arXiv subjects

X. D. Zhu

Publications and source records attributed to X. D. Zhu.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Magnetic domain depinning as possible evidence for two ferromagnetic phases in LaCrGe$_3$

Two ferromagnetic phases, FM1 and FM2, were first proposed to exist in LaCrGe$_3$ based on a broad maximum in the temperature derivative of resistivity resembling that of the superconducting ferromagnet UGe$_2$ where FM1 and FM2 are well-established. While evidence for two FM phases can be found in certain additional probes, corresponding anomalies in magnetization have not been recognized until now. Our spatially-resolved images of the magnetic domains show a substantial change in the domain structure between the higher temperature FM1 phase and the lower temperature FM2 phase. Furthermore, our measurements of the coercive field and virgin magnetization curves reveal an unconventional magnetic domain pinning region in the FM1 phase, followed by a depinning region at lower temperatures where the system is reported to crossover into the FM2 phase. We incorporate this discovery into a simple domain magnetization model that demystifies the magnetization curve seen in all previous studies. Finally, we find that the unusual domain behavior can be explained by a change in the ferromagnetic exchange interaction and magnetic moment, both of which are consistent with the existence of two FM phases. This revelation may help explain a range of anomalous behaviors observed in LaCrGe$_3$ and rekindles the discussion about the prevalence of multiple FM phases in fragile FM systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

A Novel Compact Si-B-N Barrier on Mg-Li Alloys via Plasma Treatment

Mg-Li alloys have attracted much attention due to their superior properties. However, it is a great challenge to improve their inferior oxidation and corrosion resistance. We report a novel Si-B-N ceramic film deposited on the Mg-9.6Li alloy surface as an effective barrier against oxidation and corrosion. The films were deposited by using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition from a N2-B2H6-SiH4 gas mixtures, showing compact structure and adhesive attachment to the alloy surface. The barrier revealed excellent protection against oxidation in humid air for 500 days, and no observable changes were found in immersion test of the 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution for 10 min. The superior oxidation and corrosion resistance are attributed to the excellent material property of Si-B-N coatings with compact structure via plasma treatment. Moreover, it is found that moderate proportion of B_2 H_6 in the source gas mixture is beneficial to the protection of alloys, where the hydrogen release reaction nearly disappeared and no bubbles were generated on the surface in the immersion test.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Anomalous thermoelectric effects of ZrTe$_{5}$ in and beyond the quantum limit

Thermoelectric effects are more sensitive and promising probes to topological properties of emergent materials, but much less addressed compared to other physical properties. Zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe$_{5}$) has inspired active investigations recently because of its multiple topological nature. We study the thermoelectric effects of ZrTe$_{5}$ in a magnetic field and find several anomalous behaviors. The Nernst response has a steplike profile near zero field when the charge carriers are electrons only, suggesting the anomalous Nernst effect arising from a nontrivial profile of Berry curvature. Both the thermopower and Nernst signal exhibit exotic peaks in the strong-field quantum limit. At higher magnetic fields, the Nernst signal has a sign reversal at a critical field where the thermopower approaches to zero. We propose that these anomalous behaviors can be attributed to the Landau index inversion, which is resulted from the competition of the $\sqrt{B}$ dependence of the Dirac-type Landau bands and linear-$B$ dependence of the Zeeman energy ($B$ is the magnetic field). Our understanding to the anomalous thermoelectric properties in ZrTe$_{5}$ opens a new avenue for exploring Dirac physics in topological materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Singlet superconductivity in single-crystal NiBi3 superconductor

Andreev reflection spectroscopy with unpolarized and highly spin-polarized currents has been utilized to study an intermetallic single-crystal superconductor NiBi3. Magnetoresistance at zero bias voltage of point contacts shows the occurrence and suppression of Andreev reflection by unpolarized and polarized current, respectively. The gap value, its symmetry and temperature dependence have been determined using an unpolarized current. The spin state in the NiBi3 sample is determined to be antiparallel using a highly spin-polarized current. The gap value 2Delta/kBT, gap symmetry and its temperature dependence, combined with the antiparallel spin state show that the bulk NiBi3 is a singlet s-wave superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

