压力下碱金属铁硒基超导体中的现象与物理

在凝聚态物理研究中, 压力作为对物质状态调控的独立变量得到了广泛的应用. 压力对发现物质的新现象、新规律及对其形成机理的理解和对相关理论的验证起到了重要的作用, 尤其在超导电性的研究中取得了巨大的成功. 文章简要的介绍了通过利用压力手段对具有相分离结构的碱金属铁硒基超导体A_xFe_2-ySe₂ (A=K, Rb, Tl/Rb)开展的系列研究所取得的实验结果, 以及其他一些文献中报道的在此方面的主要实验与理论研究工作, 包括压力导致的超导再进入现象和其产生的量子临界机理、其特有的反铁磁绝缘体相在该类超导体实现超导电性中的作用、化学负压力对超导电性的影响、构成该类超导体的反铁磁序与其寄居的超晶格的关系等.     

铁基超导体的微结构和结构相变研究

铁基超导体表现出丰富的结构和物理性质,在多个典型体系中存在着结构相变和多重有序态之间的关联与竞争.例如,母相化合物LaFeAsO在150K附近发生从四方相（P4/nmm）到正交相（Cmma）的结构相变,同时其电输运性质和磁化率也表现出明显的反常行为.微结构分析发现,在CaFe2As2样品中,存在准周期调制结构,而且在低温区,122体系存在丰富的孪晶畴结构,这种孪晶结构是结构相变的直接结果.另外,在超导材料KxFe2-ySe2（0.7≤x≤0.8,0.2≤y≤0.4）中,Fe空位有序态和结构相分离是理解其结构,也是理解其磁性和输运性质的关键问题,特别是沿[130]晶体带轴方向的5倍超结构与系统的超导电性存在密切关系.     

Novel 0–π transitions in Josephson junctions between noncentrosymmetric superconductors

We study the Josephson effect between two noncentrosymmetric superconductors(NCSs) with opposite polarization vectors of Rashba spin–orbit coupling(RSOC).We find a 0–π transition driven by the triplet–singlet ratio of NCSs.Different from conventional 0–π transitions,the Andreev bound states change their energy range instead of phase shift in the 0–π transition found here.This novel property results in a feature that the critical current becomes almost zero at the transition point,not only a minimum.Furthermore,when the directions of RSOC polarization vectors are the same in two NCSs,the similar effect can also be found in the presence of a perpendicular exchange field or a Dresselhause spin–orbit coupling in the interlayer.We find novel oscillations of critical current without 0–π transition.These novel 0–π transitions or oscillations of critical current present new understanding of the Josephson effect and can also serve as a tool to determine the unknown triplet–singlet ratio of NCSs.     

Macroscopic description of the ferromagnetic superconductors

We present an improved analysis of the phase transitions in spin-triplet ferromagnetic superconductors within Ginzburg–Landau theory. We put special emphasis on the phase transitions from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence of ferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity. We present a detailed analysis of the different phases that can occur and analyze the question under which conditions the phase transitions from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence of ferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity are possible when compared to other phase transitions. The conditions for the phase transitions and the stability conditions are calculated. On the basis of this model, it is argued that the transition from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence is always of first order. It was observed from the theoretical calculations that the transition from the ferromagnetic phase to the coexistence phase can cross over from the first to the second order at the tricritical point.     

London theory for superconducting phase transitions in external magnetic fields: application to UPt3

For multicomponent superconductors, it is known that the presence of symmetry breaking fields can lead to multiple superconducting phase transitions. Motivated by recent small angle neutron scattering experiments on the vortex state of UPt3, the London theory in the vicinity of such phase transitions is determined. It is found that the form of this London theory is in general quite different than that for conventional superconductors. This is due to the existence of a diverging correlation length associated with these phase transitions. One striking consequence is that nontrivial vortex lattices exist arbitrarily close to H(c1). Applications to UPt3, CeIn3, U(1-x)Th(x)Be(13), electron doped cuprate superconductors, Sr(2)RuO(4), and MgCNi(3) are discussed.     

