arXiv subjects

Yu Saito

Publications and source records attributed to Yu Saito.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Superconductivity protected by spin-valley locking in ion-gated MoS2

Symmetry-breaking has been known to play a key role in noncentrosymmetric superconductors with strong spin-orbit-interaction (SOI). The studies, however, have been so far mainly focused on a particular type of SOI, known as Rashba SOI, whereby the electron spin is locked to its momentum at a right-angle, thereby leading to an in-planar helical spin texture. Here we discuss electric-field-induced superconductivity in molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), which exhibits a fundamentally different type of intrinsic SOI manifested by an out-of-plane Zeeman-type spin polarization of energy valleys. We find an upper critical field of approximately 52 T at 1.5 K, which indicates an enhancement of the Pauli limit by a factor of four as compared to that in centrosymmetric conventional superconductors. Using realistic tight-binding calculations, we reveal that this unusual behaviour is due to an inter-valley pairing that is symmetrically protected by Zeeman-type spin-valley locking against external magnetic fields. Our study sheds a new light on the interplay of inversion asymmetry with SOI in confined geometries, and its unprecedented role in superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Metallic ground state in an ion-gated two-dimensional superconductor

Recently emerging two-dimensional (2D) superconductors in atomically thin layers and at heterogeneous interfaces are attracting growing interest in condensed matter physics. Here, we report that ion-gated ZrNCl surface, exhibiting a dome-shaped phase diagram with a maximum critical temperature of 14.8 kelvin, behaves as a superconductor persisting to the 2D limit. The superconducting thickness estimated from the upper critical fields is ~ 1.8 nanometers, which is thinner than one-unit-cell. The majority of the vortex phase diagram down to 2 kelvin is occupied by a metallic state with a finite resistance, owing to the quantum creep of vortices caused by extremely weak pinning and diminishing disorder. Our findings highlight the potential of electric-field-induced superconductivity, establishing a new platform for accessing quantum phases in clean 2D superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Ambipolar Insulator-to-Metal Transition in Black Phosphorus by Ionic-Liquid Gating

We report ambipolar transport properties in black phosphorus using an electric-double-layer transistor (EDLT) configuration. The transfer curve clearly exhibits ambipolar transistor behavior with an ON-OFF ratio of 5*10^3. The band gap was determined as = 0.35 eV from the transfer curve, and Hall-effect measurements revealed that the hole mobility was ~ 190 cm^2/Vs at 170 K, which is one order of magnitude larger than the electron mobility. By inducing an ultra-high carrier density of ~ 10^14 cm^-2, an electric-field-induced transition from the insulating state to the metallic state was realized, due to both electron and hole doping. Our results suggest that black phosphorus will be a good candidate for the fabrication of functional devices, such as lateral p-n junctions and tunnel diodes, due to the intrinsic narrow band gap.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Observations of 6.7 GHz Methanol Masers with EAVN I: VLBI Images of the first Epoch of Observations

Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) monitoring of the 6.7 GHz methanol maser allows us to measure the internal proper motions of the maser spots and therefore study the gas motion around high-mass young stellar objects. To this end, we have begun monitoring observations with the East-Asian VLBI Network. In this paper we present the results of the first epoch observation for 36 sources, including 35 VLBI images of the methanol maser. Since two independent sources were found in three images, respectively, images of 38 sources were obtained. In 34 sources, more than or equal to 10 spots were detected. The observed spatial scale of the maser distribution was from 9 to 4900 astronomical units, and the following morphological categories were observed: elliptical, arched, linear, paired, and complex. The position of the maser spot was determined to an accuracy of approximately 0.1 mas, sufficiently high to measure the internal proper motion from two years of monitoring observations. The VLBI observation, however, detected only approximately 20% of all maser emission, suggesting that the remaining 80% of the total flux was spread into an undetectable extended distribution. Therefore, in addition to high-resolution observations, it is important to observe the whole structure of the maser emission including extended low-brightness structures, to reveal the associated site of the maser and gas motion.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

Dense optical and near-infrared monitoring of CTA 102 during high state in 2012 with OISTER: Detection of intra-night "orphan polarized flux flare"

CTA 102, classified as a flat spectrum radio quasar at z=1.037, produced exceptionally bright optical flare in 2012 September. Following Fermi-LAT detection of enhanced gamma-ray activity, we densely monitored this source in the optical and near-infrared bands for the subsequent ten nights using twelve telescopes in Japan and South-Africa. On MJD 56197 (2012 September 27, 4-5 days after the peak of bright gamma-ray flare), polarized flux showed a transient increase, while total flux and polarization angle remained almost constant during the "orphan polarized-flux flare". We also detected an intra-night and prominent flare on MJD 56202. The total and polarized fluxes showed quite similar temporal variations, but PA again remained constant during the flare. Interestingly, the polarization angles during the two flares were significantly different from the jet direction. Emergence of a new emission component with high polarization degree (PD) up to 40% would be responsible for the observed two flares, and such a high PD indicates a presence of highly ordered magnetic field at the emission site. We discuss that the well-ordered magnetic field and even the observed directions of polarization angle which is grossly perpendicular to the jet are reasonably accounted for by transverse shock(s) propagating down the jet.

astro-ph.HE↗