31 Glitches in Twelve Radio Pulsars

Data are gathered from the Parkes pulsar data archive of twelve young radio pulsars, with the intervals of data for each pulsar ranged between 2.8 years and 6.8 years. 31 glitches are identified by using phase connection from "pulsar timing" technology, ranging from $1.7\times10^{-9}$ to $8.5\times10^{-6}$ at the change in relative glitch sizes $Δν/ν$, where $ν=1/P$ is the pulse frequency. 8 post-glitch behaviours of 13 published glitches are updated with 4 exponential recoveries observed. Detecting 18 new glitches has great significance, but only one exponential relaxation was discovered in these new glitches. The bimodal distribution of $Δν/ν$, as before, is validated with peaks at $\sim 10^{-6}$ and $\sim 10^{-9}$. Moreover, all exponential decays were observed in large glitches, and have very low $Q$. It takes short time toward the extrapolation of the pre-glitch pulse frequency with the timescale of 40 or 80 days. Besides, most glitches exhibit a linear decrease in slow-down rate $|\dotν|$ and a permanent change in $\ddotν$ after glitch. In special, PSR J1341-6220 was detected 4 new glitches to compose a total of 27 glitches, rising in third place of the most actively glitching pulsars known with a glitch rate of $1.17$ glitches per year. Unusual post-glitch behaviours demonstrate long-lasting increase of $ν$ for hundreds of days in PSR J1112--6103 and PSR J1614--5048.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Disruption of the accidental Dirac semimetal state in ZrTe$_{5}$ under hydrostatic pressure

We study the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the magnetotransport properties of the zirconium pentatelluride. The magnitude of resistivity anomaly gets enhanced with increasing pressure, but the transition temperature $T^{\ast}$ is almost independent of it. In the case of H $\parallel$ $b$, the quasi-linear magnetoresistance decreases drastically from 3300$\%$ (9 T) at ambient pressure to 400$\%$ (14 T) at 2.5 GPa. Besides, the change of the quantum oscillation phase from topological nontrivial to trivial is revealed around 2 GPa. Both demonstrate that the pressure breaks the accidental Dirac node in ZrTe$_{5}$. For H $\parallel$ $c$, in contrast, subtle changes can be seen in the magnetoresistance and quantum oscillations. In the presence of pressure, ZrTe$_{5}$ evolves from a highly anisotropic to a nearly isotropic electronic system, which accompanies with the disruption of the accidental Dirac semimetal state. It supports the assumption that ZrTe$_{5}$ is a semi-3D Dirac system with linear dispersion along two directions and a quadratic one along the third.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Multiband nodeless superconductivity near the charge-density-wave quantum critical point in ZrTe3-xSex

Recently it was found that selenium doping can suppress the charge-density-wave (CDW) order and induce bulk superconductivity in ZrTe$_3$. The observed superconducting dome suggests the existence of a CDW quantum critical point (QCP) in ZrTe$_{3-x}$Se$_x$ near $x \approx$ 0.04. To elucidate its superconducting state near the CDW QCP, we measure the thermal conductivity of two ZrTe$_{3-x}$Se$_x$ single crystals ($x$ = 0.044 and 0.051) down to 80 mK. For both samples, the residual linear term $κ_0/T$ at zero field is negligible, which is a clear evidence for nodeless superconducting gap. Furthermore, the field dependence of $κ_0/T$ manifests multigap behavior. These results demonstrate multiple nodeless superconducting gaps in ZrTe$_{3-x}$Se$_x$, which indicates conventional superconductivity despite of the existence of a CDW QCP.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Structural and Magnetic Characterization of Large Area, Free-Standing Thin Films of Magnetic Ion Intercalated Dichalcogenides Mn0.25TaS2 and Fe0.25TaS2

Free-standing thin films of magnetic ion intercalated transition metal dichalcogenides are produced using ultramicrotoming techniques. Films of thicknesses ranging from 30nm to 250nm were achieved and characterized using transmission electron diffraction and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Diffraction measurements visualize the long range crystallographic ordering of the intercalated ions, while the dichroism measurements directly assess the orbital contributions to the total magnetic moment. We thus verify the unquenched orbital moment in Fe0.25TaS2 and measure the fully quenched orbital contribution in Mn0.25TaS2. Such films can be used in a wide variety of ultrafast X-ray and electron techniques that benefit from transmission geometries, and allow measurements of ultrafast structural, electronic, and magnetization dynamics in space and time.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Spin-orbit coupling enhanced superconductivity in Bi-rich compounds ABi$_{3}$ (A=Sr and Ba)