Manipulating metal-insulator transitions of VO2 films via embedding Ag nanonet arrays

Manipulating metal-insulator transitions in strongly correlated materials is of great importance in condensed matter physics, with implications for both fundamental science and technology. Vanadium dioxide (VO₂), as an ideal model system, is metallic at high temperatures and shown a typical metal-insulator structural phase transition at 341 K from rutile structure to monoclinic structure. This behavior has been absorbed tons of attention for years. However, how to control this phase transition is still challenging and little studied. Here we demonstrated that to control the Ag nanonet arrays (NAs) in monoclinic VO₂(M) could be effective to adjust this metal-insulator transition. With the increase of Ag NAs volume fraction by reducing the template spheres size, the transition temperature (T_c) decreased from 68° to 51°. The mechanism of T_c decrease was revealed as:the carrier density increases through the increase of Ag NAs volume fraction, and more free electrons injected into the VO₂ films induced greater absorption energy at the internal nanometal-semiconductor junction. These results supply a new strategy to control the metal-insulator transitions in VO₂, which must be instructive for the other strongly correlated materials and important for applications.     

β型烧绿石氧化物超导体AOs2O6 (A=K, Rb) 的 声子软化与超导电性

运用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算方法, 研究两种β 型烧绿石氧化物超导体AOs₂O₆(A=K, Rb) 的结构稳定性, 声子软化以及与超导电性的关系. 通过计算发现, AOs₂O₆中碱金属原子A(=K, Rb) 沿〈111〉 晶向具有不稳定性, 且以K原子的不稳定性更为突出. 同时, 计算得到的KOs₂O₆在布里渊区中心的声子频率普遍比RbOs₂O₆的低, 使得KOs₂O₆的电声子耦合常数比RbOs₂O₆的大. 本文计算结果表明, 较小的碱金属原子K位于较大的氧笼子中, 活动性较强, 导致声子的软化, 是引起KOs₂O₆具有较强的电声子耦合及较高的超导转变温度的根本原因. 这些结果对解释两种β 型烧绿石氧化物超导体AOs₂O₆(A=K, Rb) 的超导电性具有重要意义.     

112型铁基化合物EuFeAs2的单晶生长与表征

铁基超导体中含有一类特殊的112型结构化合物,其层状结构中含有一层锯齿形的As链构型.本文报道了用CsCl助熔剂法生长新型铁基112型EuFeAs₂母体单晶的具体方法,以及对该单晶的结构和物性的详细表征.通过能量色散X射线能谱扫描对单晶样品进行的化学成分分析,以及单晶X射线衍射的结构解析,确定该单晶样品属于EuFeAs₂相,结构精修得到EuFeAs₂具有空间群为Imm2（No.44）的正交晶体结构,晶格常数分别是a=21.285（9）Å,b=3.9082（10）Å,c=3.9752（9）Å.通过低温电阻测量,发现在110 K附近和46 K附近存在两个异常电阻跳变.进一步分析表明,110 K附近存在两个邻近的相变,这两个相变与铁基母体材料中常见的结构相变和Fe²⁺的反铁磁相变相符合.结合磁化率测量分析,可知46 K附近的相变属于Eu²⁺的反铁磁相变.     

插层FeSe高温超导体的高压研究进展

通过对FeSe进行化学插层可以将其超导转变温度（T_c）从约8 K提高到40 K以上,实现高温超导电性.最近,我们对两种插层FeSe高温超导材料（Li_0.84Fe_0.16）OHFe_0.98Se和Li_0.36（NH₃）_yFe₂Se₂开展了高压调控研究,发现压力会首先抑制高温超导相（称为SC-I相）,然后在临界压力P_c以上诱导出第二个高温超导相（称为SC-Ⅱ相）,呈现出双拱形T-P超导相图.这两个体系的P_c分别约为5和2 GPa,两个体系SC-Ⅱ相的最高T_c分别可以达到约52和55 K,比相应SC-I相的初始T_c提高了10 K.对（Li_0.84Fe_0.16）OHFe_0.98Se的正常态电输运性质分析表明,SC-I和SC-Ⅱ相的正常态分别具有费米液体和非费米液体行为,意味着这两个超导相可能存在显著差异.此外,还发现这两个体系的SC-Ⅱ相的T_c与霍尔系数倒数1/R_H（∝载流子浓度n_e）具有很好的线性依赖关系.对（Li_0.84Fe_0.16）OHFe_0.98Se的高压X射线衍射测量排除了其在10 GPa以内发生结构相变的可能,因此P_c以上SC-Ⅱ相的出现和载流子浓度的增加很可能起源于压力导致的费米面重构.     

