Superconductivity of the Ternary Boride Li_2Pd_3B Probed by ^{11}B NMR

We report a ^{11}B NMR measurement on the recently discovered superconductor Li_2Pd_3B. The nuclear spin lattice relaxation rate 1/T_1 shows a well-defined coherence peak just below T_c (H=1.46 T)=5.7 K, and the spin susceptibility measured by the Knight shift also decreases below T_c. These results indicate that the superconductivity is of conventional nature, with an isotropic gap. Our results also suggest that the $p$-electrons of boron and the d-electrons of palladium that hybridize with boron $p$-electrons are primarily responsible for the superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Theoretic Limits on the Equation of State Parameter of Quintessence

The value of scalar field coupled to gravity should be less than the Planck scale in the consistent theory of quantum gravity. It provides a theoretic constraint on the equation of state parameter for the quintessence. In some cases our theoretic constraints are more stringent than the constraints from the present experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; minor corrections and refs adde

Weak gravity conjecture in the asymptotical dS and AdS background

The cosmological observations provide a strong evidence that there is a positive cosmological constant in our universe and thus the spacetime is asymptotical de Sitter space. The conjecture of gravity as the weakest force in the asymptotical dS space leads to a lower bound on the U(1) gauge coupling $g$, or equivalently, the positive cosmological constant gets an upper bound $\rho_V \leq g^2 M_p^4$ in order that the U(1) gauge theory can survive in four dimensions. This result has a simple explanation in string theory, i.e. the string scale $\sqrt{\alpha '}$ should not be greater than the size of the cosmic horizon. Our proposal in string theory can be generalized to U(N) gauge theory and gives a guideline to the microscopic explanation of the de Sitter entropy. The similar results are also obtained in the asymptotical anti-de Sitter space.Comment: 4 pages; version for publication in JHEP (title changed

Superconducting state in the non-centrosymmetric Mg_{9.3}Ir_{19}B_{16.7} and Mg_{10.5}Ir_{19}B_{17.1} revealed by NMR

We report ^{11}B NMR measurements in non-centrosymmetric superconductors Mg_{9.3}Ir_{19}B_{16.7} (T_c=5.8 K) and Mg_{10.5}Ir_{19}B_{17.1} (T_c=4.8 K). The spin lattice relaxation rate and the Knight shift indicate that the Cooper pairs are predominantly in the spin-singlet state with an isotropic gap. However, Mg_{10.5}Ir_{19}B_{17.1} is found to have more defects and the spin susceptibility remains finite even in the zero-temperature limit. We interpret this result as that the defects enhance the spin-orbit coupling and bring about more spin-triplet component.Comment: for a proper, high-resolution Fig.5, contact the corresponding autho

Measurement of electron correlations in LixCoO2 (x=0.0 - 0.35) using 59Co nuclear magnetic resonance and nuclear quadrupole resonance techniques

CoO2 is the parent compound for the superconductor NaxCoO2\cdot1.3H2O and was widely believed to be a Mott insulator. We performed 59Co nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) studies on LixCoO2 (x = 0.35, 0.25, 0.12, and 0.0) to uncover the electronic state and spin correlations in this series of compounds which was recently obtained through electrochemical de-intercalation of Li from pristine LiCoO2. We find that although the antiferromagnetic spin correlations systematically increase with decreasing Li-content (x), the end member, CoO2 is a non-correlated metal that well satisfies the Korringa relation for a Fermi liquid. Thus, CoO2 is not simply located at the limit of x->0 for AxCoO2 (A = Li, Na) compounds. The disappearance of the electron correlations in CoO2 is due to the three dimensionality of the compound which is in contrast to the highly two dimensional structure of AxCoO2.Comment: 4pages, 4figures, to be published in Phys.Rev.B. Rapid