Valley-dimensionality locking of superconductivity in cubic phosphides.

Two-dimensional superconductivity is primarily realized in atomically thin layers through extreme exfoliation, epitaxial growth, or interfacial gating. Apart from their technical challenges, these approaches lack sufficient control over the Fermiology of superconducting systems. Here, we offer a Fermiology-engineering approach, allowing us to desirably tune the coherence length of Cooper pairs and the dimensionality of superconducting states in arsenic phosphides AsxP1-x under hydrostatic pressure. We demonstrate how this turns these compounds into tunable two-dimensional superconductors with a dome-shaped phase diagram even in the bulk limit. This peculiar behavior is shown to result from an unconventional valley-dimensionality locking mechanism, driven by a delicate competition between three-dimensional hole-type and two-dimensional electron-type energy pockets spatially separated in momentum space. The resulting dimensionality crossover is further discussed to be systematically controllable by pressure and stoichiometry tuning. Our findings pave a unique way to realize and control superconducting phases with special pairing and dimensional orders.

Gate-controlled BCS-BEC crossover in a two-dimensional superconductor.

Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluidity and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) are the two extreme limits of the ground state of the paired fermion systems. We report crossover behavior from the BCS limit to the BEC limit realized by varying carrier density in a two-dimensional superconductor, electron-doped zirconium nitride chloride. The phase diagram, established by simultaneous measurements of resistivity and tunneling spectra under ionic gating, demonstrates a pseudogap phase in the low-doping regime. The ratio of the superconducting transition temperature and Fermi temperature in the low-carrier density limit is consistent with the theoretical upper bound expected in the BCS-BEC crossover regime. These results indicate that the gate-doped semiconductor provides an ideal platform for the two-dimensional BCS-BEC crossover without added complexities present in other solid-state systems.

Nonreciprocal transport in gate-induced polar superconductor SrTiO3.

Polar conductors/superconductors with Rashba-type spin-orbit interaction are potential material platforms for quantum transport and spintronic functionalities. One of their inherent properties is the nonreciprocal transport, where the rightward and leftward currents become inequivalent, reflecting spatial inversion/time-reversal symmetry breaking. Such a rectification effect originating from the polar symmetry has been recently observed at interfaces or bulk Rashba semiconductors, while its mechanism in a polar superconductor remains elusive. Here, we report the nonreciprocal transport in gate-induced two-dimensional superconductor SrTiO3, which is a Rashba superconductor candidate. In addition to the gigantic enhancement of nonreciprocal signals in the superconducting fluctuation region, we found kink and sharp peak structures around critical temperatures, which reflect the crossover behavior from the paraconductivity origin to the vortex origin, based on a microscopic theory. The present result proves that the nonreciprocal transport is a powerful tool for investigating the interfacial/polar superconductors without inversion symmetry, where rich exotic features are theoretically prognosticated.

Giant thermoelectric power factor in ultrathin FeSe superconductor.

The thermoelectric effect is attracting a renewed interest as a concept for energy harvesting technologies. Nanomaterials have been considered a key to realize efficient thermoelectric conversions owing to the low dimensional charge and phonon transports. In this regard, recently emerging two-dimensional materials could be promising candidates with novel thermoelectric functionalities. Here we report that FeSe ultrathin films, a high-Tc superconductor (Tc; superconducting transition temperature), exhibit superior thermoelectric responses. With decreasing thickness d, the electrical conductivity increases accompanying the emergence of high-Tc superconductivity; unexpectedly, the Seebeck coefficient α shows a concomitant increase as a result of the appearance of two-dimensional natures. When d is reduced down to ~1 nm, the thermoelectric power factor at 50 K and room temperature reach unprecedented values as high as 13,000 and 260 µW cm-1 K-2, respectively. The large thermoelectric effect in high Tc superconductors indicates the high potential of two-dimensional layered materials towards multi-functionalization.

Quantum phase transitions in highly crystalline two-dimensional superconductors.

