Crossover between Weak Antilocalization and Weak Localization of Bulk States in Ultrathin Bi2Se3 Films

We report transport studies on the 5 nm thick Bi2Se3 topological insulator films which are grown via molecular beam epitaxy technique. The angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data show that the Fermi level of the system lies in the bulk conduction band above the Dirac point, suggesting important contribution of bulk states to the transport results. In particular, the crossover from weak antilocalization to weak localization in the bulk states is observed in the parallel magnetic field measurements up to 50 Tesla. The measured magneto-resistance exhibits interesting anisotropy with respect to the orientation of B// and I, signifying intrinsic spin-orbit coupling in the Bi2Se3 films. Our work directly shows the crossover of quantum interference effect in the bulk states from weak antilocalization to weak localization. It presents an important step toward a better understanding of the existing three-dimensional topological insulators and the potential applications of nano-scale topological insulator devices

Detection of a superconducting phase in a two-atom layer of hexagonal Ga film grown on semiconducting GaN(0001)

The recent observation of superconducting state at atomic scale has motivated the pursuit of exotic condensed phases in two-dimensional (2D) systems. Here we report on a superconducting phase in two-monolayer crystalline Ga films epitaxially grown on wide band-gap semiconductor GaN(0001). This phase exhibits a hexagonal structure and only 0.552 nm in thickness, nevertheless, brings about a superconducting transition temperature Tc as high as 5.4 K, confirmed by in situ scanning tunneling spectroscopy, and ex situ electrical magneto-transport and magnetization measurements. The anisotropy of critical magnetic field and Berezinski-Kosterlitz-Thouless-like transition are observed, typical for the 2D superconductivity. Our results demonstrate a novel platform for exploring atomic-scale 2D superconductor, with great potential for understanding of the interface superconductivity

Active optical clock based on four-level quantum system

Active optical clock, a new conception of atomic clock, has been proposed recently. In this report, we propose a scheme of active optical clock based on four-level quantum system. The final accuracy and stability of two-level quantum system are limited by second-order Doppler shift of thermal atomic beam. To three-level quantum system, they are mainly limited by light shift of pumping laser field. These limitations can be avoided effectively by applying the scheme proposed here. Rubidium atom four-level quantum system, as a typical example, is discussed in this paper. The population inversion between $6S_{1/2}$ and $5P_{3/2}$ states can be built up at a time scale of $10^{-6}$s. With the mechanism of active optical clock, in which the cavity mode linewidth is much wider than that of the laser gain profile, it can output a laser with quantum-limited linewidth narrower than 1 Hz in theory. An experimental configuration is designed to realize this active optical clock.Comment: 5 page

Anisotropic Magnetotransport and Exotic Longitudinal Linear Magnetoresistance in WTe2 Crystals

WTe2 semimetal, as a typical layered transition-metal dichalcogenide, has recently attracted much attention due to the extremely large, non-saturating parabolic magnetoresistance in perpendicular field. Here, we report a systematic study of the angular dependence of the magnetoresistance in WTe2 single crystal. The violation of the Kohler rule and a significant anisotropic magnetotransport behavior in different magnetic field directions are observed. Surprisingly, when the applied field is parallel to the tungsten chains of WTe2, an exotic large longitudinal linear magnetoresistance as high as 1200% at 15 T and 2 K is identified. Violation of the Kohler rule in transverse magnetoresistance can be understood based on a dual effect of the excitons formation and thermal activation, while large longitudinal linear magnetoresistance reflects perfectly the scattering and nesting of quasi-1D nature of this balanced hole-electron system. Our work will stimulate studies of such double-carrier correlated material and corresponding quantum physics

Sweet Taste Receptor Deficient Mice Have Decreased Adiposity and Increased Bone Mass

Functional expression of sweet taste receptors (T1R2 and T1R3) has been reported in numerous metabolic tissues, including the gut, pancreas, and, more recently, in adipose tissue. It has been suggested that sweet taste receptors in these non-gustatory tissues may play a role in systemic energy balance and metabolism. Smaller adipose depots have been reported in T1R3 knockout mice on a high carbohydrate diet, and sweet taste receptors have been reported to regulate adipogenesis in vitro. To assess the potential contribution of sweet taste receptors to adipose tissue biology, we investigated the adipose tissue phenotypes of T1R2 and T1R3 knockout mice. Here we provide data to demonstrate that when fed an obesogenic diet, both T1R2 and T1R3 knockout mice have reduced adiposity and smaller adipocytes. Although a mild glucose intolerance was observed with T1R3 deficiency, other metabolic variables analyzed were similar between genotypes. In addition, food intake, respiratory quotient, oxygen consumption, and physical activity were unchanged in T1R2 knockout mice. Although T1R2 deficiency did not affect adipocyte number in peripheral adipose depots, the number of bone marrow adipocytes is significantly reduced in these knockout animals. Finally, we present data demonstrating that T1R2 and T1R3 knockout mice have increased cortical bone mass and trabecular remodeling. This report identifies novel functions for sweet taste receptors in the regulation of adipose and bone biology, and suggests that in these contexts, T1R2 and T1R3 are either dependent on each other for activity or have common independent effects in vivo

Critical thickness of phenolic resin-based carbon interfacial layer for improving long cycling stability of silicon nanoparticle anodes

Silicon has a high theoretical capacity, still limits its application on Si-based anodes due to the problems of low electric conductivity, large volume change, continuous formation of unstable solid electrolyte interphase layer, and easy fracture during lithiation and delithiation process. Despite various carbon coating approaches are developed to fabricate carbon coated silicon core-shell and yolk-shell nanocomposites with improved electrochemical performance, the challenges including poor long-term cyclability, low Si mass ratio, and scalability remains. To overcome these challenges, we design an interfacial microporous carbon coating strategy on silicon nanoparticles to form homogeneous coaxial core-shell nanostructures. This synthesis sol-gel approach is simple, easy to scale up, and direct growth phenolic resins on the surface with uniform and controllable thickness. Additionally, the fabricated carbon layers form the microporous structures and phenolic resin frameworks, thus enabling the fast lithium ion transport and formation of stable solid electrolyte interphase film. By finely controlling the thickness of this phenolic resin-based carbon of 10 nm, excellent protection of silicon nanoparticles as well as high electrochemical performance are achieved, delivering a high capacity of 1006 mA h g−1 and Coulombic efficiency of \u3e99.5% after 500 times at a current density of 500 mA g−1

Yolk-shell silicon-mesoporous carbon anode with compact solid electrolyte interphase film for superior lithium-ion batteries

Silicon as an electrode suffers from short cycling life, as well as unsatisfactory rate-capability caused by the large volume expansion (~400%) and the consequent structural degradation during lithiation/delithiation processes. Here, we have engineered unique void-containing mesoporous carbon-encapsulated commercial silicon nanoparticles (NPs) in yolk-shell structures. In this design, the silicon NPs yolk are wrapped into open and accessible mesoporous carbon shells, the void space between yolk and shell provides enough room for Si expansion, meanwhile, the porosity of carbon shell enables fast transport of Li+ ions between electrolyte and silicon. Our ex-situ characterization clearly reveals for the first time that a favorable homogeneous and compact solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film is formed along the mesoporous carbon shells. As a result, such yolk-shell Si@mesoporous-carbon nanoparticles with a large void exhibits long cycling stability (78.6% capacity retention as long as 400 cycles), and superior rate-capability (62.3% capacity retention at a very high current density of 8.4Ag-1)