12 research outputs found
Atomic-scale coexistence of short-range magnetic order and superconductivity in FeSeTe
The ground state of the parent compounds of many high temperature
superconductors is an antiferromagnetically (AFM) ordered phase, where
superconductivity emerges when the AFM phase transition is suppressed by doping
or application of pressure. This behaviour implies a close relation between the
two orders. Understanding the interplay between them promises a better
understanding of how the superconducting condensate forms from the AFM ordered
background. Here we explore this relation in real space at the atomic scale
using low temperature spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) and
spectroscopy. We investigate the transition from antiferromagnetically ordered
via the spin glass phase in
to superconducting
. In
we observe an
atomic-scale coexistence of superconductivity and short-ranged bicollinear
antiferromagnetic order.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Preparation of magnetic tips for spin-polarized STM on Fe_{1+y}Te
The interplay of electronic nematic modulations, magnetic order,
superconductivity and structural distortions in strongly correlated electron
materials calls for methods which allow characterizing them simultaneously - to
allow establishing directly the relationship between these different phenomena.
Spin-polarized STM enables studying both, electronic excitations as well as
magnetic structure in the same measurement at the atomic scale. Here we
demonstrate preparation of magnetic tips, both ferromagnetic and
antiferromagnetic, on single crystals of FeTe. This opens up preparation of
spin-polarized tips without the need for sophisticated ultra-high vacuum
preparation
Discovery of a strain-stabilised smectic electronic order in LiFeAs
CT, CMY and PW acknowledge funding from EPSRC through EP/L505079/1 and EP/I031014/1. Research at UBC was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute.In many high temperature superconductors, small orthorhombic distortions of the lattice structure result in surprisingly large symmetry breaking of the electronic states and macroscopic properties, an effect often referred to as nematicity. To directly study the impact of symmetry-breaking lattice distortions on the electronic states, using low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy we image at the atomic scale the influence of strain-tuned lattice distortions on the correlated electronic states in the iron-based superconductor LiFeAs, a material which in its ground state is tetragonal with four-fold (C4) symmetry. Our experiments uncover a new strain-stabilised modulated phase which exhibits a smectic order in LiFeAs, an electronic state which not only breaks rotational symmetry but also reduces translational symmetry. We follow the evolution of the superconducting gap from the unstrained material with C4 symmetry through the new smectic phase with two-fold (C2) symmetry and charge-density wave order to a state where superconductivity is completely suppressed.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Roald Dahl Centenary Cardiff Conference
This is a report on the Roald Dahl Centenary Cardiff Conference held in Cardiff, United Kingdom from 16th to 18th June 2016
Detailed Analysis of a Contiguous 22-Mb Region of the Maize Genome
Most of our understanding of plant genome structure and evolution has come from the careful annotation of small (e.g., 100 kb) sequenced genomic regions or from automated annotation of complete genome sequences. Here, we sequenced and carefully annotated a contiguous 22 Mb region of maize chromosome 4 using an improved pseudomolecule for annotation. The sequence segment was comprehensively ordered, oriented, and confirmed using the maize optical map. Nearly 84% of the sequence is composed of transposable elements (TEs) that are mostly nested within each other, of which most families are low-copy. We identified 544 gene models using multiple levels of evidence, as well as five miRNA genes. Gene fragments, many captured by TEs, are prevalent within this region. Elimination of gene redundancy from a tetraploid maize ancestor that originated a few million years ago is responsible in this region for most disruptions of synteny with sorghum and rice. Consistent with other sub-genomic analyses in maize, small RNA mapping showed that many small RNAs match TEs and that most TEs match small RNAs. These results, performed on βΌ1% of the maize genome, demonstrate the feasibility of refining the B73 RefGen_v1 genome assembly by incorporating optical map, high-resolution genetic map, and comparative genomic data sets. Such improvements, along with those of gene and repeat annotation, will serve to promote future functional genomic and phylogenomic research in maize and other grasses
Real-space imaging of the atomic-scale magnetic structure of Fe1+yTe
Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) has been used extensively to study magnetic properties of nanostructures. Using SP-STM to visualize magnetic order in strongly correlated materials on an atomic scale is highly desirable, but challenging. We achieved this goal in iron tellurium (Fe1+yTe), the nonsuperconducting parent compound of the iron chalcogenides, by using a STM tip with a magnetic cluster at its apex. Our images of the magnetic structure reveal that the magnetic order in the monoclinic phase is a unidirectional stripe order; in the orthorhombic phase at higher excess iron concentration (y > 0.12), a transition to a phase with coexisting magnetic orders in both directions is observed. It may be possible to generalize the technique to other high-temperature superconductor families, such as the cuprates.PostprintPeer reviewe