arXiv subjects

Ryohei Nemoto

Publications and source records attributed to Ryohei Nemoto.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Direct Observation of the Zigzag Edge States of a Supramolecular Diatomic Kagome Lattice

Lattice geometry plays a fundamental role in the behavior of Bloch electrons in a crystal. The diatomic Kagome lattice, an extension of the honeycomb and Kagome lattices, is predicted to give rise to emergent and topological phenomena, but its experimental investigation has been limited thus far. Here, we fabricate a diatomic Kagome lattice through self-assembly of a triptycene derivative with phenazine moieties (Trip-Phz)---a $\mathrm{C_3}$-symmetric, non-planar $\pi$-conjugated molecule. Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations show that Trip-Phz forms a highly ordered diatomic Kagome lattice terminated by zigzag-type edges on the Pb(111) surface. Combined STM measurements and tight-binding calculations provide direct evidence for the existence of the edge states that correspond to those of graphene. These states are topological edge states dictated by the quantization of the Zak phase and the bulk-edge correspondence.This work reveals an ideal platform for exploring quantum materials with unique lattice geometries using supramolecular technology.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Anisotropic transport of Josephson vortices in atomic-layer superconductors on vicinal surfaces

Atomic steps have strong influences on surface two-dimensional superconductors. Josephson vortices formed at the atomic steps under magnetic fields may dominate transport phenomena at low temperatures, but its experimental verification is still lacking. Here, we report the vortex transport properties of atomic-layer superconductor Si(111)-$(\sqrt{7}\times\sqrt{3})$-In with vicinal surfaces, for which Josephson vortices are directly observed by scanning tunneling microscopy. A sharp drop in resistance with decreasing temperature $T$, detected under out-of-plane magnetic field $B$, reveals a distinctive anisotropy with respect to the atomic step direction. The anisotropy of sheet resistance, proportional to that of vortex mobility, amounts to the order of $10^3$ at intermediate magnetic fields. In the high-$T$ and low-$B$ region, Josephson vortices exhibit thermally excited creep motions with anisotropic activation energy $U_\mathrm{act}$. A further increase in $B$ suppresses $U_\mathrm{act}$ toward zero anisotropically, resulting in one-dimensional pinning-free vortex flow at $0.10 \lesssim B \lesssim 0.20$ T. At the lowest temperatures, the vortex motion is governed by quantum tunneling. A $B$-$T$ phase diagram constructed based on these measurements reveals multiple regions characterized by directionally dependent vortex-transport mechanisms.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Visualization of defect-induced interband proximity effect at the nanoscale

The vast majority of superconductors have more than one Fermi surface, on which the electrons pair below the critical temperature $T_C$, yet their superconducting behavior can be well described by a single-band Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory. This is mostly due to interband scattering, especially in superconductors in the dirty limit, rigidly linking the pairing amplitude of the different bands. This effect has severely limited experimental studies of the complex physics of multiband superconductivity. In this study, we utilize the fact that elementary Pb - as a clean limit system - has two Fermi surfaces that are only weakly coupled by interband scattering, allowing the formation of two separate condensates. By studying crystallographic defects in the form of stacking fault tetrahedra with our millikelvin scanning tunneling microscope, we show how to locally tune interband coupling ranging from weak to strong coupling and modify the superconducting order parameters from two well separated gaps to one merged gap around defects. The experiments critically test the theory of multiband superconductors and give a route to access a wide range of predicted quantum effects in these systems.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Moiré superlattices of antimonene on a Bi(111) substrate with van Hove singularity and Rashba-type spin polarization

Moiré superlattices consisting of two-dimensional materials have attracted immense attention because of emergent phenomena such as flat band-induced Mott insulating states and unconventional superconductivity. However, the effects of spin-orbit coupling on these materials have not yet been fully explored. Here, we show that single- and double-bilayer antimony honeycomb lattices, referred to as antimonene, form moiré superlattices on a Bi(111) substrate due to lattice mismatch. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) measurements reveal the presence of spectral peaks near the Fermi level, which are spatially modulated with the moiré period. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) combined with density functional theory calculations clarify the surface band structure with saddle points near the Fermi level, which allows us to attribute the observed STM spectral peaks to the van Hove singularity. Moreover, spin-resolved ARPES measurements reveal that the observed surface states are Rashba-type spin-polarized. The present work has significant implications in that Fermi surface instability and symmetry breaking may emerge at low temperatures, where the spin degree of freedom and electron correlation also play important roles.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Identification of multiple-flux-quanta vortices by core states in the two-band superconductor Pb

Superconductors are of type I or II depending on whether they form an Abrikosov vortex lattice. Although bulk lead (Pb) is classified as a prototypical type-I superconductor, we observe single-flux-quantum and multiple-flux-quanta vortices in the intermediate state using mK scanning tunneling microscopy. We show that the winding number of individual vortices can be determined from the real space wave function of its Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon bound states. This generalizes the index theorem put forward by Volovik for isotropic electronic states to realistic electronic structures. In addition, the bound states due to the two superconducting bands of Pb can be separately detected. This yields strong evidence for low inter-band coupling and an independent closure of the gaps inside vortices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Non-charge-transfer origin of Tc Enhancement in a Surface Superconductor Si(111)-(root7xroot3)-In with Adsorbed Organic Molecules

The effects of adsorption of Zn-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) molecules on the superconductivity of the Si(111)-(root7xroot3)-In surface are studied through transport measurements under ultrahigh vacuum environment. The ZnPc molecules are found to increase the transition temperature Tc by 11% at maximum, which is about 2.7 times the Tc increase previously reported using CuPc. By contrast, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements and ab initio calculations show that charge transfer from the In atomic layers to ZnPc is substantially smaller than that to CuPc. This clearly shows that charge transfer should be excluded as the origin of the increase in Tc. The push-back effect induced by physical adsorption of molecules is discussed as a possible mechanism for the Tc enhancement.

cond-mat.supr-con↗