一类新的Stückelberg全息超导模型

本文研究了含Stückelberg机理的黑洞全息超导模型. 通过选取标量场新的高阶修正形式, 建立了新的Stückelberg黑洞全息超导模型. 通过研究模型参数对标量场凝聚的影响, 发现了当模型参数大于临界值时, 高阶修正可以引起一阶相变. 同时本文还考查了反作用对临界值的影响.     

RAMAN STUDIES ON THE PHASE TRANSITIONS OF (NH4)2SnBr6 CRYSTALS

We report here the structural phase transitions of the crystal (NH₄)₂SnBr₆ investigated by Raman scattering at temperatures ranging from 10K to room temperature. Two phase transitions occurring at 150 and ll0K are found. Based on the group theory, it is proposed that the crystal undergoes a second-order phase transition at 150 K, resulting from a ferro-distortion with symmetry Γ⁴⁺. The change of structure is confirmed to be O⁵_h to C⁵_4h, which is assigned to the rotary of [SnBr₆]^2- ion groups around the axis of <001>. Furthermore the crystal undergoes an order-disorder phase transition at ll0K which is related with the reorientation of the ammonium ion group. It is noticed that the change of the vibrational modes at 77K does not show any phase transition.     

Structure, magnetic and transport properties of La1−xBixMnO3

We have investigated the structural, magnetic and transport properties of La_1−xBi_xMnO₃ samples. As the Bi content increases, a structural transition from rhombohedral to pseudocubic and a magnetic phase transition from ferromagnetic ordering to cluster glass are identified. Metal–insulator (MI) transitions and large magnetoresistance (MR) effects are observed at low Bi doping levels, while insulating behavior of resistivity is found in the whole measured temperature range at high-doping levels. Two distinct ferromagnetic insulating (FI) states are found at low temperatures in this system. One can be suppressed and the other can be enhanced by applying magnetic fields. Possible reasons for the observed structural, magnetic phase transitions and changes of resistivity behavior with Bi doping are discussed.     

Conductance Fluctuation of the Normal Metal in an SNS Structure

The conductance of a clean normal metal spanning between two superconductors (SNS structure) has been investigated. It is found that the conductance fluctuates periodically with the phase difference of two superconductors. When the pairing symmetry in one side of the superconductors is d_x²-y², the fluctuation period tends to be π instead of 2π, and the phase dependence of its conductance depends strongly on the orientation of the junction in contradistinction to the s-wave case. It can be used as a new method to determine the pairing symmetry of the high-Tc superconductors.     

Near-zero thermal expansion in β-CuZnV2O7 in a large temperature range

We report a new type of near-zero thermal expansion material β-CuZnV₂O₇ in a large temperature range from 173 K to 673 K. It belongs to a monoclinic structure (C2/c space group) in the whole temperature range. No structural phase transition is observed at atmospheric pressure based on the x-ray diffraction and Raman experiment. The high-pressure Raman experiment demonstrates that two structural phase transitions exist at 0.94 GPa and 6.53 GPa, respectively. The mechanism of negative thermal expansion in β-CuZnV₂O₇ is interpreted by the variations of the angles between atoms intuitively and the phonon anharmonicity intrinsically resorting to the negative Grüneisen parameter.     

