Abstract
Unconventional superconductors often feature competing orders, small superfluid density, and nodal electronic pairing. While unusual superconductivity has been proposed in the kagome metals
...A
V
3
Sb
5
, key spectroscopic evidence has remained elusive. Here we utilize pressure-tuned and ultra-low temperature muon spin spectroscopy to uncover the unconventional nature of superconductivity in RbV
3
Sb
5
and KV
3
Sb
5
. At ambient pressure, we observed time-reversal symmetry breaking charge order below
$${T}_{{{\rm{1}}}^{*}\simeq$$
T
1
*
≃
110 K in RbV
3
Sb
5
with an additional transition at
$${T}_{{{\rm{2}}}^{*}\simeq$$
T
2
*
≃
50 K. Remarkably, the superconducting state displays a nodal energy gap and a reduced superfluid density, which can be attributed to the competition with the charge order. Upon applying pressure, the charge-order transitions are suppressed, the superfluid density increases, and the superconducting state progressively evolves from nodal to nodeless. Once optimal superconductivity is achieved, we find a superconducting pairing state that is not only fully gapped, but also spontaneously breaks time-reversal symmetry. Our results point to unprecedented tunable nodal kagome superconductivity competing with time-reversal symmetry-breaking charge order and offer unique insights into the nature of the pairing state.
Abstract
The electronic instabilities in CsV
3
Sb
5
are believed to originate from the V 3
d
-electrons on the kagome plane, however the role of Sb 5
p
-electrons for 3-dimensional orders is largely ...unexplored. Here, using resonant tender X-ray scattering and high-pressure X-ray scattering, we report a rare realization of conjoined charge density waves (CDWs) in CsV
3
Sb
5
, where a 2 × 2 × 1 CDW in the kagome sublattice and a Sb 5
p
-electron assisted 2 × 2 × 2 CDW coexist. At ambient pressure, we discover a resonant enhancement on Sb
L
1
-edge (2
s
→5
p
) at the 2 × 2 × 2 CDW wavevectors. The resonance, however, is absent at the 2 × 2 × 1 CDW wavevectors. Applying hydrostatic pressure, CDW transition temperatures are separated, where the 2 × 2 × 2 CDW emerges 4 K above the 2 × 2 × 1 CDW at 1 GPa. These observations demonstrate that symmetry-breaking phases in CsV
3
Sb
5
go beyond the minimal framework of kagome electronic bands near van Hove filling.
CsV3 Sb5 is a newly discovered Z2 topological kagome metal showing the coexistence of a charge-density-wave (CDW)-like order at T* = 94 K and superconductivity (SC) at Tc = 2.5 K at ambient pressure. ...Here, we study the interplay between CDW and SC in CsV3 Sb5 via measurements of resistivity, dc and ac magnetic susceptibility under various pressures up to 6.6 GPa. We find that the CDW transition decreases with pressure and experience a subtle modification at Pc1 ≈ 0.6 – 0.9 GPa before it vanishes completely at Pc2 ≈ 2 GPa . Correspondingly, Tc(P) displays an unusual M -shaped double dome with two maxima around Pc1 and Pc2 , respectively, leading to a tripled enhancement of Tc to about 8 K at 2 GPa. The obtained temperature-pressure phase diagram resembles those of unconventional superconductors, illustrating an intimated competition between CDW-like order and SC. The competition is found to be particularly strong for the intermediate pressure range Pc1 ≤ P ≤ Pc2 as evidenced by the broad superconducting transition and reduced superconducting volume fraction. The modification of CDW order around Pc1 has been discussed based on the band structure calculations. This work not only demonstrates the potential to raise Tc of the V-based kagome superconductors, but also offers more insights into the rich physics related to the electron correlations in this novel family of topological kagome metals.
Abstract
Recently, some divergent conclusions about cosmic acceleration were obtained using Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), with opposite assumptions on the intrinsic luminosity evolution. In this ...paper, we use strong gravitational lensing systems to probe the cosmic acceleration. Since the theory of strong gravitational lensing is established certainly, and the Einstein radius is determined by stable cosmic geometry. We study two cosmological models, Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) and power-law models, through 152 strong gravitational lensing systems, incorporating with 30 Hubble parameters H($z$) and 11 baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements. Bayesian evidence are introduced to make a one-on-one comparison between cosmological models. Based on Bayes factors ln B of flat ΛCDM versus power-law and Rh = ct models are ln B > 5, we find that the flat ΛCDM is strongly supported by the combination of the data sets. Namely, an accelerating cosmology with non-power-law expansion is preferred by our numeration.
In this Letter, we study the correlation between isotropic energy and duration of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) for the first time. The correlation is found to be from the Swift GRB sample. After comparing ...with solar flares from RHESSI and stellar superflares from the Kepler satellite, we find that the correlation of GRBs shows a similar exponent with those of solar flares and stellar superflares. Inspired by the physical mechanism of solar flares and stellar superflares, magnetic reconnection, Inspired by treating magnetic reconnection as the physical mechanism of solar flares, we interpret the correlation using magnetic reconnection theory. This similarity suggests that magnetic reconnection may dominate the energy-releasing process of GRBs.
Abstract
Bose polarons are quasiparticles formed through the interaction between impurities and Bose–Einstein condensates. In this paper, we derive an effective Fröhlich Hamiltonian using the ...generalized Bogoliubov transformation. The effective Fröhlich Hamiltonian encompasses two types of effective interactions: impurity-density (ID) coupling and impurity-spin (IS) coupling. Furthermore, we employ the Lee–Low–Pines variational approach to investigate the relevant properties of Bose polarons induced by the ID and IS coupling. These properties include the ground state energy, effective mass, and average number of virtual phonons. Our findings reveal that the contribution resulting from IS couplings to the ground energy decreases to zero near the miscible–immiscible boundary. Additionally, the increase of the IS coupling induces a greater number of virtual phonons, impeding the movement of impurities and leading to a significant increase in the effective mass of Bose polarons.
Abstract
We study phase behaviors of mixtures comprising active particles with and without active reorientation by varying mixing ratios. We observe that the order parameter characterizing flocking ...in the steady state exhibits a linear decrease with an increase in mixing ratio. While the order parameter characterizing clustering in the steady state presents a sharp leap as the mixing ratio increases. Particularly, we obtain phase diagrams of flocking under different mixing ratios and observe that the domain corresponding to flocking experiences a contraction with the increase of mixing ratio. Simultaneously, the coordinates of the critical point on the phase boundary between the flocking and the disordered phase decay exponentially with the mixing ratio.
In conventional thermodynamics, it is widely acknowledged that the realization of an isothermal process for a system requires a quasistatic controlling protocol. Here we propose and design a strategy ...to realize a finite-rate isothermal transition from an equilibrium state to another one at the same temperature, which is named the "shortcut to isothermality." By using shortcuts to isothermality, we derive three nonequilibrium work relations, including an identity between the free-energy difference and the mean work due to the potential of the original system, a Jarzynski-like equality, and the inverse relationship between the dissipated work and the total driving time. We numerically test these three relations by considering the motion of a Brownian particle trapped in a harmonic potential and dragged by a time-dependent force.
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