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At least 1,153 records · Page 64

Electronic structure of the alternating monolayer-trilayer phase of La 3 Ni 2 O 7

Recent studies of La 3 Ni 2 O 7 have identified a bilayer (2222) structure and an unexpected alternating monolayer-trilayer (1313) structure, both of which feature signatures of superconductivity near 80 K under high pressures. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we measure the electronic structure of 1313 samples. In contrast to the previously studied 2222 structure, we find that the 1313 structure hosts a flat band with a markedly different binding energy, as well as an additional electron pocket and band splittings. By comparison to local-density approximation calculations, we find renormalizations of the Ni-d z 2 and Ni-d x 2 -y 2 derived bands to be about 5 to 7 and about 4 respectively, suggesting strong correlation effects. These results reveal important differences in the electronic structure brought about by the distinct structural motifs with the same stoichiometry. Such differences may be relevant to the putative high temperature superconductivity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Nodeless kagome superconductivity in LaRu 3 Si 2

We report muon spin rotation (μSR) experiments together with first-principles calculations on microscopic properties of superconductivity in the kagome superconductor LaRu 3 Si 2 with T c ≃ 7K. Below Tc, μSR reveals type-II superconductivity with a single s-wave gap, which is robust against hydrostatic pressure up to 2 GPa. We find that the calculated normal state band structure features a kagome flat band, and Dirac as well as van Hove points formed by the Ru-dz 2 orbitals near the Fermi level. We also find that electron-phonon coupling alone can only reproduce a small fraction of T c from calculations, which suggests other factors in enhancing T c such as the correlation effect from the kagome flat band, the van Hove point on the kagome lattice, and the high density of states from narrow kagome bands. Our experiments and calculations taken together point to nodeless moderate coupling kagome superconductivity in LaRu 3 Si 2 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Tuning charge density wave order and superconductivity in the kagome metals KV 3 Sb 5 – x Sn x and RbV 3 Sb 5 – x Sn x

The family of AV 3 Sb 5 (A = K, Rb, Cs) kagome metals exhibits charge density wave (CDW) order, proposed to be chiral, followed by a lower temperature superconducting state. Recent studies have proposed the importance of band structure saddle points proximal to the Fermi energy in governing these two transitions. Here we show the effects of hole doping achieved via chemical substitution of Sn for Sb on the CDW and superconducting states in both KV 3 Sb 5 and RbV 3 Sb 5 and generate a phase diagram. Furthermore, hole doping lifts the Γ pocket and van Hove singularities toward E F causing the superconducting T C in both systems to increase to about 4.5 K, while rapidly suppressing the CDW state.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Metastable phase of UTe 2 formed under high pressure above 5 GPa

Uranium ditelluride (UTe 2 ) has attracted recent interest due to its unique superconducting properties, which include the potential for a topological odd-parity superconducting state. Recently, ac-calorimetry measurements under pressure indicate a change in the ground state of UTe 2 from superconducting to antiferromagnetic at 1.4 GPa. In this work, we investigate the effect of pressure on the crystal structure of UTe 2 up to 25 GPa at room temperature using x-ray diffraction. We find that UTe 2 , which at ambient conditions has an orthorhombic (Immm) structure, transforms to a body-centered tetragonal (I4/mmm) structure at 5 GPa in a quasihydrostatic neon (Ne) pressure-transmitting medium. In the absence of a pressure-transmitting medium, this transformation occurs between 5 and 8 GPa. The data were fit with a third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state resulting in values of B 0 = 46.0 ± 0.6 GPa , B' = 9.3 ± 0.5 (no pressure medium), and B 0 = 42.5 ± 2.0 GPa , B' = 9.3 (fixed) (neon pressure medium) for the Immm phase. For the I4/mmm phase, B 0 = 78.9 ± 0.5 GPa GPa and B' = 4.2 ± 0.1 (no pressure-transmitting medium), and B 0 = 70.0 ± 1.1 GPa and B' = 4.1 ± 0.2 (neon pressure medium). The high-pressure tetragonal phase is retained after decompression to ambient pressure, with approximately 30% remaining after 2 days. We argue that the observed phase transition into a higher-symmetry structure at P ~ 5 GPa (orthorhombic to tetragonal) is accompanied by an increase in the shortest distance between uranium atoms from 3.6 Å (orthorhombic) to 3.9 Å (tetragonal), which suggests localization of the 5ƒ electrons, albeit with a 10.7% decrease in volume.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Coexistence of antiferrodistortive and polar order in a superconducting SrTi⁢O 3 film

Strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ) can exhibit multiple orders, including superconductivity, an antiferrodistortive instability and ferroelectricity. The cooperation or competition between these orders in samples that undergo all three transitions is of great fundamental interest. Here we report scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging of the antiferrodistortive and ferroelectric structural distortions in a compressively strained SrTiO 3 film that was previously shown to become superconducting at ~ 410 mK. The experiments are complemented by first-principles simulations. Unlike the polar ferroelectric phase, which is suppressed by dopants, the antiferrodistortive order is insensitive to the presence of the free carriers. The single domain nature of the antiferrodistortive phase excludes any role of antiferrodistortive domain walls in the superconductivity. Furthermore, a previously reported low temperature resistance anomaly is associated with the ferroelectric transition, not the antiferrodistortive transition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Tuning the charge density wave quantum critical point and the appearance of superconductivity in Ti Se 2

The transition metal dichalcogenide TiSe 2 is an ideal correlated system for studying the interplay between superconductivity (SC) and a charge density wave (CDW) because both symmetry-breaking phases can be easily controlled by either Cu intercalation or physical pressure. SC appears in proximity to a CDW quantum critical point (QCP) induced by both Cu intercalation and applied pressure, raising the possibility of CDW-driven SC. Here, we report tuning the CDW QCP by simultaneously controlling Cu intercalation and external pressure and the appearance of a SC dome centered on the tunable QCP. When subjected to pressure, CDW ordering of Cu-intercalated Cu 0.025 TiSe 2 is completely suppressed at 2.3 GPa, where the residual resistivity and the resistivity-temperature exponent decrease sharply, indicating the presence of the CDW QCP. The upper critical field of Cu 0.025 TiSe 2 is 3.51 kOe, 16 times larger than that of pristine TiSe 2 , and its temperature dependence is linear, indicating that SC of TiSe 2 is switched from the two-dimensional- to anisotropic three-dimensional-like by Cu intercalation. These discoveries show that the simultaneous application of Cu intercalation and pressure move the CDW QCP and that the highest SC transition temperature is pinned to the QCP, suggesting that the SC in TiSe 2 is strongly correlated with CDW quantum criticality.

2-dimensional systems↗

Large response of charge stripes to uniaxial stress in La 1.475 Nd 0.4 Sr 0.125 CuO 4

The La-based "214"cuprates host several symmetry-breaking phases, including superconductivity, charge and spin order in the form of stripes, and a structural orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition. Therefore these materials are an ideal system to study the effects of uniaxial stress onto the various correlations that pervade the cuprate phase diagram. We report resonant x-ray scattering experiments on La 1.475 Nd 0.4 Sr 0.125 CuO 4 (LNSCO-125) that reveal a significant response of charge stripes to uniaxial tensile stress of ~0.1GPa. These effects include a reduction of the onset temperature of stripes by ~50K, a 29-K reduction of the low-temperature orthorhombic-to-tetragonal transition, competition between charge order and superconductivity, and a preference for stripes to form along the direction of applied stress. Altogether, we observe a dramatic response of the electronic properties of LNSCO-125 to a modest amount of uniaxial stress.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Nontrivial fusion of Majorana zero modes in interacting quantum-dot arrays

Motivated by recent experimental reports of Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in quantum-dot systems at the “sweet spot,” where the electronic hopping t ℎ is equal to the superconducting coupling Δ, we study the time-dependent spectroscopy corresponding to the nontrivial fusion of MZMs. The term “nontrivial” refers to the fusion of Majoranas from different original pairs of MZMs, each with well-defined parities. We employ an experimentally accessible time-dependent real-space local density-of-states (LDOS) method to investigate the nontrivial MZM fusion outcomes in canonical chains and in a Y-shaped array of interacting electrons. In the case of quantum-dot chains where two pairs of MZMs are initially disconnected, after fusion we find equal-height peaks in the electron and hole components of the LDOS, signaling nontrivial fusion into both the vacuum I and fermion Ψ channels with equal weight. For π-junction quantum-dot chains, where the superconducting phase has opposite signs on the left and right portions of the chain, after the nontrivial fusion we observed the formation of an exotic two-site MZM near the center of the chain, coexisting with another single-site MZM. Furthermore, we also studied the fusion of three MZMs in the Y-shaped geometry. In this case, after the fusion we observed the novel formation of another exotic multisite MZM, with properties depending on the connection and geometry of the central region of the Y-shaped quantum-dot array.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

ExaChem/exachem

Open Source Exascale Quantum Chemistry Software

Panyala, Ajay [Pacific Northwest National Laborato↗

Core-flood Effluent and Shale Surface Chemistries in Predicting Interaction between Shale, Brine, and Reactive Fluid

