arXiv subjects

Z. X. Shen

Publications and source records attributed to Z. X. Shen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Mapping of the unoccupied states and relevant bosonic modes via the time dependent momentum distribution

The unoccupied states of complex materials are difficult to measure, yet play a key role in determining their properties. We propose a technique that can measure the unoccupied states, called time-resolved Compton scattering, which measures the time-dependent momentum distribution (TDMD). Using a non-equilibrium Keldysh formalism, we study the TDMD for electrons coupled to a lattice in a pump-probe setup. We find a direct relation between temporal oscillations in the TDMD and the dispersion of the underlying unoccupied states, suggesting that both can be measured by time-resolved Compton scattering. We demonstrate the experimental feasibility by applying the method to a model of MgB$_2$ with realistic material parameters.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Real-time manifestation of strongly coupled spin and charge order parameters in stripe-ordered nickelates via time-resolved resonant x-ray diffraction

We investigate the order parameter dynamics of the stripe-ordered nickelate, La$_{1.75}$Sr$_{0.25}$NiO$_4$, using time-resolved resonant X-ray diffraction. In spite of distinct spin and charge energy scales, the two order parameters' amplitude dynamics are found to be linked together due to strong coupling. Additionally, the vector nature of the spin sector introduces a longer re-orientation time scale which is absent in the charge sector. These findings demonstrate that the correlation linking the symmetry-broken states does not unbind during the non-equilibrium process, and the time scales are not necessarily associated with the characteristic energy scales of individual degrees of freedom.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

The Role of Lattice Coupling in Establishing Electronic and Magnetic Properties in Quasi-One-Dimensional Cuprates

High resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering has been performed to reveal the role of lattice-coupling in a family of quasi-1D insulating cuprates, Ca$_{2+5x}$Y$_{2-5x}$Cu$_5$O$_{10}$. Site-dependent low energy excitations arising from progressive emissions of a 70 meV lattice vibrational mode are resolved for the first time, providing a direct measurement of electron-lattice coupling strength. We show that such electron-lattice coupling causes doping-dependent distortions of the Cu-O-Cu bond angle, which sets the intra-chain spin exchange interactions. Our results indicate that the lattice degrees of freedom are fully integrated into the electronic behavior in low dimensional systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Magnetism in MoS2 induced by MeV proton irradiation

Molybdenum disulphide, a diamagnetic layered dichalcogenide solid, is found to show magnetic ordering at room temperature when exposed to a 2 MeV proton beam. The temperature dependence of magnetization displays ferrimagnetic behavior with a Curie temperature of 895 K. A disorder mode corresponding to a zone-edge phonon and a Mo valence higher than +4, have been detected in the irradiated samples using Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The possible origins of long-range magnetic ordering in irradiated MoS2 samples are discussed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Phase Fluctuations and the Absence of Topological Defects in Photo-excited Charge Ordered Nickelate

The dynamics of an order parameter's amplitude and phase determines the collective behaviour of novel states emerged in complex materials. Time- and momentum-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy, by virtue of its ability to measure material properties at atomic and electronic time scales and create excited states not accessible by the conventional means can decouple entangled degrees of freedom by visualizing their corresponding dynamics in the time domain. Here, combining time-resolved femotosecond optical and resonant x-ray diffraction measurements on striped La1.75Sr0.25NiO4, we reveal unforeseen photo-induced phase fluctuations of the charge order parameter. Such fluctuations preserve long-range order without creating topological defects, unlike thermal phase fluctuations near the critical temperature in equilibrium10. Importantly, relaxation of the phase fluctuations are found to be an order of magnitude slower than that of the order parameter's amplitude fluctuations, and thus limit charge order recovery. This discovery of new aspect to phase fluctuation provides more holistic view for the importance of phase in ordering phenomena of quantum matter.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Intrinsic Ultrathin Topological Insulators Grown via MBE Characterized by in-situ Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

We demonstrate the capability of growing high quality ultrathin films of the topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 using molecular beam epitaxy. Unlike previous growth techniques, which often pin the Fermi energy in the conduction band for ultrathin samples, our samples remain intrinsic bulk insulators. We characterize these films using in-situ angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), which is a direct probe of bandstructure, and ex-situ atomic force microscopy. We find that the conduction band lies above the Fermi energy, indicating bulk insulating behavior with only the surface states crossing EF . We conclude that thermal cracking of Te and Se in our growth leads to higher quality thin films, paving the way for future improvements in growth of topological insulators.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Resonant Enhancement of Charge Density Wave Diffraction in the Rare-Earth Tritellurides

