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N. L. Saini

Publications and source records attributed to N. L. Saini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Electronic inhomogeneity in Cs- and Sb-terminated surfaces of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ probed by scanning photoemission spectromicroscopy

Electronic structures of Cs- and Sb-terminated surfaces of a kagome superconductor CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ have been elucidated by means of scanning photoemission microscopy (SPEM). The observed band structure of the Cs-terminated surface is rather close to that of the bulk while that of the Sb-terminated one is substantially modified around K/H point of the Brillouin zone. While the contrast between the Cs- and Sb-terminated regions is reduced below the charge density wave transition temperature, the Sb 5$p$ band of Cs-terminated region exhibits electronic inhomogeneity which slightly increases below it. The inhomogeneity of the Sb 5$p$ band would be related to disorders of the out-of-plane Sb and relevant for the band folding along $Γ$-A with the charge density wave. The SPEM results suggest that the less inhomogeneous Cs termination is more suitable for interface of kagome superconductors. However, the inhomogeneity of Cs termination, which is significant at $Γ$/A, noticeable at K/H, and negligible at M/L, is expected to affect the Sb 5$p$-V 3$d$ hybridization at the interface.

cond-mat.supr-con

Casimir energy for N superconducting cavities: a model for the YBCO (BSCCO)

In this paper we study the Casimir energy of a sample made by N cavities, with N >> 1, across the transition from the metallic to the superconducting phase of the constituting plates. After having characterized the energy for the configuration in which the layers constituting the cavities are made by dielectric and for the configuration in which the layers are made by plasma sheets, we concentrate our analysis on the latter. It represents the final step towards the macroscopic characterization of a "multi cavity" (with N large) necessary to fully understand the behaviour of the Casimir energy of a YBCO (or a BSCCO) sample across the transition. Our analysis is especially useful to the Archimedes experiment, aimed at measuring the interaction of the electromagnetic vacuum energy with a gravitational field. To this purpose, we aim at modulating the Casimir energy of a layered structure, the multi cavity, by inducing a transition from the metallic to the superconducting phase. After having characterized the Casimir energy of such a structure for both the metallic and the superconducting phase, we give an estimate of the modulation of the energy across the transition.

quant-ph

Domain dependent Fermi arcs observed in a striped phase dichalcogenide

Angle-resolved photoemission spectromicroscopy on IrTe2 reveals evolution of mesoscopic striped domains across its first order phase transition at about 280 K. The striped texture of the domains is characterized by a herringbone arrangement of the electronic anisotropy axes. Under further cooling down to 47 K, the striped domains evolve into trijunction domains with the electronic anisotropy in three directions. Each domain harbors quasi one-dimensional surface bands forming Fermi arcs with peculiar spin polarization. The Fermi arc corresponds to an edge state of the two-dimensional bulk electronic states truncated at the surface, indicating an interesting interplay between the symmetry breaking and the surface electronic states.

cond-mat.str-el

Intermittent dynamics of antiferromagnetic phase in inhomogeneous iron-based chalcogenide superconductor

Coexistence of phases, characterized by different electronic degrees of freedom, commonly occurs in layered superconductors. Among them, alkaline intercalated chalcogenides are model systems showing microscale coexistence of paramagnetic (PAR) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) phases, however, temporal behavior of different phases is still unknown. Here, we report the first visualization of the atomic motion in the granular phase of K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. Unlike the PAR phase, the AFM texture reveals an intermittent dynamics with avalanches as in martensites. When cooled down across the superconducting transition temperature T$_c$, the AFM phase goes through an anomalous slowing behavior suggesting a direct relationship between the atomic motions in the AFM phase and the superconductivity. In addition of providing a compelling evidence of avalanche-like dynamics in a layered superconductor, the results provide a basis for new theoretical models to describe quantum states in inhomogeneous solids.

cond-mat.supr-con

Enhanced thermoelectricity by controlled local structure in bismuth-chalcogenides

Spectroscopic techniques, including photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance, and x-ray absorption, are used to investigate the electronic structure and the local structure of LaOBiS$_{2-x}$Se$_x$ thermoelectric material. It is found that Se substitution effectively suppresses local distortion, that can be responsible for the increased carrier mobility together with a change in the electronic structure. The results suggest a possible way to control thermoelectric properties by tuning of the local crystal structure of these materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Determination of the local structure of Sr$_{2-x}$M$_x$IrO$_4$ (M = K, La) as a function of doping and temperature

The local structure of correlated spin-orbit insulator Sr$_{2-x}$M$_x$IrO$_4$ (M = K, La) has been investigated by Ir L$_3$-edge extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements. The measurements were performed as a function of temperature for different dopings induced by substitution of Sr with La or K. It is found that Ir-O bonds have strong covalency and they hardly show any change across the Néel temperature. In the studied doping range, neither Ir-O bonds nor their dynamics, measured by their mean square relative displacements, show any appreciable change upon carrier doping, indicating possibility of a nanoscale phase separation in the doped system. On the other hand, there is a large increase of the static disorder in Ir-Sr correlation, larger for K doping than La doping. Similarities and differences with respect to the local lattice displacements in cuprates are briefly discussed.