Superconductor-insulator transition is one of the remarkable phenomena driven by quantum fluctuation in two-dimensional (2D) systems. Such a quantum phase transition (QPT) was investigated predominantly on highly disordered thin films with amorphous or granular structures using scaling law with constant exponents. Here, we provide a totally different view of QPT in highly crystalline 2D superconductors. According to the magneto-transport measurements in 2D superconducting ZrNCl and MoS2, we found that the quantum metallic state commonly observed at low magnetic fields is converted via the quantum Griffiths state to the weakly localized metal at high magnetic fields. The scaling behavior, characterized by the diverging dynamical critical exponent (Griffiths singularity), indicates that the quantum fluctuation manifests itself as superconducting puddles, in marked contrast to the thermal fluctuation. We suggest that an evolution from the quantum metallic to the quantum Griffiths state is generic nature in highly crystalline 2D superconductors with weak pinning potentials.

Metallic ground state in an ion-gated two-dimensional superconductor.

Recently emerging two-dimensional (2D) superconductors in atomically thin layers and at heterogeneous interfaces are attracting growing interest in condensed matter physics. Here, we report that an ion-gated zirconium nitride chloride surface, exhibiting a dome-shaped phase diagram with a maximum critical temperature of 14.8 kelvin, behaves as a superconductor persisting to the 2D limit. The superconducting thickness estimated from the upper critical fields is ≅ 1.8 nanometers, which is thinner than one unit-cell. The majority of the vortex phase diagram down to 2 kelvin is occupied by a metallic state with a finite resistance, owing to the quantum creep of vortices caused by extremely weak pinning and disorder. Our findings highlight the potential of electric-field-induced superconductivity, establishing a new platform for accessing quantum phases in clean 2D superconductors.

Effects of feeding outer bran fraction of rice on lipid accumulation and fecal excretion in rats.

Outer bran fraction of rice (OBFR) contains higher concentrations of crude fiber, γ-oryzanol, and phytic acid compared to whole rice bran (WRB). In this study, we examined the effects of feeding OBFR on lipid accumulation and fecal excretion in rats. Twenty-one male rats at seven-week-old were divided into a control group and two treatment groups. The control group was fed a control diet, and the treatment groups were fed OBFR- or WRB-containing diet for 21 days. There was no significant difference in growth performance. Feeding OBFR diet increased fecal number and weight accompanied by increased fecal lipid content, while it did not affect mRNA expressions encoding lipid metabolism-related protein in liver. In addition, feeding OBFR-diet decreased the abdominal fat tissue weight and improved plasma lipid profiles, while WRB-containing diet did not affect them. These results suggested that feeding OBFR-diet might prevent lipid accumulation via enhancing fecal lipid excretion in rats.

Single injection of the ß2-adrenergic receptor agonist, clenbuterol, into newly hatched chicks alters abdominal fat pad mass in growing birds.

Excessive energy is stored in white adipose tissue as triacylglycerols in birds as well as in mammals. Although ß2-adrenergic receptor agonists reduce adipose tissue mass in birds, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of a single intraperitoneal injection of the ß2-adrenergic receptor agonist, clenbuterol, on the abdominal fat pad tissue development. Thirty-three chicks at 1-day-old were given a single intraperitoneal injection of clenbuterol (0.1mg/kg body weight) or phosphate-buffered saline. At 2 weeks post-dose, the weight of the abdominal fat tissue was decreased in the clenbuterol-injected chicks, and small adipocyte-like cells were observed in the abdominal fat pad tissue of the clenbuterol-injected chicks. Then, the expression of mRNAs encoding genes related to avian adipogenesis was examined in the abdominal fat pat tissue. The expression of mRNAs encoding Krüppel-like zinc finger transcription factor 5 (KLF-5), KLF-15, and zinc finger protein 423 in the abdominal fat pad tissue of the clenbuterol-injected chicks was significantly lower (P<0.05) than that of the control chicks, while the expression of mRNA encoding peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma was not affected. In addition, both mRNA expression (P<0.05) and enzymatic activity (P<0.05) of fatty acid synthase (FAS) were decreased in the abdominal fat pad tissue of the clenbuterol-injected chicks, while clenbuterol injection did not affect FAS activity in liver. These results suggested that a single injection with clenbuterol into newly hatched chicks reduces their abdominal fat pad mass possibly via disrupting adipocyte development during later growth stages.