Time-reversal symmetry breaking versus superstructure

One of the mysteries of modern condenced-matter physics is the nature of the pseudogap state of the superconducting cuprates. Kaminski et al.1 claimed to have observed signatures of time-reversal symmetry breaking in the pseudogap regime in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Bi2212). Here we argue that the observed dichroism is due to the 5x1 superstructure replica of the electronic bands and therefore cannot be considered as evidence for the spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking in cuprates.Comment: 5 pages, pd

Selection and Breeding of Dairy Cattle in Western Siberia

The main objective of stock breeding is to raise highly productive animals, improve existing ones and create new types and breeds of livestock. The main focus of dairy cattle breeding is on increasing milk yield, fat and protein content in milk; preserving fertility and productive longevity; and developing high adaptive properties of suitability for modern industrial technologies. Selection and breeding of black-and-white and red steppe breeds of cattle is aimed at improving the breeding and productive qualities of the animals. These breeds are traditionally raised in Western Siberia. Breeding to improve the economic and productive features of black-and-white and red steppe breeds of cattle led to the creation of new zonal types, including the Priobsky, Kulunda and Siberian zonal types, which are characterized by relatively high dairy productivity. This study showed that the Siberian type of heifers had the maximum milk yield – 6389 kg, which was 1239 kg and 828 kg more than the Kulunda and Priobsky types, respectively. The same tendency was observed for the third lactation. Animals with a dry period of less than 40 days had lower milk yields than those with a longer period. In terms of the amount of milk and the weight fraction of fat and protein in the milk, the animals exceeded the standard for the parental breed. The duration of pregnancy among the studied animals was within the physiological norm – 276.1-280.8 days. The research results may be of interest to agricultural students and specialists involved in selection issues. Keywords: reproduction, breed, milk productivit

TaIrTe4 a ternary Type-II Weyl semi-metal

In metallic condensed matter systems two different types of Weyl fermions can in principle emerge, with either a vanishing (type-I) or with a finite (type-II) density of states at the Weyl node energy. So far only WTe2 and MoTe2 were predicted to be type-II Weyl semi-metals. Here we identify TaIrTe4 as a third member of this family of topological semi-metals. TaIrTe4 has the attractive feature that it hosts only four well-separated Weyl points, the minimum imposed by symmetry. Moreover, the resulting topological surface states - Fermi arcs connecting Weyl nodes of opposite chirality - extend to about 1/3 of the surface Brillouin zone. This large momentum-space separation is very favorable for detecting the Fermi arcs spectroscopically and in transport experiments

One-sign order parameter in iron based superconductor

The onset of superconductivity at the transition temperature is marked by the onset of order, which is characterized by an energy gap. Most models of the iron-based superconductors find a sign-changing (s±) order parameter [1–6], with the physical implication that pairing is driven by spin fluctuations. Recent work, however, has indicated that LiFeAs has a simple isotropic order parameter [7–9] and spin fluctuations are not necessary [7,10], contrary to the models [1–6]. The strength of the spin fluctuations has been controversial [11,12], meaning that the mechanism of superconductivity cannot as yet be determined. We report the momentum dependence of the superconducting energy gap, where we find an anisotropy that rules out coupling through spin fluctuations and the sign change. The results instead suggest that orbital fluctuations assisted by phonons [13,14] are the best explanation for superconductivity

A Giant Bulk-Type Dresselhaus Splitting with 3D Chiral Spin Texture in IrBiSe

Materials with giant spin splitting are desired for spintronic applications. The fabrications of spintronic devices from half metals with one spin direction are often hampered, however, by stray magnetic fields, domain walls, short spin coherence times, scattering on magnetic atoms or magnetically active interfaces, and other characteristics that come along with the magnetism. The surfaces of topological insulators, or Dirac/Weyl semimetals, could be an alternative, but production of high-quality thin films without the presence of the bulk states at the Fermi energy remains very challenging. Here, by utilizing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, a record-high Dresselhaus spin–orbit splitting of the bulk state in the nonmagnetic IrBiSe is found. The band structure calculations indicate that the splitting band is fully spin-polarized with 3D chiral spin texture. As a source of spin-polarized electrons, lightly doped IrBiSe is expected to generate electric-field-controlled spin-polarized currents, free from back scattering, and could host triplet and Fulde–Ferrel–Larkin–Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superconductivity. © 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Crystal Growth and Electronic Phase Diagram of 4\u3cem\u3ed\u3c/em\u3e-doped Na\u3csub\u3e1-\u3cem\u3eδ\u3c/em\u3e\u3c/sub\u3eFe\u3csub\u3e1-\u3cem\u3ex\u3c/em\u3e\u3c/sub\u3eRh\u3csub\u3e\u3cem\u3ex\u3c/em\u3e\u3c/sub\u3eAs in Comparison to 3\u3cem\u3ed\u3c/em\u3e-doped Na\u3csub\u3e1-\u3cem\u3eδ\u3c/em\u3e\u3c/sub\u3eFe\u3csub\u3e1-\u3cem\u3ex\u3c/em\u3e\u3c/sub\u3eCo\u3csub\u3e\u3cem\u3ex\u3c/em\u3e\u3c/sub\u3eAs

Single crystals of Na1−δFe1−xTxAs with T = Co, Rh have been grown using a self-flux technique. The crystals were thoroughly characterized by powder x-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, and electronic transport with particular focus on the Rh-doped samples. Measurements of the specific heat and ARPES were conducted exemplarily for the optimally doped compositions. The spin-density wave transition (SDW) observed for samples with low Rh concentration (0≤x≤0.013) is fully suppressed in the optimally doped sample. The superconducting transition temperature (Tc) is enhanced from 10 K in Na1−δFeAs to 21 K in the optimally doped sample (x=0.019) of the Na1−δFe1−xRhxAs series and decreases for the overdoped compounds, revealing a typical shape for the superconducting part of the electronic phase diagram. Remarkably, the phase diagram is almost identical to that of Co-doped Na1−δFeAs, suggesting a generic phase diagram for both dopants

Quantum-critical scale invariance in a transition metal alloy

Quantum-mechanical fluctuations between competing phases induce exotic collective excitations that exhibit anomalous behavior in transport and thermodynamic properties, and are often intimately linked to the appearance of unconventional Cooper pairing. High-temperature superconductivity, however, makes it difficult to assess the role of quantum-critical fluctuations in shaping anomalous finite-temperature physical properties. Here we report temperature-field scale invariance of non-Fermi liquid thermodynamic, transport, and Hall quantities in a non-superconducting iron-pnictide, Ba(Fe1/3Co1/3Ni1/3)2As2, indicative of quantum criticality at zero temperature and applied magnetic field. Beyond a linear-in-temperature resistivity, the hallmark signature of strong quasiparticle scattering, we find a scattering rate that obeys a universal scaling relation between temperature and applied magnetic fields down to the lowest energy scales. Together with the dominance of hole-like carriers close to the zero-temperature and zero-field limits, the scale invariance, isotropic field response, and lack of applied pressure sensitivity suggests a unique quantum critical system unhindered by a pairing instability