23 research outputs found
Emergence of Exotic Spin Texture in Supramolecular Metal Complexes on a 2D Superconductor
Designer heterostructures, where the desired physics emerges from the
controlled interactions between different components, represent one of the most
powerful strategies to realize unconventional electronic states. This approach
has been particularly fruitful in combining magnetism and superconductivity to
create exotic superconducting states. In this work, we use a heterostructure
platform combining supramolecular metal complexes (SMCs) with a quasi-2D van
der Waals (vdW) superconductor NbSe. Our scanning tunneling microscopy
(STM) measurements demonstrate the emergence of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) bands
arising from the interaction between the SMC magnetism and the NbSe
superconductivity. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic
circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements, we show the presence of
antiferromagnetic coupling between the SMC units. These result in the emergence
of an unconventional reconstruction in the magnetic ground state
that is directly reflected in real space modulation of the YSR bands. The
combination of flexible molecular building blocks, frustrated magnetic
textures, and superconductivity in heterostructures establishes a fertile
starting point to fabricating tunable quantum materials, including
unconventional superconductors and quantum spin liquids
NRXN3 Is a Novel Locus for Waist Circumference: A Genome-Wide Association Study from the CHARGE Consortium
Central abdominal fat is a strong risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. To identify common variants influencing central abdominal fat, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association analysis for waist circumference (WC). In total, three loci reached genome-wide significance. In stage 1, 31,373 individuals of Caucasian descent from eight cohort studies confirmed the role of FTO and MC4R and identified one novel locus associated with WC in the neurexin 3 gene [NRXN3 (rs10146997, p = 6.4×10−7)]. The association with NRXN3 was confirmed in stage 2 by combining stage 1 results with those from 38,641 participants in the GIANT consortium (p = 0.009 in GIANT only, p = 5.3×10−8 for combined analysis, n = 70,014). Mean WC increase per copy of the G allele was 0.0498 z-score units (0.65 cm). This SNP was also associated with body mass index (BMI) [p = 7.4×10−6, 0.024 z-score units (0.10 kg/m2) per copy of the G allele] and the risk of obesity (odds ratio 1.13, 95% CI 1.07–1.19; p = 3.2×10−5 per copy of the G allele). The NRXN3 gene has been previously implicated in addiction and reward behavior, lending further evidence that common forms of obesity may be a central nervous system-mediated disorder. Our findings establish that common variants in NRXN3 are associated with WC, BMI, and obesity