Superconductivity in heavy fermion systems

The heavy fermion state in the f-electron systems is due to competition between the RKKY interaction and the Kondo effect. The typical compound is CeCu₆. To understand the electronic state, we studied the Fermi surface properties via the de Haas–van Alphen (dHvA) experiment and energy band calculation for CeSn₃,CeRu₂Si₂,UPt₃, and nowadays, transuranium compounds. Pressure is also an important technique to control the electronic state. The Néel temperature T_N decreases with increasing pressure P and becomes zero at the critical pressure for . The typical compound is an antiferromagnet CeRhIn₅, which we studied from the dHvA experiment under pressure. A change of the 4f-electronic state from localized to itinerant is realized at , revealing the first-order phase transition, together with a divergent tendency of the cyclotron mass at P_c. It is stressed that appearance of superconductivity in CeRhIn₅ is closely related to the heavy fermion state. It is also noted that the parity-mixed novel superconducting state might be realized in a pressure-induced superconductor CeIrSi₃ without inversion symmetry in the crystal structure.     

Angular position of nodes in the superconducting gap of quasi-2D heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5

The thermal conductivity of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 has been studied in a magnetic field rotating within the 2D planes. A clear fourfold symmetry of the thermal conductivity which is characteristic of a superconducting gap with nodes along the ( +/- pi,+/- pi) directions is resolved. The thermal conductivity measurement also reveals a first-order transition at H(c2), indicating a Pauli limited superconducting state. These results indicate that the symmetry most likely belongs to d(x(2)-y(2)), implying that the anisotropic antiferromagnetic fluctuation is relevant to the superconductivity.     

Fraunhofer Diffraction Pattern by a Slit Aperture between a Knife Edge and a Metal Cylinder

The Fraunhofer diffraction pattern of an aperture formed between a knife edge and a smooth surface of a turned metal cylinder or half cylinder is different from the diffraction pattern of an ideal slit aperture. The diffraction pattern is simulated by adding the light reflected by the cylinder surface to the pattern formed by a slit, and is measured using a cylinder that has been partly cut away so that it can represent either a full or half cylinder. The theoretical and measured patterns agree well with each other.     

STM/STS study of electronic states in highly underdoped Bi2212

Local density of states (LDOS) and the lattice structure of highly underdoped Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ with T_c = 22 K and 30 K were investigated by a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The modulation structure of the Bi–O surface was strongly depressed in the highly underdoped samples. The depression was observed only in the samples subject to the strong reduction annealing process, suggesting that the strong reduction in excess oxygen could destroy the modulation structure. At a time, patch-like inhomogeneity in the gap map sometimes disappeared, indicating that the existence of excess oxygen has an important role in the patch formation. Analysis on the LDOS with various doping levels showed that there was no crossover energy, which separates a pseudogap and a superconducting gap and is proportional to T_c.     

Holographic vibration measurements of rough surfaces using a LCSLM

This paper describes measurements of a vibrating object with rough surface by the time-averaged method of holography using a newly designed optically addressed liquid crystal spatial light modulator with a resolution of 102 lp/mm and a diffraction efficiency of 16%. An object vibrating faster than several tens of Hz could be visualized. The pattern obtained by the method provides the locus of vibrating nodes. The advantage of this method is that a high contrast pattern of a vibrating object can be imaged in near-real-time, although the sensitivity of vibration is decreased.     

The ASACUSA CUSP: an antihydrogen experiment

In order to test CPT symmetry between antihydrogen and its counterpart hydrogen, the ASACUSA collaboration plans to perform high precision microwave spectroscopy of ground-state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen atom in-flight. We have developed an apparatus (“cusp trap”) which consists of a superconducting anti-Helmholtz coil and multiple ring electrodes. For the preparation of slow antiprotons and positrons, Penning-Malmberg type traps were utilized. The spectrometer line was positioned downstream of the cusp trap. At the end of the beamline, an antihydrogen beam detector was located, which comprises an inorganic Bismuth Germanium Oxide (BGO) single-crystal scintillator housed in a vacuum duct and surrounding plastic scintillators. A significant fraction of antihydrogen atoms flowing out the cusp trap were detected.     

179Au的1/2[660](πi13/2)转动带

利用能量为164—180MeV的³⁵Cl束流,通过重离子核反应¹⁴⁹Sm(³⁵Cl,5n)研究了¹⁷⁹Au的高自旋态能级结构.实验进行了γ射线的激发函数、X-γ和γ-γ-t符合测量.基于对实验测量结果的分析,首次建立了¹⁷⁹Au的1/2[660](πi_13/2)转动带.结合已有的实验数据,着重讨论了奇AAu核中1/2[660](πi_13/2)转动带的带头激发能随中子数的变化     

Observation of charged excitons in hole-doped carbon nanotubes using photoluminescence and absorption spectroscopy

We report the first observation of trions (charged excitons), three-particle bound states consisting of one electron and two holes, in hole-doped carbon nanotubes at room temperature. When p-type dopants are added to carbon nanotube solutions, the photoluminescence and absorption peaks of the trions appear far below the E11 bright exciton peak, regardless of the dopant species. The unexpectedly large energy separation between the bright excitons and the trions is attributed to the strong electron-hole exchange interaction in carbon nanotubes.     

Similarity of the Fermi surface in the hidden order state and in the antiferromagnetic state of URu₂Si₂

Shubnikov-de Haas measurements of high quality URu2Si2 single crystals reveal two previously unobserved Fermi surface branches in the so-called hidden order phase. Therefore, about 55% of the enhanced mass is now detected. Under pressure in the antiferromagnetic state, the Shubnikov-de Haas frequencies for magnetic fields applied along the crystalline c axis show little change compared with the zero pressure data. This implies a similar Fermi surface in both the hidden order and antiferromagnetic states, which strongly suggests that the lattice doubling in the antiferromagnetic phase due to the ordering vector Q(AF)=(001) already occurs in the hidden order. These measurements provide a good test for existing or future theories of the hidden order parameter.