ABSTRACT
The combination of different exotic properties in materials paves the way for the emergence of their new potential applications. An example is the recently found coexistence of the mutually antagonistic ferromagnetism and superconductivity in hydrogenated boron-doped diamond, which promises to be an attractive system with which to explore unconventional physics. Here, we show the emergence of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) bands with a spatial extent of tens of nanometers in ferromagnetic superconducting diamond using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We demonstrate theoretically how a two-dimensional (2D) spin lattice at the surface of a three-dimensional (3D) superconductor gives rise to the YSR bands and how their density-of-states profile correlates with the spin lattice structure. The established strategy to realize new forms of the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity opens a way to engineer the unusual electronic states and also to design better-performing superconducting devices.
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the potential existence of two-gap superconductivity in Mo8Ga41 is addressed in detail by means of thermodynamic and spectroscopic measurements. A combination of highly sensitive bulk and surface probes, specifically ac-calorimetry and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), are utilized on the same piece of crystal and reveal the presence of only one intrinsic gap in the system featuring strong electron-phonon coupling. Minute traces of additional superconducting phases detected by STS and also in the heat capacity measured in high magnetic fields on a high-quality and seemingly single-phase crystal might mimic the multigap superconductivity of Mo8Ga41 suggested recently in several studies.
ABSTRACT
In the presence of disorder, superconductivity exhibits short-range characteristics linked to localized Cooper pairs which are responsible for anomalous phase transitions and the emergence of quantum states such as the bosonic insulating state. Complementary to well-studied homogeneously disordered superconductors, superconductor-normal hybrid arrays provide tunable realizations of the degree of granular disorder for studying anomalous quantum phase transitions. Here, we investigate the superconductor-bosonic dirty metal transition in disordered nanodiamond arrays as a function of the dispersion of intergrain spacing, which ranges from angstroms to micrometers. By monitoring the evolved superconducting gaps and diminished coherence peaks in the single-quasiparticle density of states, we link the destruction of the superconducting state and the emergence of bosonic dirty metallic state to breaking of the global phase coherence and persistence of the localized Cooper pairs. The observed resistive bosonic phase transitions are well modeled using a series-parallel circuit in the framework of bosonic confinement and coherence.
ABSTRACT
Superconductivity and ferromagnetism are two mutually antagonistic states in condensed matter. Research on the interplay between these two competing orderings sheds light not only on the cause of various quantum phenomena in strongly correlated systems but also on the general mechanism of superconductivity. Here we report on the observation of the electronic entanglement between superconducting and ferromagnetic states in hydrogenated boron-doped nanodiamond films, which have a superconducting transition temperature Tc â¼ 3 K and a Curie temperature TCurie > 400 K. In spite of the high TCurie, our nanodiamond films demonstrate a decrease in the temperature dependence of magnetization below 100 K, in correspondence to an increase in the temperature dependence of resistivity. These anomalous magnetic and electrical transport properties reveal the presence of an intriguing precursor phase, in which spin fluctuations intervene as a result of the interplay between the two antagonistic states. Furthermore, the observations of high-temperature ferromagnetism, giant positive magnetoresistance, and anomalous Hall effect bring attention to the potential applications of our superconducting ferromagnetic nanodiamond films in magnetoelectronics, spintronics, and magnetic field sensing.
ABSTRACT
Due to the atomic-scale resolution, scanning tunneling microscopy is an ideal technique to observe the smallest objects. Nevertheless, it suffers from very long capturing times in order to investigate dynamic processes at the nanoscale. We address this issue, for vortex matter in NbSe2, by driving the vortices using an ac magnetic field and probing the induced periodic tunnel current modulations. Our results reveal different dynamical modes of the driven vortex lattices. In addition, by recording and synchronizing the time evolution of the tunneling current at each pixel, we visualize the overall dynamics of the vortex lattice with submillisecond time resolution and subnanometer spatial resolution.
ABSTRACT
Strong granularity-correlated and intragrain modulations of the superconducting order parameter are demonstrated in heavily boron-doped diamond situated not yet in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition. These modulations at the superconducting state (SC) and at the global normal state (NS) above the resistive superconducting transition, reveal that local Cooper pairing sets in prior to the global phase coherence.
