arXiv subjects

Yefan Tian

Publications and source records attributed to Yefan Tian.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Observation of suppressed viscosity in the normal state of $^3$He due to superfluid fluctuations

By monitoring the quality factor of a quartz tuning fork oscillator we have observed a fluctuation-driven reduction in the viscosity of bulk $^3$He in the normal state near the superfluid transition temperature, $T_c$. These fluctuations, which are only found within $100 μ$K of $T_c$, play a vital role in the theoretical modeling of ordering; they encode details about the Fermi liquid parameters, pairing symmetry, and scattering phase shifts. They will be of crucial importance for transport probes of the topologically nontrivial features of superfluid $^3$He under strong confinement. Here we characterize the temperature and pressure dependence of the fluctuation signature, finding data collapse consistent with the predicted theoretical behavior.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Supercooling of the A phase of $^3$He

Because of the extreme purity, lack of disorder, and complex order parameter, the first-order superfluid $^3$He A-B transition is the leading model system for first order transitions in the early universe. Here we report on the path dependence of the supercooling of the A phase over a wide range of pressures below 29.3 bar at nearly zero magnetic field. The A phase can be cooled significantly below the thermodynamic A-B transition temperature. While the extent of supercooling is highly reproducible, it depends strongly upon the cooling trajectory: The metastability of the A phase is enhanced by transiting through regions where the A phase is more stable. We provide evidence that some of the additional supercooling is due to the elimination of B phase seeds formed upon passage through the superfluid transition. A greater understanding of the physics is essential before the $^3$He can be exploited to model transitions in the early universe.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2021

NMR determination of Van Hove singularity and Lifshitz transitions in nodal-line semimetal ZrSiTe

We have applied nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the distinctive network of nodal lines in the Dirac semimetal ZrSiTe. The low-$T$ behavior is dominated by a symmetry-protected nodal line, with NMR providing a sensitive probe of the diamagnetic response of the associated carriers. A sharp low-$T$ minimum in NMR shift and $(T_1T)^{-1}$ provides a quantitative measure of the dispersionless, quasi-2D behavior of this nodal line. We also identify a van Hove singularity closely connected to this nodal line, and an associated $T$-induced Lifshitz transition. A disconnect in the NMR shift and line width at this temperature indicates the change in electronic behavior associated with this topological change. These features have an orientation-dependent behavior indicating a field-dependent scaling of the associated band energies.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Path-Dependent Supercooling of the $^3$He Superfluid A-B transition

We examine the discontinuous first-order superfluid $^3$He A to B transition in the vicinity of the polycritical point (2.232 mK and 21.22 bar). We find path-dependent transitions: cooling at fixed pressure yields a well defined transition line in the temperature-pressure plane, but this line can be reliably crossed by depressurizing at nearly constant temperature after transiting $T_{\rm c}$ at a higher pressure. This path dependence is not consistent with any of the standard B-phase nucleation mechanisms in the literature. This symmetry breaking transition is a potential simulator for first order transitions in the early universe.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Gap-opening transition in Dirac semimetal ZrTe$_5$

We apply $^{125}$Te nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to investigate the Dirac semimetal ZrTe$_5$. With the NMR magnetic field parallel to the $b$-axis, we observe significant quantum magnetic effects. These include an abrupt drop at 150 K in spin-lattice relaxation rate. This corresponds to a gap-opening transition in the Dirac carriers, likely indicating the onset of excitonic pairing. Below 50 K, we see a more negative shift for the Te$_z$ bridging site indicating the repopulation of Dirac levels with spin polarized carriers at these temperatures. This is the previously reported 3D quantum Hall regime; however, we see no sign of a charge density wave as has been proposed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Topological nodal line in ZrTe$_2$ demonstrated by nuclear magnetic resonance

In this work, we report nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) combined with density functional theory (DFT) studies of the transition metal dichalcogenide ZrTe$_2$. The measured NMR shift anisotropy reveals a quasi-2D behavior connected to a topological nodal line close to the Fermi level. With the magnetic field perpendicular to the ZrTe$_2$ layers, the measured shift can be well-fitted by a combination of enhanced diamagnetism and spin shift due to high mobility Dirac electrons. The spin-lattice relaxation rates with external field both parallel and perpendicular to the layers at low temperatures match the expected behavior associated with extended orbital hyperfine interaction due to quasi-2D Dirac carriers. In addition, calculated band structures also show clear evidence for the existence of nodal line in ZrTe$_2$ between $Γ$ and A. For intermediate temperatures, there is a sharp reduction in spin-lattice relaxation rate which can be explained as due to a reduced lifetime for these carriers, which matches the reported large change in mobility in the same temperature range. Above 200 K, the local orbital contribution starts to dominate in an orbital relaxation mechanism revealing the mixture of atomic functions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Half-Heusler thermoelectric materials: NMR studies

We report $^{59}$Co, $^{93}$Nb, and $^{121}$Sb nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations on a series of half-Heusler semiconductors, including NbCoSn, ZrCoSb, TaFeSb and NbFeSb, to better understand their electronic properties and general composition-dependent trends. These materials are of interest as potentially high efficiency thermoelectric materials. Compared to the other materials, we find that ZrCoSb tends to have a relatively large amount of local disorder, apparently antisite defects. This contributes to a small excitation gap corresponding to an impurity band near the band edge. In NbCoSn and TaFeSb, Curie-Weiss-type behavior is revealed, which indicates a small density of interacting paramagnetic defects. Very large paramagnetic chemical shifts are observed associated with a Van Vleck mechanism due to closely spaced $d$ bands splitting between the conduction and valence bands. Meanwhile, DFT methods were generally successful in reproducing the chemical shift trend for these half-Heusler materials, and we identify an enhancement of the larger-magnitude shifts, which we connect to electron interaction effects. The general trend is connected to changes in $d$-electron hybridization across the series.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Accelerated design of Fe-based soft magnetic materials using machine learning and stochastic optimization

