functions

Background: It has been difficult to demonstrate circadian rhythm in the two parameters of heart rate turbulence, turbulence onset (TO) and turbulence slope (TS). Objective: To devise a new method for detecting circadian rhythm in noisy data, and apply it to selected Holter recordings from two post-myocardial infarction databases, Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST, n=684) and Innovative Stratification of Arrhythmic Risk (ISAR, n=327). Methods: For each patient, TS and TO were calculated for each hour with >4 VPCs. An autocorrelation function Corr(Delta t) = was then calculated, and averaged over all patients. Positive Corr(Delta t) indicates that TS at a given hour and Delta t hours later are similar. TO was treated likewise. Simulations and mathematical analysis showed that circadian rhythm required Corr(Delta t) to have a U-shape consisting of positive values near Delta t=0 and 23, and negative values for intermediate Delta t. Significant deviation of Corr(Delta t) from the correlator function of pure noise was evaluated as a chi-squared value. Results: Circadian patterns were not apparent in hourly averages of TS and TO plotted against clock time, which had large error bars. Their correlator functions, however, produced chi-squared values of ~10 in CAST (both p<0.0001) and ~3 in ISAR (both p<0.0001), indicating presence of circadian rhythmicity. Conclusion: Correlator functions may be a powerful tool for detecting presence of circadian rhythms in noisy data, even with recordings limited to 24 hours.

physics.med-ph↗