ABSTRACT
The "in vacuo" self-assembly of a two-component porphyrin system on a metal surface is studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy in the sub-monolayer regime. The observed self-assemblies are systematically analyzed by their dependence on the total coverage and on the ratio of the two components resulting in a two-dimensional phase diagram. In a small region within the parameter space, a mixed surface layer is observed. The results are discussed consistently on the basis of molecule-surface and molecule-molecule interactions as well as thermodynamic aspects, leading to a qualitative comprehension of the phase behavior of the two-dimensional bimolecular system.
ABSTRACT
The self-assembly of three porphyrin derivatives was studied in detail on a Cu(111) substrate by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). All derivatives have two 4-cyanophenyl substituents in diagonally opposed meso-positions of the porphyrin core, but differ in the nature of the other two meso-alkoxyphenyl substituents. At coverages below 0.8 monolayers, two derivatives form molecular chains, which evolve into nanoporous networks at higher coverages. The third derivative self-assembles directly into a nanoporous network without showing a one-dimensional phase. The pore-to-pore distances for the three networks depend on the size and shape of the alkoxy substituents. All observed effects are explained by 1) different steric demands of the alkoxy residues, 2) apolar (mainly dispersion) interactions between the alkoxy chains, 3) polar bonding involving both cyanophenyl and alkoxyphenyl substituents, and 4) the entropy/enthalpy balance of the network formation.
ABSTRACT
The integration host factor protein of Escherichia coli, which sharply bends DNA at specific sites and non-specifically compacts the bacterial genome, can also alter looping of DNA in an artificial system based on the lactose repressor protein of E. coli. In single molecule experiments, we show that both specific bending and non-specific compaction alter LacI-mediated looping of DNA. Our results highlight the subtle regulatory roles that proteins, which confer structure upon DNA, might have in controlling DNA transcription and other processes in which the conformation of DNA determines the binding and activity of processive enzymes.
Subject(s)
Bacterial Proteins/metabolism , DNA/chemistry , DNA/metabolism , Integration Host Factors/pharmacology , Nucleic Acid Conformation/drug effects , Repressor Proteins/metabolism , Bacterial Proteins/chemistry , Integration Host Factors/metabolism , Lac Repressors , Protein Binding/drug effects , Repressor Proteins/chemistryABSTRACT
We applied precise densimetry and ultrasound velocimetry methods to study the interaction of a synthetic alpha-helical transmembrane peptide, acetyl-K(2)-L(24)-K(2)-amide (L(24)), with model bilayer lipid membranes. The large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) utilized were composed of a homologous series of n-saturated diacylphosphatidylcholines (PCs). PCs whose hydrocarbon chains contained from 13 to 16 carbon atoms, thus producing phospholipid bilayers of different thicknesses and gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition temperatures. This allowed us to analyze how the difference between the hydrophobic length of the peptide and the hydrophobic thickness of the lipid bilayer influences the thermodynamical and mechanical properties of the membranes. We showed that the incorporation of L(24) decreases the temperature and cooperativity of the main phase transition of all LUVs studied. The presence of L(24) in the bilayer also caused an increase of the specific volume and of the volume compressibility in the gel state bilayers. In the liquid crystalline state, the peptide decreases the specific volume at relatively higher peptide concentration (mole ratio L(24):PC=1:50). The overall volume compressibility of the peptide-containing lipid bilayers in the liquid-crystalline state was in general higher in comparison with pure membranes. There was, however, a tendency for the volume compressibility of these lipid bilayers to decrease with higher peptide content in comparison with bilayers of lower peptide concentration. For one lipid composition, we also compared the thermodynamical and mechanical properties of LUVs and large multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) with and without L(24). As expected, a higher cooperativity of the changes of the thermodynamical and mechanical parameters took place for MLVs in comparison with LUVs. These results are in agreement with previously reported DSC and (2)H NMR spectroscopy study of the interaction of the L(24) and structurally related peptides with phosphatidylcholine bilayers. An apparent discrepancy between (2)H NMR spectroscopy and compressibility data in the liquid crystalline state may be connected with the complex and anisotropic nature of macroscopic mechanical properties of the membranes. The observed changes in membrane mechanical properties induced by the presence of L(24) suggest that around each peptide a distorted region exists that involves at least 2 layers of lipid molecules.