We report field and laboratory observations to date indicate that the efficiency of hydraulic fracturing, as it relates to hydrocarbon recovery, depends significantly on geochemical alterations to rock surfaces that diminish accessibility by partial or total plugging of the pore and fracture networks. This is caused by mineral scale deposition such as coating of fracture surfaces with precipitates, particle migration, and/or crack closure due to dissolution under stress. In reactive flow-through experiments, mineral reactions in response to acidic fluid injection significantly reduced system porosity and core permeability. The present study focuses on changes to fluid chemistry and shale surfaces (inlet and fracture walls) resulting from shale-fluid interactions and integrating these findings for an improved estimate of transport-related consequences. The reacted shale surfaces were examined by spatially-resolved scanning electron microscopy - energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis. Importantly, inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry/optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-MS/OES) was utilized to probe the chemical evolution of the core-flood effluents. The three study cores selected from the Marcellus formation represent different mineralogies and structural features. In flow-through experiments, lab-generated brine and HCl-based fracture fluid (pH=2) were injected sequentially under effective stress (up to 500 psi) at reservoir temperature (80°C). SEM-EDS results confirmed by the ICP concentration trends showed significant Fe hydroxide precipitates in clay- and pyrite-rich outcrop samples due to partial oxidation of Fe-bearing phases in the case of intrusion of low salinity water-based fluids. Porosity reduction in the MSEEL (Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Laboratory) carbonate-rich sample is related to compaction of cores under stress due to matrix softening with substantial dissolution, and pore-filling by hydroxides, as well as barite and salts. Despite the same fluid compositions and experimental conditions used for both MSEEL samples, barite precipitation was much more intense in the MSEEL clay-rich sample due to its greater sorption capacity and additional sulfate source as well as fissile nature with multiple lengthwise cracks. ICP tests revealed time-resolved concentration trends in produced brine and reactive fluids that in turn complemented the pre-/post-reaction SEM-EDS observations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

State 16-2 Well

CT scans, images, and MSCL data to accompany the State 16-2 well

Cane Creek Shale↗

Nixon B #1-7 Well Data

Data from the Nixon #1-7 Well described in "Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Fayetteville Shale Formation from the Nixon B #1- 7 Well" TRS

Black shales↗

NETL Natural Gas Lifecycle Model

This is the excel-based life cycle model that contains all the parameters and Monte Carlo simulation capabilities to model the techno-regions contained in the report: Life Cycle Analysis of Natural Gas Extraction and Power Generation: U.S. 2020 Emissions Profile.

conventional gas↗

NETL Natural Gas Lifecycle Model 2020 Rev1

This is the excel-based life cycle model that contains all the parameters and Monte Carlo simulation capabilities to model the techno-regions contained in the report: Life Cycle Analysis of Natural Gas Extraction and Power Generation: U.S. 2020 Emissions Profile. This is an update to a previous version (https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/netl-natural-gas-lifecycle-model) and corrects a modeling error in the post-processing natural gas composition.

Calcium Chloride↗

Surfactant-Aided Low-Salinity Waterflooding for Low-Temperature Carbonate Reservoirs

Carbonate reservoirs tend to be oil-wet/mixed-wet and heterogeneous because of mineralogy and diagenesis. The objective of this study is to improve oil recovery in low-temperature dolomite reservoirs using low-salinity and surfactant-aided spontaneous imbibition. The low-salinity brine composition was optimized using ζ-potential measurements, contact-angle (CA) experiments, and a novel wettability-alteration measure. Significant wettability alteration was observed on dolomite rocks at a salinity of 2,500 ppm. We evaluated 37 surfactants by performing CA, interfacial-tension (IFT), and spontaneous-imbibition experiments. Here, three (quaternary ammonium) cationic and one (sulfonate) anionic surfactants showed significant wettability alteration and produced 43–63% of original oil in place (OOIP) by spontaneous imbibition. At a low temperature (35°C), oil recovery by low-salinity effect is small compared with that by wettability-altering surfactants. Coreflood tests were performed with a selected low-salinity cationic surfactant solution. A novel coreflood was proposed that modeled heterogeneity and dynamic imbibition into low-permeability regions. The results of the “heterogeneous” coreflood were consistent with that of spontaneous-imbibition tests. These experiments demonstrated that a combination of low-salinity brine and surfactants can make originally oil-wet dolomite rocks more water-wet and improve oil recovery from regions bypassed by waterflood at a low temperature of 35°C.

02 PETROLEUM↗