cond-mat.str-el

Temperature-dependent local structure of superconducting BaPd$_2$As$_2$ and SrPd$_2$As$_2$

The local structures of 122-type paradium arsenides, namely BaPd$_2$As$_2$ and SrPd$_2$As$_2$, are examined by As K-edge extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements to find a possible correlation between the variation of their superconducting transition temperature and the local structure. The local atomic distances are found to be consistent with average distances measured by diffraction techniques. The temperature dependence of mean square relative displacements reveal that, while BaPd$_2$As$_2$ is characterized by a local As-Pd soft mode, albeit with larger atomic disorder, SrPd$_2$As$_2$ shows anomalous As-Pd correlations with a kink at $\sim$160 K due to hardening by raising temperature. We have discussed implications of these results and possible mechanism of differing superconducting transition temperature in relation with the structural instability.

cond-mat.supr-con

Casimir energy for two and three superconducting coupled cavities

In this paper we study the behavior of the Casimir energy of a "multi-cavity" across the transition from the metallic to the superconducting phase of the constituting plates. Our analysis is carried out in the framework of the ARCHIMEDES experiment, aiming at measuring the interaction of the electromagnetic vacuum energy with a gravitational field. For this purpose it is foreseen to modulate the Casimir energy of a layered structure composing a multi-cavity coupled system by inducing a transition from the metallic to the superconducting phase. This implies a thorough study of the behavior of the cavity, where normal metallic layers are alternated with superconducting layers, across the transition. Our study finds that, because of the coupling between the cavities, mainly mediated by the transverse magnetic modes of the radiation field, the variation of energy across the transition can be very large.

hep-th

Evolution of remnant Fermi surface state in lightly-doped correlated spin-orbit insulator Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$IrO$_4$

Electronic structure has been studied in lightly electron doped correlated spin-orbit insulator Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. We have observed coexistence of the lower Hubbard band and the in-gap band, the momentum dependence of the latter traces that of the band calculations without on-site Coulomb repulsion. The in-gap state remained anisotropically gapped in all observed momentum area, forming a remnant Fermi surface state, evolving towards the Fermi energy by carrier doping. These experimental results show a striking similarity with those observed in deeply underdoped cuprates, suggesting the common nature of the nodal liquid states observed in both compounds.

cond-mat.str-el

Localized and mixed valence state of Ce $4f$ in superconducting and ferromagnetic CeO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$BiS$_{2}$ revealed by x-ray absorption and photoemission spectroscopy

We have performed Ce $L_3$-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Ce $4d$-$4f$ resonant photoemission spectroscopy (PES) on single crystals of CeO$_{1-x}$F$_x$BiS$_2$ for $x=0.0$ and 0.5 in order to investigate the Ce $4f$ electronic states. In the Ce $L_3$-edge XAS, mixed valence of Ce was found in the $x=0.0$ sample and the F-doping suppresses it, which is consistent with the results on polycrystalline samples. As for the resonant PES, we found that the Ce $4f$ electrons in both $x=0.0$ and $0.5$ systems respectively form a flat band at 1.0 eV and 1.4 eV below the Fermi level and there is no contribution to the Fermi surfaces. Interestingly, Ce valence in CeOBiS$_2$ deviates from Ce$^{3+}$ even though Ce $4f$ electrons are localized, indicating the Ce valence is not in a typical valence fluctuation regime. We assume that localized Ce $4f$ in CeOBiS$_2$ is mixed with the unoccupied Bi $6p_z$, which is consistent with the previous local structural study. Based on the analysis of the Ce $L_3$-edge XAS spectra using Anderson's impurity model calculation, we found that the transfer integral becomes smaller increasing the number of Ce $4f$ electrons upon the F substitution for O.

cond-mat.supr-con

Archimedes: a feasibility study of an experiment to weigh the electromagnetic vacuum

Archimedes is a feasibility study of a future experiment to ascertain the interaction of vacuum fluctuations with gravity. The experiment should measure the force that the earth's gravitational field exerts on a Casimir cavity by using a small force detector. Here we analyse the main parameters of the experiment and we present its conceptual scheme, which overcomes in principle the most critical problems.

gr-qc

The Archimedes experiment

Archimedes is an INFN-funded pathfinder experiment aimed at verifying the feasibility of measuring the interaction of vacuum fluctuations with gravity. The final experiment will measure the force exerted by the gravitational field on a Casimir cavity whose vacuum energy is modulated with a superconductive transition, by using a balance as a small force detector. Archimedes is a two-year project devoted to test the most critical experimental aspects, in particular the balance resonance frequency and quality factor, the thermal modulation efficiency and the superconductive sample realization.

