6,352 research outputs found
Bulk Rotational Symmetry Breaking in Kondo Insulator SmB6
Kondo insulator samarium hexaboride (SmB6) has been intensely studied in
recent years as a potential candidate of a strongly correlated topological
insulator. One of the most exciting phenomena observed in SmB6 is the clear
quantum oscillations appearing in magnetic torque at a low temperature despite
the insulating behavior in resistance. These quantum oscillations show multiple
frequencies and varied effective masses. The origin of quantum oscillation is,
however, still under debate with evidence of both two-dimensional Fermi
surfaces and three-dimensional Fermi surfaces. Here, we carry out
angle-resolved torque magnetometry measurements in a magnetic field up to 45 T
and a temperature range down to 40 mK. With the magnetic field rotated in the
(010) plane, the quantum oscillation frequency of the strongest oscillation
branch shows a four-fold rotational symmetry. However, in the angular
dependence of the amplitude of the same branch, this four-fold symmetry is
broken and, instead, a twofold symmetry shows up, which is consistent with the
prediction of a two-dimensional Lifshitz-Kosevich model. No deviation of
Lifshitz-Kosevich behavior is observed down to 40 mK. Our results suggest the
existence of multiple light-mass surface states in SmB6, with their mobility
significantly depending on the surface disorder level.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure
GAP: From sound design to practical implementation in clinical trials for traditional chinese medicine
The past few years have witnessed encouraging progress in improving the methodological quality of clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This improvement has contributed to wider academic acceptance of the findings of TCM clinical studies, which were previously deemed dubious. As a proof of this statement, one clinical study testing the effects of a Chinese patent drug Qili Qiangxin Capsules on chronic heart failure has just published a research article on the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a medical journal of international prestige. However, a sound and scientific design does not always see to its practicality in the conduct of the study, and in fact we observed a widening gap between the two elements. In this special issue, we called for papers discussing efforts to bridge the gap between scientific design and practical implementation of clinical research with TCM
Electrical current-driven pinhole formation and insulator-metal transition in tunnel junctions
Current Induced Resistance Switching (CIS) was recently observed in thin
tunnel junctions (TJs) with ferromagnetic (FM) electrodes and attributed to
electromigration of metallic atoms in nanoconstrictions in the insulating
barrier. The CIS effect is here studied in TJs with two thin (20 \AA)
non-magnetic (NM) Ta electrodes inserted above and below the insulating
barrier. We observe resistance (R) switching for positive applied electrical
current (flowing from the bottom to the top lead), characterized by a
continuous resistance decrease and associated with current-driven displacement
of metallic ions from the bottom electrode into the barrier (thin barrier
state). For negative currents, displaced ions return into their initial
positions in the electrode and the electrical resistance gradually increases
(thick barrier state). We measured the temperature (T) dependence of the
electrical resistance of both thin- and thick-barrier states ( and R
respectively). Experiments showed a weaker R(T) variation when the tunnel
junction is in the state, associated with a smaller tunnel contribution.
By applying large enough electrical currents we induced large irreversible
R-decreases in the studied TJs, associated with barrier degradation. We then
monitored the evolution of the R(T) dependence for different stages of barrier
degradation. In particular, we observed a smooth transition from tunnel- to
metallic-dominated transport. The initial degradation-stages are related to
irreversible barrier thickness decreases (without the formation of pinholes).
Only for later barrier degradation stages do we have the appearance of metallic
paths between the two electrodes that, however, do not lead to metallic
dominated transport for small enough pinhole radius.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
The and decays with the fourth generation
If the fourth generation fermions exist, the new quarks could influence the
branching ratios of the decays of and . We
obtain two solutions of the fourth generation CKM factor
from the decay of . We use these
two solutions to calculate the new contributions of the fourth generation quark
to Wilson coefficients of the decay of . The branching ratio
and the forward-backward asymmetry of the decay of in the two
cases are calculated. Our results are quite different from that of SM in one
case, almost same in another case. If Nature chooses the formmer, the meson
decays could provide a possible test of the forth generation existence.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
I. S. Turgenev’s Novel “Fathers and Sons” in Chinese Translation and Research Reception
The previously not considered question of the reception of the novel “Fathers and Sons” by Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev in the Chinese research tradition and in translations is considered. The novelty of the work is seen in the fact that at present in the Russian and Chinese literary environment there is no detailed study devoted to the perception of the novel “Fathers and Sons” in China. The relevance of the article is due to the need to study the significance of I.S. Turgenev for the Chinese cultural process in order to understand the specifics of Russian-Chinese literary relations, which corresponds to the trends of modern comparative literature. The most important issues are those related to the study of Russian literature in the Chinese context. It is noted that, based on the work of Chinese researchers and translators, it is possible to draw conclusions, firstly, about the popularity of the work “Fathers and Sons” in the Chinese readership, and secondly, about the special merits of the translations of Ba Jin, Li Ni, Zheng Bin and other translators to distribute the works of I. S. Turgenev in China. It is shown that not only scientists and translators, but also cinematographers turn to the work of the classic, which also testifies to the great interest of the Chinese audience in the classical heritage of Russian literature
- …