Machine learning was utilized to efficiently boost the development of soft magnetic materials. The design process includes building a database composed of published experimental results, applying machine learning methods on the database, identifying the trends of magnetic properties in soft magnetic materials, and accelerating the design of next-generation soft magnetic nanocrystalline materials through the use of numerical optimization. Machine learning regression models were trained to predict magnetic saturation ($B_S$), coercivity ($H_C$) and magnetostriction ($λ$), with a stochastic optimization framework being used to further optimize the corresponding magnetic properties. To verify the feasibility of the machine learning model, several optimized soft magnetic materials -- specified in terms of compositions and thermomechanical treatments -- have been predicted and then prepared and tested, showing good agreement between predictions and experiments, proving the reliability of the designed model. Two rounds of optimization-testing iterations were conducted to search for better properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Defect charging and resonant levels in half-Heusler Nb$_{1-x}$Ti$_x$FeSb

We report $^{93}$Nb and $^{121}$Sb NMR and $^{57}$Fe Mössbauer studies combined with DFT calculations of Nb$_{1-x}$Ti$_x$FeSb ($0\leqslant x \leqslant0.3$), one of the most promising thermoelectric systems for applications above 1000 K. These studies provide local information about defects and electronic configurations in these heavily $p$-type materials. The NMR spin-lattice relaxation rate provides a measure of states within the valence band. With increasing $x$, changes of relaxation rate vs carrier concentration for different substitution fractions indicate the importance of resonant levels which do not contribute to charge transport. The local paramagnetic susceptibility is significantly larger than expected based on DFT calculations, which we discuss in terms of an enhancement of the susceptibility due to a Coulomb enhancement mechanism. The Mössbauer spectra of Ti-substituted samples show small departures from a binomial distribution of substituted atoms, while for unsubstituted $p$-type NbFeSb, the amplitude of a Mössbauer satellite peak increases vs temperature, a measure of the $T$-dependent charging of a population of defects residing about 30 meV above the valence band edge, indicative of an impurity band at this location.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Copper ion dynamics and phase segregation in Cu-rich tetrahedrite: an NMR study

$^{63}$Cu NMR measurements are reported for the Cu-rich phase of \ch{Cu_{12+x}Sb4S13} ($x \lesssim 2$) and compared to \ch{Cu12Sb4S13}. We identify the NMR signatures of the phase segregation into Cu-poor ($x \approx 0$) and Cu-rich ($x \lesssim 2$) phases, with the metal-insulator transition observed in \ch{Cu12Sb4S13} suppressed in the Cu-rich phase. Based on NMR $T_1$ and $T_2$ measurements, the results demonstrate Cu-ion hopping below room temperature with an activation energy of $\sim$150 meV for the Cu-rich phase, consistent with superionic behavior. The NMR results also demonstrate the effects of Cu-ion mobility in the \ch{Cu12Sb4S13} phase, but with a larger activation barrier. We identify a small difference in NMR Knight shift for the metallic phase of \ch{Cu12Sb4S13}, compared to the Cu-rich phase, and when compared to DFT calculations the results indicate a mix of hyperfine contributions to the metallic shift.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Charge-carrier behavior in Ba-, Sr- and Yb-filled CoSb$_3$: NMR and transport studies

We report $^{59}$Co NMR and transport measurements on $n$-type filled skutterudites Ba$_x$Yb$_y$Co$_4$Sb$_{12}$ and $A$$_x$Co$_4$Sb$_{12}$ ($A$= Ba, Sr), promising thermoelectric materials. The results demonstrate consistently that a shallow defect level near the conduction band minimum dominates the electronic behavior, in contrast to the behavior of unfilled CoSb$_3$. To analyze the results, we modeled the defect as having a single peak in the density of states, occupied at low temperatures due to donated charges from filler atoms. We fitted the NMR shifts and spin-lattice relaxation rates allowing for arbitrary carrier densities and degeneracies. The results provide a consistent picture for the Hall data, explaining the temperature dependence of the carrier concentration. Furthermore, without adjusting model parameters, we calculated Seebeck coefficient curves, which also provide good consistency. In agreement with recently reported computational results, it appears that composite native defects induced by the presence of filler atoms can explain this behavior. These results provide a better understanding of the balance of charge carriers, of crucial importance for designing improved thermoelectric materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Dirac electron behavior and NMR evidence for topological band inversion in ZrTe5

We report $^{125}$Te NMR measurements of the topological quantum material ZrTe$_5$. Spin-lattice relaxation results, well-explained by a theoretical model of Dirac electron systems, reveal that the topological characteristic of ZrTe$_5$ is $T$-dependent, changing from weak topological insulator to strong topological insulator as temperature increases. Electronic structure calculations confirm this ordering, the reverse of what has been proposed. NMR results demonstrate a gapless Dirac semimetal state occurring at a Lifshitz transition temperature, $T_c=85$ K in our crystals. We demonstrate that the changes in NMR shift at $T_c$ also provide direct evidence of band inversion when the topological phase transition occurs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