Recently, Bi-based compounds have attracted attentions because of the strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). In this work, we figured out the role of SOC in ABi$_{3}$ (A=Sr and Ba) by theoretical investigation of the band structures, phonon properties, and electron-phonon coupling. Without SOC, strong Fermi surface nesting leads to phonon instabilities in ABi$_{3}$. SOC suppresses the nesting and stabilizes the structure. Moreover, without SOC the calculation largely underestimates the superconducting transition temperatures ($T_{c}$), while with SOC the calculated $T_{c}$ are very close to those determined by measurements on single crystal samples. The SOC enhanced superconductivity in ABi$_{3}$ is due to not only the SOC induced phonon softening, but also the SOC related increase of electron-phonon coupling matrix elements. ABi$_{3}$ can be potential platforms to construct heterostructure of superconductor/topological insulator to realize topological superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Disorder suppressed charge-density-wave and its origin in 1T-TaSe2-xTex

In the sake of connecting the charge-density-wave (CDW) of TaSe$_2$ and single-\emph{\textbf{q}} CDW-type distortion of TaTe$_2$, we present an overall electronic phase diagram of 1\emph{T}-TaSe$_{2-x}$Te$_x$ ($0 \leq x \leq 2$). In the experimentally prepared single crystals, the CDW is completely suppressed as $0.5 < x < 1.5$, while superconductivity emerges as $0.2 < x < 1.2$. Theoretically, similar to 1\emph{T}-TaSe$_2$ and 1\emph{T}-TaTe$_2$, the hypothetic 1\emph{T}-TaSeTe with ordered Se/Ta/Te stacking shows instability in the phonon dispersion, indicating the presence of CDW in the ideally ordered sample. The contradictory between experimental and theoretical results suggests that the CDW is suppressed by disorder in 1\emph{T}-TaSe$_{2-x}$Te$_x$. The formation and suppression of CDW are found to be independent with Fermi surface nesting based on the generated electron susceptibility calculations. The calculation of phonon linewidth suggests the strong \textbf{\emph{q}}-dependent electron-phonon coupling induced period-lattice-distortion (PLD) should be related to our observation: The doping can largely distort the TaX$_6$ (X = Se, Te) octahedra, which are disorderly distributed. The resulted puckered Ta-Ta layers are not compatible with the two-dimensional PLD. Therefore, CDW is suppressed in 1\emph{T}-TaSe$_{2-x}$Te$_x$. Our results offer an indirect evidence that PLD, which can be influenced by strong disorder, is the origin of CDW in the system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Fe-doping induced superconductivity in charge-density-wave system 1T-TaS2

We report the interplay between charge-density-wave (CDW) and superconductivity of 1$T$-Fe$_{x}$Ta$_{1-x}$S$_{2}$ ($0\leq x \leq 0.05$) single crystals. The CDW order is gradually suppressed by Fe-doping, accompanied by the disappearance of pseudogap/Mott-gap as shown by the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The superconducting state develops at low temperatures within the CDW state for the samples with the moderate doping levels. The superconductivity strongly depends on $x$ within a narrow range, and the maximum superconducting transition temperature is 2.8 K as $x=0.02$. We propose that the induced superconductivity and CDW phases are separated in real space. For high doping level ($x>0.04$), the Anderson localization (AL) state appears, resulting in a large increase of resistivity. We present a complete electronic phase diagram of 1$T$-Fe$_{x}$Ta$_{1-x}$S$_{2}$ system that shows a dome-like $T_{c}(x)$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

First principles studies of a Xe atom adsorbed on Nb(110) surface

We study adsorption sites of a single Xe adatom on Nb(110) surface using a density functional theory approach: The on-top site is the most favorable position for the adsorption. We compare the binding features of the present study to earlier studies of a Xe adatom on close-packed (111) surface of face-centered cubic metals. The different features are attributed through a microscopic picture to the less than half filled d-states in Nb.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Vortex Phase Diagram of Layered Superconductor Cu0.03TaS2 for H || c

