Direction dependent switching of carrier-type enabled by Fermi surface geometry

While charge carriers can typically be designated as either electron- or hole- type, depending on the sign of the Hall coefficient, some materials defy this straightforward classification. Here we find that LaRh$_6$Ge$_4$ goes beyond this dichotomy, where the Hall resistivity is electron-like for magnetic fields along the $c$-axis but hole-like in the basal plane. Together with first-principles calculations, we show that this direction-dependent switching of the carrier type arises within a single band, where the special geometry leads to charge carriers on the same Fermi surface orbiting as electrons along some directions, but holes along others. The relationship between the Fermi surface geometry and occurrence of a Hall sign reversal is further generalized by considering tight-binding model calculations, which show that this type of Fermi surface corresponds to a more robust means of realizing this phenomenon, suggesting an important route for tailoring direction dependent properties for advanced electronic device applications.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

A Family of Lanthanide Noncentrosymmetric Superconductors La4_4TXTX (TT = Ru, Rh, Ir; XX = Al, In)

We report the discovery of superconductivity in a series of noncentrosymmetric compounds La$_4$$TX$ ($T$ = Ru, Rh, Ir; $X$ = Al, In), which have a cubic crystal structure with space group $F\bar{4}3m$. La$_4$RuAl, La$_4$RhAl, La$_4$IrAl, La$_4$RuIn and La$_4$IrIn exhibit bulk superconducting transitions with critical temperatures $T_c$ of 1.77 K, 3.05 K, 1.54 K, 0.58 K and 0.93 K, respectively. The specific heat of the La$_4$$T$Al compounds are consistent with an $s$-wave model with a fully open superconducting gap. In all cases, the upper critical fields are well described by the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg model, and the values are well below the Pauli limit, indicating that orbital limiting is the dominant pair-breaking mechanism. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the degree of band splitting by the antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling (ASOC) shows considerable variation between the different compounds. This indicates that the strength of the ASOC is highly tunable across this series of superconductors, suggesting that these are good candidates for examining the relationship between the ASOC and superconducting properties in noncentrosymmetric superconductors.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Electronic band reconstruction across the insulator-metal transition in colossal magnetoresistive EuCd2P2

While colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) in Eu-based compounds is often associated with strong spin-carrier interactions, the underlying reconstruction of the electronic bands is much less understood from spectroscopic experiments. Here using angle-resolved photoemission, we directly observe an electronic band reconstruction across the insulator-metal (and magnetic) transition in the recently discovered CMR compound EuCd2P2. This transition is manifested by a large magnetic band splitting associated with the magnetic order, as well as unusual energy shifts of the valence bands: both the large ordered moment of Eu and carrier localization in the paramagnetic phase are crucial. Our results provide spectroscopic evidence for an electronic structure reconstruction underlying the enormous CMR observed in EuCd2P2, which could be important for understanding Eu-based CMR materials, as well as designing CMR materials based on large-moment rare-earth magnets.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Understanding and exploring the diversity of soil microorganisms in tea (Camellia sinensis) gardens: toward sustainable tea production

Leaves of Camellia sinensis plants are used to produce tea, one of the most consumed beverages worldwide, containing a wide variety of bioactive compounds that help to promote human health. Tea cultivation is economically important, and its sustainable production can have significant consequences in providing agricultural opportunities and lowering extreme poverty. Soil parameters are well known to affect the quality of the resultant leaves and consequently, the understanding of the diversity and functions of soil microorganisms in tea gardens will provide insight to harnessing soil microbial communities to improve tea yield and quality. Current analyses indicate that tea garden soils possess a rich composition of diverse microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) of which the bacterial Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes and Chloroflexi and fungal Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota are the prominent groups. When optimized, these microbes’ function in keeping garden soil ecosystems balanced by acting on nutrient cycling processes, biofertilizers, biocontrol of pests and pathogens, and bioremediation of persistent organic chemicals. Here, we summarize research on the activities of (tea garden) soil microorganisms as biofertilizers, biological control agents and as bioremediators to improve soil health and consequently, tea yield and quality, focusing mainly on bacterial and fungal members. Recent advances in molecular techniques that characterize the diverse microorganisms in tea gardens are examined. In terms of viruses there is a paucity of information regarding any beneficial functions of soil viruses in tea gardens, although in some instances insect pathogenic viruses have been used to control tea pests. The potential of soil microorganisms is reported here, as well as recent techniques used to study microbial diversity and their genetic manipulation, aimed at improving the yield and quality of tea plants for sustainable production