gr-qc

Fermi surfaces and orbital polarization in superconducting CeO$_{0.5}$F$_{0.5}$BiS$_{2}$ revealed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

We have investigated the electronic structure of BiS$_2$-based CeO$_{0.5}$F$_{0.5}$BiS$_2$ superconductor using polarization-dependent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and succeeded in elucidating the orbital characters on the Fermi surfaces. In the rectangular Fermi pockets around X point, the straight portion parallel to the $k_y$ direction is dominated by Bi $6p_x$ character. The orbital polarization indicates the underlying quasi-one-dimensional electronic structure of the BiS$_2$ system. Moreover, distortions on tetragonally aligned Bi could give rise to the band Jahn-Teller effect.

cond-mat.supr-con

Direct observation of nanoscale interface phase in the superconducting chalcogenide K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ with intrinsic phase separation

We have used scanning micro x-ray diffraction to characterize different phases in superconducting K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ as a function of temperature, unveiling the thermal evolution across the superconducting transition temperature (T$_c\sim$32 K), phase separation temperature (T$_{ps}\sim$520 K) and iron-vacancy order temperature (T$_{vo}\sim$580 K). In addition to the iron-vacancy ordered tetragonal magnetic phase and orthorhombic metallic minority filamentary phase, we have found a clear evidence of the interface phase with tetragonal symmetry. The metallic phase is surrounded by this interface phase below $\sim$300 K, and is embedded in the insulating texture. The spatial distribution of coexisting phases as a function of temperature provides a clear evidence of the formation of protected metallic percolative paths in the majority texture with large magnetic moment, required for the electronic coherence for the superconductivity. Furthermore, a clear reorganization of iron-vacancy order around the T$_{ps}$ and T$_c$ is found with the interface phase being mostly associated with a different iron-vacancy configuration, that may be important for protecting the percolative superconductivity in K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$.

cond-mat.supr-con

Coexistence of localized and itinerant electrons in BaFe2X3 (X = S and Se) revealed by photoemission spectroscopy

We report a photoemission study at room temperature on BaFe2X3 (X = S and Se) and CsFe2Se3 in which two-leg ladders are formed by the Fe sites. The Fe 2p core-level peaks of BaFe2X3 are broad and exhibit two components, indicating that itinerant and localized Fe 3d sites coexist similar to KxFe2-ySe2. The Fe 2p core-level peak of CsFe2Se3 is rather sharp and is accompanied by a charge-transfer satellite. The insulating ground state of CsFe2Se3 can be viewed as a Fe2+ Mott insulator in spite of the formal valence of +2.5. The itinerant versus localized behaviors can be associated with the stability of chalcogen p holes in the two-leg ladder structure.

cond-mat.str-el

Temperature dependence of iron local magnetic moment in phase-separated superconducting chalcogenide

We have studied local magnetic moment and electronic phase separation in superconducting K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ by x-ray emission and absorption spectroscopy. Detailed temperature dependent measurements at the Fe K-edge have revealed coexisting electronic phases and their correlation with the transport properties. By cooling down, the local magnetic moment of Fe shows a sharp drop across the superconducting transition temperature (T$_c$) and the coexisting phases exchange spectral weights with the low spin state gaining intensity at the expense of the higher spin state. After annealing the sample across the iron-vacancy order temperature, the system does not recover the initial state and the spectral weight anomaly at T$_c$ as well as superconductivity disappear. The results clearly underline that the coexistence of the low spin and high spin phases and the transitions between them provide unusual magnetic fluctuations and have a fundamental role in the superconducting mechanism of electronically inhomogeneous K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ system.

cond-mat.supr-con

Fate of $yz$/$zx$ orbital degeneracy and $xy$ Fermi surface in Ru substituted FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_{x}$

We have investigated the impact of Ru substitution on the multi-band electronic structure of FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$ by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The ARPES results exhibit suppression of the $xy$ Fermi surface and the spectral broadening near the zone boundaries, which can be associated with the lattice disorder introduced by the Ru substitution. The degeneracy of the Fe 3$d$ $yz$/$zx$ bands at the zone center, which is broken in FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$, is partly recovered with the Ru substitution, indicating coexistence of nematic and non-nematic electronic states.

cond-mat.supr-con

Excitonic Bose-Einstein condensation in Ta2NiSe5 above room temperature

We show that finite temperature variational cluster approximation (VCA) calculations on an extended Falicov-Kimball model can reproduce angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) results on Ta2NiSe5 across a semiconductor-to-semiconductor structural phase transition at 325 K. We demonstrate that the characteristic temperature dependence of the flat-top valence band observed by ARPES is reproduced by the VCA calculation on the realistic model for an excitonic insulator only when the strong excitonic fluctuation is taken into account. The present calculations indicate that Ta2NiSe5 falls in the Bose-Einstein condensation regime of the excitonic insulator state.

cond-mat.str-el