The magnetization and anisotropic electrical transport properties have been measured in high quality Cu0.03TaS2 single crystal. A pronounced peak effect has been observed, indicating that the high quality and homogeneity are vital to peak effect. A kink has been observed in the magnetic field H dependence of the in-plane resistivity ρab for H || c, which corresponds to a transition from activated to diffusive behavior of vortex liquid phase. In the diffusive regime of the vortex liquid phase, the in-plane resistivity ρab shows ρab $\propto$ H0.3 relation, which does not follow the Bardeen-Stephen law for free flux flow. Finally, a simplified vortex phase diagram of Cu0.03TaS2 for H || c is given.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Superconductivity and single crystal growth of Ni0:05TaS2

Superconductivity was discovered in a Ni0:05TaS2 single crystal. A Ni0:05TaS2 single crystal was successfully grown via the NaCl/KCl flux method. The obtained lattice constant c of Ni0:05TaS2 is 1.1999 nm, which is significantly smaller than that of 2H-TaS2 (1.208 nm). Electrical resistivity and magnetization measurements reveal that the superconductivity transition temperature of Ni0:05TaS2 is enhanced from 0.8 K (2H-TaS2) to 3.9 K. The charge-density-wave transition of the matrix compound 2H-TaS2 is suppressed in Ni0:05TaS2. The success of Ni0:05TaS2 single crystal growth via a NaCl/KCl flux demonstrates that NaCl/KCl flux method will be a feasible method for single crystal growth of the layered transition metal dichalcogenides.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Large magnetic entropy change near room temperature in antipervoskite SnCMn3

We report the observation of large magnetocaloric effect near room temperature in antipervoskite SnCMn3. The maximal magnetic entropy change at the first-order ferrimagnetic-paramagnetic transition temperature (TC 279 K) is about 80.69mJ/cm3 K and 133mJ/cm3 K under the magnetic field of 20 kOe and 48 kOe, respectively. These values are close to those of typical magnetocaloric materials. The large magnetocaloric effect is associated with the sharp change of lattice, resistivity and magnetization in the vicinity of TC. Through the measurements of Seebeck coefficient and normal Hall effect, the title system is found to undergo a reconstruction of electronic structure at TC. Considering its low-cost and innocuous raw materials, Mn-based antiperovskite compounds are suggested to be appropriate for pursuing new materials with larger magnetocaloric effect.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Anisotropic, Intermediate Coupling Superconductivity in Cu0.03TaS2

The anisotropic superconducting state properties in Cu0.03TaS2 have been investigated by magnetization, magnetoresistance, and specific heat measurements. It clearly shows that Cu0.03TaS2 undergoes a superconducting transition at TC = 4.03 K. The obtained superconducting parameters demonstrate that Cu0.03TaS2 is an anisotropic type-II superconductor. Combining specific heat jump = 1.6(4), gap ratio 2/kBTC = 4.0(9) and the estimated electron-phonon coupling constant ~ 0.68, the superconductivity in Cu0.03TaS2 is explained within the intermediate coupling BCS scenario. First-principles electronic structure calculations suggest that copper intercalation of 2H-TaS2 causes a considerable increase of the Fermi surface volume and the carrier density, which suppresses the CDW fluctuation and favors the raise of TC.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Single crystal growth and characterizations of Cu0.03TaS2 superconductors

Single crystal of Cu0.03TaS2 with low copper intercalated content was successfully grown via chemical iodine-vapor transport. The structural characterization results show that the copper intercalated 2H-Cu0.03TaS2 single crystal has the same structure of the CdI2-type structure as the parent 2H-TaS2 crystal. Electrical resistivity and magnetization measurements reveal that 2H-Cu0.03TaS2 becomes a superconductor below 4.2 K. Besides, electrical resistivity and Hall effects results show that a charge density wave transition occurs at TCDW = 50 K.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Crystal growth and superconductivity of FeSe_x

Single crystals FeSe_x have been grown in evacuated sealed quartz tube using a NaCl/KCl flux. The products include two crystal structures of tetragon and hexagon. The electronic transport and magnetic properties measurements of FeSe_x single crystal exhibits a superconducting transition at about 10K.

cond-mat.supr-con↗