Neglected negative consequences of using exports to earn foreign exchange

The rapid growth of international trade has promoted equally rapid economic development and globalization. It has also brought some problems. To earn foreign exchange from other countries, some countries have adopted export tax rebate policies and other subsidies to enhance the international competitiveness of their products. However, earning foreign exchange from exports to other countries has also caused harms that have been neglected by many economists. To describe these harms, we studied the impact of transitioning from a completely export-oriented trade strategy to a strategy that mitigates trade’s negative impacts by considering the environmental damage associated with huge export profits. Behind the booming export earnings lies a continuous loss of real domestic wealth. Importing raw materials and exporting processed products also creates large amounts of pollution and wastes, and contributes to continuous degradation of the exporter country’s environment. It also widens the development gaps between and within countries. The core goal of socioeconomic development is to improve the livelihood of the people, not to hoard other countries' currencies. Balancing international trade therefore represents a necessary foundation for sustainable international trade, and this goal is jeopardized by excessive exports that unbalance a country’s international trade. Currency can become an invisible tax imposed on its users through depreciation caused by excessive issuance of the currency. The greater a country’s foreign exchange reserves, the greater the loss of real wealth. Therefore, to promote socioeconomic development and mitigate the problems caused by an excessive emphasis on exports, we should protect and enhance the vitality of markets (e.g., by eliminating export subsidies wherever possible) to balance exports and imports

A Policy Effect Analysis of China’s Energy Storage Development Based on a Multi-Agent Evolutionary Game Model

Energy storage technology plays a significant role in the pursuit of the high-quality development of the electricity market. Many regions in China have issued policies and regulations of different intensities for promoting the popularization of the energy storage industry. Based on a variety of initial conditions of different regions, this paper explores the evolutionary process of electricity market players considering energy storage technology. The trilateral evolutionary game model is adopted to analyze the strategies of the power plant, the power grid, and the government. After assigning the model according to an actual situation, each equilibrium point corresponds to a real electricity market situation. The results indicate the following: (1) In the process of stabilizing, the role of “Advanced Imitators” leading the strategy of building energy storage changes between the power plant and the power grid. (2) In Eastern, Middle, and Southern China, the power plants and power grids on a greater-than-medium scale will choose to build energy storage without governmental regulations, due to the abundant net profit. (3) In the northeast of China, power plants with a medium-or-lower scale will choose not to build energy storage because of the relatively low on-grid price, and small power grids can make enough profits by operating energy storage facilities. (4) In Northern China, the large power plants and the medium power grids will choose to build energy storage due to the high electricity sale price and the resulting high profit. (5) In Western China, the small power plants and power grids cannot afford to build energy storage due to the low electricity price. The results lead to valuable policy suggestions for the local governments of China in promoting energy storage in the future. To meet the goal of energy storage popularization, regional electricity market plans need relevant policies based on its existing conditions, offering suitable external conditions for adding energy storage

Study on surface integrity of DD5 nickel-based single crystal super-alloy in creep-feed grinding

In order to control the forming surface quality of signal crystal turbine blade tenon teeth in the creep feed grinding, the influence of the creep feed grinding parameters on the grinding surface integrity of DD5 nickel-based single crystal superalloy was investigated via orthogonal experiment. The results showed that the surface roughness along vertical grinding direction was ranged at 0.56-0.74 μm at the grinding wheel speed range of 15-30 m/s, feeding velocity range of 120-210 mm/min and grinding depth range of 0.1-0.7 mm, and the surface roughness in the grinding direction is about 1/5 of that in the vertical grinding direction. The surface topography and texture results showed that there were the obvious grooves and ridges on the grinding surface caused by the grain ploughing and scratching, the length and height of grooves and ridges on the grinding surface changed obviously under different processing parameters, and the three-dimensional topography of the grinding surface fluctuated obviously. The length of grooves and ridges along the grinding direction were sensitive to the speed of grinding wheel, waviness of grooves and ridges along the vertical grinding direction were sensitive to the grinding depth and workpiece feed rate. The different degrees of work hardening effect were presented at the grinding surface, the biggest work hardening effect achieved at 11.6%, and the maximum depth of work hardening effect was 110 μm. The distinct plastic deformation appeared at the grinding surface. The γ phase presented slip deformation along the grinding direction with various degrees, and the γ' phase presented skewing, twisting, broken and fracture, the maximum depth of plastic deformation was 2.92 μm. The work hardening effect of DD5 creep feed grinding mainly due to the plastic deformation degree at the grinding surface. The experimental conclusions provided theoretical guidance for DD5 signal crystal turbine blade tenon teeth