We performed resonant soft X-ray diffraction on known charge density wave (CDW) compounds, rare earth tri-tellurides. Near the $M_5$ (3d - 4f) absorption edge of rare earth ions, an intense diffraction peak is detected at a wavevector identical to that of CDW state hosted on Te$_2$ planes, indicating a CDW-induced modulation on the rare earth ions. Surprisingly, the temperature dependence of the diffraction peak intensity demonstrates an exponential increase at low temperatures, vastly different than that of the CDW order parameter. Assuming 4f multiplet splitting due to the CDW states,we present a model to calculate X-ray absorption spectrum and resonant profile of the diffraction peak, agreeing well with experimental observations. Our results demonstrate a situation where the temperature dependence of resonant X-ray diffraction peak intensity is not directly related to the intrinsic behavior of the order parameter associated with the electronic order, but is dominated by the thermal occupancy of the valence states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Interaction between graphene and SiO2 surface

With first-principles DFT calculations, the interaction between graphene and SiO2 surface has been analyzed by constructing the different configurations based on α-quartz and cristobalite structures. The single layer graphene can stay stably on SiO2 surface is explained based on the general consideration of configuration structures of SiO2 surface. It is also found that the oxygen defect in SiO2 surface can shift the Fermi level of graphene down which opens out the mechanism of hole-doping effect of graphene absorbed on SiO2 surface observed in experiments.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

In-plane electronic anisotropy of underdoped "122" Fe-arsenide superconductors revealed by measurements of detwinned single crystals

The parent phases of the Fe-arsenide superconductors harbor an antiferromagnetic ground state. Significantly, the Néel transition is either preceded or accompanied by a structural transition that breaks the four fold symmetry of the high-temperature lattice. Borrowing language from the field of soft condensed matter physics, this broken discrete rotational symmetry is widely referred to as an Ising nematic phase transition. Understanding the origin of this effect is a key component of a complete theoretical description of the occurrence of superconductivity in this family of compounds, motivating both theoretical and experimental investigation of the nematic transition and the associated in-plane anisotropy. Here we review recent experimental progress in determining the intrinsic in-plane electronic anisotropy as revealed by resistivity, reflectivity and ARPES measurements of detwinned single crystals of underdoped Fe arsenide superconductors in the "122" family of compounds.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

The effect of layer number and substrate on the stability of graphene under MeV proton beam irradiation

The use of graphene electronics in space will depend on the radiation hardness of graphene. The damage threshold of graphene samples, subjected to 2 MeV proton irradiation, was found to increase with layer number and also when the graphene layer was supported by a substrate. The thermal properties of graphene as a function of the number of layers or as influenced by the substrate argue against a thermal model for the production of damage by the ion beam. We propose a model of intense electronically-stimulated surface desorption of the atoms as the most likely process for this damage mechanism.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Quantum Hall Effect from the Topological Surface States of Strained Bulk HgTe

We report transport studies on a three dimensional, 70 nm thick HgTe layer, which is strained by epitaxial growth on a CdTe substrate. The strain induces a band gap in the otherwise semi-metallic HgTe, which thus becomes a three dimensional topological insulator. Contributions from residual bulk carriers to the transport properties of the gapped HgTe layer are negligible at mK temperatures. As a result, the sample exhibits a quantized Hall effect that results from the 2D single cone Dirac-like topological surface states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Evidence for forward scattering and coupling to acoustic phonon modes in high-T$_c$ cuprate superconductors

Recent laser angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy studies have established the presence of a new kink in the low-energy nodal dispersion of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$+{8+δ}$ (Bi-2212). The energy scale (~8-15 meV) of this kink appears below the maximum of the superconducting gap $δ_0$. Therefore it is difficult to interpret this feature in terms of the usual coupling to a sharp dispersionless mode. In this paper we examine electron-phonon coupling to the in-plane acoustic phonon branch arising from the modulation of the screened Coulomb potential. We demonstrate that such a coupling has a strong forward scattering peak, and as a consequence, a kink occurs in the dispersion at an energy scale shifted by the local gap $δ(k)$. In addition, considerations for the reduction of screening with underdoping naturally explains the observed doping dependence of the low-energy kink. These results point to a strong coupling to the acoustic branch which is peaked in the forward scattering direction and has important implications for transport and pairing in the high-T$_c$ cuprates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Modified graphene with small BN domain: an effective method for band gap opening