High pressure structural phase transitions of TiO_2 nanomaterials

Recently, the high pressure study on the TiO_2 nanomaterials has attracted considerable attention due to the typical crystal structure and the fascinating properties of TiO_2 with nanoscale sizes. In this paper, we briefly review the recent progress in the high pressure phase transitions of TiO_2 nanomaterials. We discuss the size effects and morphology effects on the high pressure phase transitions of TiO_2 nanomaterials with different particle sizes, morphologies, and microstructures. Several typical pressure-induced structural phase transitions in TiO_2 nanomaterials are presented, including size-dependent phase transition selectivity in nanoparticles, morphology-tuned phase transition in nanowires, nanosheets,and nanoporous materials, and pressure-induced amorphization(PIA) and polyamorphism in ultrafine nanoparticles and TiO_2-B nanoribbons. Various TiO_2 nanostructural materials with high pressure structures are prepared successfully by high pressure treatment of the corresponding crystal nanomaterials, such as amorphous TiO_2 nanoribbons, α-PbO_2-type TiO_2 nanowires, nanosheets, and nanoporous materials. These studies suggest that the high pressure phase transitions of TiO_2 nanomaterials depend on the nanosize, morphology, interface energy, and microstructure. The diversity of high pressure behaviors of TiO_2 nanomaterials provides a new insight into the properties of nanomaterials, and paves a way for preparing new nanomaterials with novel high pressure structures and properties for various applications.     

重费米子超导与竞争序

与其他非常规超导系列相比, 重费米子超导体往往具有丰富多样的竞争序, 超导与各种竞争序相伴而生, 电子配对与反铁磁涨落、铁磁涨落、价态涨落、电四极矩涨落等量子临界涨落密切相关, 扩充了非常规超导的研究内容. 重费米子材料中的f电子往往同时参与超导与各种竞争序的形成, 表现出局域与巡游的二重性. 重费米子二流体理论为理解重费米子超导与竞争序的关系提供了新的思路.     

Phase transitions on clean and nickel containing vicinal Si(111) surfaces

Structure and reversible structural phase transitions on clean vicinal Si surfaces inclined from the (111) plane towards [2 ] and [ 11] poles and the effect of nickel on the structure and the structural transitions on these surfaces have been studied by LEED. The structures of clean surfaces inclined towards [2 ] and [ 11] are different. Phase transitions take place at about 870°C and 800° C, respectively. Above the transition temperatures these two surfaces consist of regular steps with heights equal to one interplanar distance d₁₁₁ (3.135 Å). The terrace width between steps is determined by the angle of inclination to the (111) plane. Below the transition temperatures the surfaces inclined to [2 ] contain steps with height 3d₁₁₁, those inclined towards the [ 11] pole consist of combinations of (111) facets and some other, apparently (133). The effect of nickel leads to the formation of regular steps with height 2d₁₁₁ on the surfaces inclined towards [2 ] and with height 2d₁₁₁ or 1d₁₁₁, depending on the nickel concentration, on the inclined towards [ 11]. On nickel-containing surfaces there also take place reversible structural transitions with varying temperature.     

Transitions in magnetic superconductors

Ginzburg-Landau and RNG analyses show a first order transition in ferromagnetic superconductors with RKKY interaction. The phase diagram in anisotropic antiferromagnetic superconductors is discussed and shown to display different possible transitions as a function of the coupling parameters.     

Relation of magnetic and structural factors in the course of phase transitions in MnAs-based alloys

A phenomenological analysis of the magnetic and structural phase states observed in the manganese arsenide-based alloys over a wide range of temperatures and pressures has been performed. The unique first-order phase transitions from the paramagnetic and metamagnetic states to the ferromagnetic state are studied experimentally. It is found that these transitions exhibit characteristic features associated with the magnetostriction suppression of nucleation when the lability boundary of the paramagnetic phase is absent and the transition from the metamagnetic state is not thermodynamically “forbidden.” The phase behavior of manganese arsenide-based alloys is interpreted within the proposed model. This model accounts for the interrelation of the magnetic, structural, and elastic properties of alloys and also the specific features of phase transformations in real crystals.     

Nonequilibrium phase transitions of vortex matter in three-dimensional layered superconductors

Large-scale simulations on the three-dimensional (3D) frustrated anisotropic XY model have been performed to study the nonequilibrium phase transitions of vortex matter in weak random pinning potential in layered superconductors. The first-order phase transition from the moving Bragg glass to the moving smectic is clarified, based on thermodynamic quantities. A washboard noise is observed in the moving Bragg glass in 3D simulations for the first time. It is found that the activation of the vortex loops plays the dominant role in the dynamical melting at high drive.