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At least 1,783 records · Page 99

Effect of local electron-electron correlation in hydrogen-like impurities in Ge

Here, we have studied the electronic and local magnetic structure of the hydrogen interstitial impurity at the tetrahedral site in diamond-structure Ge, using an empirical tight binding + dynamical mean-field-theory approach because within the local-density approximation (LDA) Ge has no gap. We first establish that within LDA the 1s spectral density bifurcates due to entanglement with the four neighboring sp 3 antibonding orbitals, providing an unanticipated richness of behavior in determining under what conditions a local moment hyperdeep donor or Anderson impurity will result, or on the other hand, a gap state might appear. Using a supercell approach, we show that the spectrum, the occupation, and the local moment of the impurity state displays a strong dependence on the strength of the local on-site Coulomb interaction U, the H-Ge hopping amplitude, the depth of the bare 1s energy level ε H , and we address to some extent the impurity concentration dependence. In the isolated impurity, strong interaction regime a local moment emerges over most of the parameter ranges, indicating magnetic activity, and spectral density structure very near (or in) the gap suggests possible electrical activity in this regime.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Crystallographic, electronic, thermal, and magnetic properties of single-crystal SrCo 2 As 2

In tetragonal SrCo 2 As 2 single crystals, inelastic neutron scattering measurements demonstrated that strong stripe-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) correlations occur at a temperature T = 5 K [W. Jayasekara et al., arXiv:1306.5174] that are the same as in the isostructural AFe 2 As 2 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) parent compounds of high-T c superconductors. This surprising discovery suggests that SrCo 2 As 2 may also be a good parent compound for high-T c superconductivity. Here, structural and thermal expansion, electrical resistivity ρ, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), heat capacity C p , magnetic susceptibility χ, 75 As NMR and neutron diffraction measurements of SrCo 2 As 2 crystals are reported together with LDA band structure calculations that shed further light on this fascinating material. The c-axis thermal expansion coefficient α c is negative from 7 to 300 K, whereas α a is positive over this T range. The ρ(T) shows metallic character. The ARPES measurements and band theory confirm the metallic character and in addition show the presence of a flat band near the Fermi energy E F . The band calculations exhibit an extremely sharp peak in the density of states D(E F ) arising from a flat d x 2 -y 2 band. A comparison of the Sommerfeld coefficient of the electronic specific heat with χ(T → 0) suggests the presence of strong ferromagnetic itinerant spin correlations which on the basis of the Stoner criterion predicts that SrCo 2 As 2 should be an itinerant ferromagnet, in conflict with the magnetization data. The χ(T) does have a large magnitude, but also exhibits a broad maximum at 115 K suggestive of dynamic short-range AFM spin correlations, in agreement with the neutron scattering data. The measurements show no evidence for any type of phase transition between 1.3 and 300 K and we propose that metallic SrCo 2 As 2 has a gapless quantum spin-liquid ground state.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Electron-hole compensation effect between topologically trivial electrons and nontrivial holes in NbAs

In this study, via angular Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) quantum oscillations measurements, we determine the Fermi surface topology of NbAs, a Weyl semimetal candidate. The SdH oscillations consist of two frequencies corresponding to two Fermi surface extrema: 20.8 T (α pocket) and 15.6 T (β pocket). The analysis, including a Landau fan plot, shows that the β pocket has a Berry phase of π and a small effective mass of ~ 0.033 m 0 , indicative of a nontrivial topology in momentum space, whereas the α pocket has a trivial Berry phase of 0 and a heavier effective mass of ~ 0.066 m 0 . From the effective mass and the β -pocket frequency, we determine that the Weyl node is 110.5 meV from the chemical potential. An electron-hole compensation effect is discussed in this system, and its impact on magnetotransport properties is addressed. Finally, the difference between NbAs and other monopnictide Weyl semimetals is also discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fermi arc electronic structure and Chern numbers in the type-II Weyl semimetal candidate Mo x W 1 - x Te 2

It has recently been proposed that electronic band structures in crystals can give rise to a previously overlooked type of Weyl fermion, which violates Lorentz invariance and, consequently, is forbidden in particle physics. It was further predicted that Mo x W 1 - x Te 2 may realize such a type-II Weyl fermion. Here, we first show theoretically that it is crucial to access the band structure above the Fermi level ε F to show a Weyl semimetal in Mo x W 1 - x Te 2 . Then, we study Mo x W 1 - x Te 2 by pump-probe ARPES and we directly access the band structure > 0.2 eV above ε F in experiment. By comparing our results with ab initio calculations, we conclude that we directly observe the surface state containing the topological Fermi arc. We propose that a future study of Mo x W 1 - x Te 2 by pump-probe ARPES may directly pinpoint the Fermi arc. Our work sets the stage for the experimental discovery of the first type-II Weyl semimetal in Mo x W 1 - x Te 2 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Unified band-theoretic description of structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of vanadium dioxide phases