BN domains are easy to form in the basal plane of graphene due to phase separation. With first-principles DFT calculations, it is demonstrated theoretically that the band gap of graphene can be opened effectively around K (or K') points by doping the small BN domains. It is also found that the random doping with B or N is possible to open a small gap in the Dirac points, except for the modulation of Fermi level. The surface charge which belongs to the $π$ states near Dirac points is found to be redistributed locally. The charge redistribution is contributed to the change of localized potential due to the doping effects. This may be the reason that the energy states near Dirac points is just disturbed in the energy region [-0.4eV, 0.4eV] for the doping of BN domain. Thus, we suggest that the band opening induced by the doped BN domain is due to the breaking of localized symmetry of the potential. Doping graphene with BN domains is an effective method to open a band gap with quasi-linear dissipation near Dirac point.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Surface and bulk electronic structures of LaOFeAs studied by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy

The electronic structure of LaOFeAs, a parent compound of iron-arsenic superconductors, is studied by angleresolved photoemission spectroscopy. By examining its dependence on photon energy, polarization, sodium dosing and the counting of Fermi surface volume, both the bulk and the surface contributions are identified. We find that a bulk band moves toward high binding energies below structural transition, and shifts smoothly across the spin density wave transition by about 25 meV. Our data suggest the band reconstruction may play a crucial role in the spin density wave transition, and the structural transition is driven by the short range magnetic order. For the surface states, both the LaO-terminated and FeAs-terminated components are revealed. Certain small band shifts are verified for the FeAs-terminated surface states in the spin density wave state, which is a reflection of the bulk electronic structure reconstruction. Moreover, sharp quasiparticle peaks quickly rise at low temperatures, indicating of drastic reduction of the scattering rate. A kink structure in one of the surface band is shown to be possibly related to the electron-phonon interactions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

On resonant scatterers as a factor limiting carrier mobility in graphene

We show that graphene deposited on a substrate has a non-negligible density of atomic scale defects. This is evidenced by a previously unnoticed D peak in the Raman spectra with intensity of about 1% with respect to the G peak. We evaluated the effect of such impurities on electron transport by mimicking them with hydrogen adsorbates and measuring the induced changes in both mobility and Raman intensity. If the intervalley scatterers responsible for the D peak are monovalent, their concentration is sufficient to account for the limited mobilities achievable in graphene on a substrate.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Bulk Fermi surface coexistence with Dirac surface state in Bi$_2$Se$_3$: a comparison of photoemission and Shubnikov-de Haas measurements

Shubnikov de Haas (SdH) oscillations and Angle Resolved PhotoEmission Spectroscopy (ARPES) are used to probe the Fermi surface of single crystals of Bi2Se3. We find that SdH and ARPES probes quantitatively agree on measurements of the effective mass and bulk band dispersion. In high carrier density samples, the two probes also agree in the exact position of the Fermi level EF, but for lower carrier density samples discrepancies emerge in the position of EF. In particular, SdH reveals a bulk three-dimensional Fermi surface for samples with carrier densities as low as 10^17cm-3. We suggest a simple mechanism to explain these differences and discuss consequences for existing and future transport studies of topological insulators.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Fabrication of graphene nanogap with crystallographically matching edges and its electron emission properties

We demonstrate the fabrication of graphene nanogap with crystallographically matching edges on SiO2Si substrates by divulsion. The current-voltage measurement is then performed in a high-vacuum chamber for a graphene nanogap with few hundred nanometers separation. The parallel edges help to build uniform electrical field and allow us to perform electron emission study on individual graphene. It was found that current-voltage characteristics are governed by the space-charge-limited flow of current at low biases while the FN model fits the I-V curves in high voltage regime. We also examined electrostatic gating effect of the vacuum electronic device. Graphene nanogap with atomically parallel edges may open up opportunities for both fundamental and applied research of vacuum nanoelectronics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

STM imaging of electronic waves on the surface of Bi$_2$Te$_3$: topologically protected surface states and hexagonal warping effects

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy studies on high-quality Bi$_2$Te$_3$ crystals exhibit perfect correspondence to ARPES data, hence enabling identification of different regimes measured in the local density of states (LDOS). Oscillations of LDOS near a step are analyzed. Within the main part of the surface band oscillations are strongly damped, supporting the hypothesis of topological protection. At higher energies, as the surface band becomes concave, oscillations appear which disperse with a particular wave-vector that may result from an unconventional hexagonal warping term.

cond-mat.str-el↗