The debate concerning whether the insulating phases of vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) can be described by band theory or whether it requires a theory of strong electron correlations remains unresolved even after decades of research. Energy-band calculations using hybrid exchange functionals or including self-energy corrections account for the insulating or metallic nature of different phases but have not yet successfully accounted for the observed magnetic orderings. Strongly correlated theories have had limited quantitative success. Here we illustrate that by using hard pseudopotentials and an optimized hybrid exchange functional, the energy gaps and magnetic orderings of both monoclinic VO 2 phases and the metallic nature of the high-temperature rutile phase are consistent with available experimental data, obviating an explicit role for strong correlations. We also identify a potential candidate for the newly found metallic monoclinic phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Measuring the Local Diffusion Coefficient with H.E.S.S. Observations of Very High-Energy Electrons

The HAWC Collaboration has recently reported the detection of bright and spatially extended multi-TeV gamma-ray emission from Geminga, Monogem, and a handful of other nearby, middle-aged pulsars. The angular profile of the emission observed from these pulsars is surprising, in that it implies that cosmic-ray diffusion is significantly inhibited within ~25 pc of these objects, compared to the expectations of standard Galactic diffusion models. This raises the important question of whether the diffusion coefficient in the local interstellar medium is also low, or whether it is instead better fit by the mean Galactic value. Here, we utilize recent observations of the cosmic-ray electron spectrum (extending up to ~20 TeV) by the H.E.S.S. Collaboration to show that the local diffusion coefficient cannot be as low as it is in the regions surrounding Geminga and Monogem. Instead, we conclude that cosmic rays efficiently diffuse through the bulk of the local interstellar medium. Among other implications, this further supports the conclusion that pulsars significantly contribute to the observed positron excess and provides strong evidence for spatially varying diffusion coefficients throughout the Milky Way.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

High-temperature electronic structure with the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green's function method [High Temperature Electronic Structure with KKR]

Modeling high-temperature (tens or hundreds of eV), dense plasmas is challenging due to the multitude of non-negligible physical effects including significant partial ionization and multisite effects. These effects cause the breakdown or intractability of common methods and approximations used at low temperatures, such as pseudopotentials or plane-wave basis sets. Here we explore the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green's function method at these high-temperature conditions. The method is all electron, does not rely on pseudopotentials, and uses a spherical harmonic basis set, and so avoids the aforementioned limitations. Finally, it is found to be accurate for solid density aluminum and iron plasmas when compared to a plane-wave method at low temperature, while being able to access high temperatures.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Pressure Effects on the 4 f Electronic Structure of Light Lanthanides

Adopting the satellite structure of the $\mathcal{Lγ_1}$ line in nonresonant x-ray emission spectra, we probe the high-pressure evolution of the bare 4f signature of the early light lanthanides at ambient temperature. For Ce and Pr the satellite peak experiences a sudden reduction concurrent with their respective volume collapse (VC) transitions. These new experimental results are supported by calculations using state-of-the-art extended atomic structure codes for Ce and Pr, and also for Nd, which does not exhibit a VC. Here, our work suggests that changes to the 4f occupation are more consistently associated with evolution of the satellite than is the reduction of the 4f moment. Indeed, we show that in the case of Ce, mixing of a higher atomic angular momentum state, driven by the increased hybridization, acts to obscure the expected satellite reduction. These measurements emphasize the importance of a unified study of a full set of microscopic observables to obtain the most discerning test of the underlying, fundamental f-electron phenomena at high pressures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Petawatt Laser Guiding and Electron Beam Acceleration to 8 GeV in a Laser-Heated Capillary Discharge Waveguide.

Guiding of relativistically intense laser pulses with peak power of 0.85 PW over 15 diffraction lengths was demonstrated by increasing the focusing strength of a capillary discharge waveguide using laser inverse bremsstrahlung heating. This allowed for the production of electron beams with quasimonoenergetic peaks up to 7.8 GeV, double the energy that was previously demonstrated. Charge was 5 pC at 7.8 GeV and up to 62 pC in 6 GeV peaks, and typical beam divergence was 0.2 mrad.

Gonsalves, AJ↗

Accuracy of ab initio electron correlation and electron densities in vanadium dioxide

Here, diffusion quantum Monte Carlo results are used as a reference to analyze properties related to phase stability and magnetism in vanadium dioxide computed with various formulations of density functional theory. We introduce metrics related to energetics, electron densities and spin densities that give us insight on both local and global variations in the antiferromagnetic M1 and R phases. Importantly, these metrics can address contributions arising from the challenging description of the 3d orbital physics in this material. We observe that the best description of energetics between the structural phases does not correspond to the best accuracy in the charge density, which is consistent with observations made recently by Medvedev et~al. in the context of isolated atoms. However, we do find evidence that an accurate spin density connects to correct energetic ordering of different magnetic states in VO$_2$, although local, semilocal, and meta-GGA functionals tend to erroneously favor demagnetization of the vanadium sites. The recently developed SCAN functional stands out as remaining nearly balanced in terms of magnetization across the M1-R transition and correctly predicting the ground state crystal structure. In addition to ranking current density functionals, our reference energies and densities serve as important benchmarks for future functional development.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