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1. Observation of momentum-dependent charge density wave gap in a layered antiferromagnet GdTe3

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44851-8  

   Regmi, Sabin; Bin Elius, Iftakhar; Sakhya, Anup Pradhan; Jeff, Dylan; Sprague, Milo; Mondal, Mazharul Islam; Jarrett, Damani; Valadez, Nathan; Agosto, Alexis; Romanova, Tetiana; et al (December 2023, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract Charge density wave (CDW) ordering has been an important topic of study for a long time owing to its connection with other exotic phases such as superconductivity and magnetism. The$$R{\textrm{Te}}_{3}$$ $R{\text{Te}}_3$(R= rare-earth elements) family of materials provides a fertile ground to study the dynamics of CDW in van der Waals layered materials, and the presence of magnetism in these materials allows to explore the interplay among CDW and long range magnetic ordering. Here, we have carried out a high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of a CDW material$${\textrm{Gd}}{\textrm{Te}}_{3}$$ $\text{Gd}{\text{Te}}_3$, which is antiferromagnetic below$$\sim \mathrm {12~K}$$ $\sim 12K$, along with thermodynamic, electrical transport, magnetic, and Raman measurements. Our ARPES data show a two-fold symmetric Fermi surface with both gapped and ungapped regions indicative of the partial nesting. The gap is momentum dependent, maximum along$${\overline{\Gamma }}-\mathrm{\overline{Z}}$$ $\overline{\Gamma }-\overline{Z}$and gradually decreases going towards$${\overline{\Gamma }}-\mathrm{\overline{X}}$$ $\overline{\Gamma }-\overline{X}$. Our study provides a platform to study the dynamics of CDW and its interaction with other physical orders in two- and three-dimensions. 

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2. Local structure elucidation of tungsten-substituted vanadium dioxide (V$$_{1-x}$$W$$_x$$O$$_2$$)

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18575-0  

   Wilson, Catrina E.; Gibson, Amanda E.; Cuillier, Paul M.; Li, Cheng-Han; Crosby, Patrice H. N.; Trigg, Edward B.; Najmr, Stan; Murray, Christopher B.; Jinschek, Joerg R.; Doan-Nguyen, Vicky (August 2022, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract Initially, vanadium dioxide seems to be an ideal first-order phase transition case study due to its deceptively simple structure and composition, but upon closer inspection there are nuances to the driving mechanism of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) that are still unexplained. In this study, a local structure analysis across a bulk powder tungsten-substitution series is utilized to tease out the nuances of this first-order phase transition. A comparison of the average structure to the local structure using synchrotron x-ray diffraction and total scattering pair-distribution function methods, respectively, is discussed as well as comparison to bright field transmission electron microscopy imaging through a similar temperature-series as the local structure characterization. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure fitting of thin film data across the substitution-series is also presented and compared to bulk. Machine learning technique, non-negative matrix factorization, is applied to analyze the total scattering data. The bulk MIT is probed through magnetic susceptibility as well as differential scanning calorimetry. The findings indicate the local transition temperature ($$T_c$$ $T_c$) is less than the average$$T_c$$ $T_c$supporting the Peierls-Mott MIT mechanism, and demonstrate that in bulk powder and thin-films, increasing tungsten-substitution instigates local V-oxidation through the phase pathway VO$$_2\, \rightarrow$$ ${}_2\to$V$$_6$$ ${}_6$O$$_{13} \, \rightarrow$$ ${}_{13}\to$V$$_2$$ ${}_2$O$$_5$$ ${}_5$. 

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3. Robust superconductivity and the suppression of charge-density wave in the quasi-skutterudites ${\text{Ca}}_3({\text{Ir}}_{1-x}{\text{Rh}}_x{)}_4{\text{Sn}}_{13}$ single crystals at ambient pressure

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648X/ad5485  

   Krenkel, Elizabeth_H; Tanatar, Makariy_A; Ghimire, Sunil; Joshi, Kamal_R; Chen, Shuzhang; Petrovic, Cedomir; Prozorov, Ruslan (June 2024, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter)

   Abstract Single crystals of the quasi-skutterudite compounds Ca₃(Ir_1-xRh_x)₄Sn₁₃(3–4–13) were synthesized by flux growth and characterized by x-ray diffraction, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, magnetization, resistivity, and radio frequency magnetic susceptibility techniques. The coexistence and competition between the charge density wave (CDW) and superconductivity was studied by varying the Rh/Ir ratio. The superconducting transition temperature, $T_{\mathrm{c}}$, varies from 7 K in pure Ir (x = 0) to 8.3 K in pure Rh (x = 1). Temperature-dependent electrical resistivity reveals monotonic suppression of the CDW transition temperature,T_CDW(x). The CDW starts in pure Ir,x = 0, atT_CDW≈ 40 K and extrapolates roughly linearly to zero at $x_c\approx$0.53–0.58 under the superconducting dome. Magnetization and transport measurements show a significant influence of CDW on superconducting and normal states. Meissner expulsion is substantially reduced in the CDW region, indicating competition between the CDW and superconductivity. The low-temperature resistivity is higher in the CDW part of the phase diagram, consistent with the reduced density of states due to CDW gapping. Its temperature dependence just above $T_{\mathrm{c}}$shows signs of non-Fermi liquid behavior in a cone-like composition pattern. We conclude that the Ca₃(Ir_1-xRh_x)₄Sn₁₃alloy is a good candidate for a composition-driven quantum critical point at ambient pressure. 

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4. High resolution X-ray spectra of the time evolution of emission from metastable electronic states of highly charged Ni-like ions

   https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/s10053-024-00872-0  

   Burke, Timothy; Takacs, Endre; Dipti; Hosier, Adam; O’Neil, Galen; Tan, Joseph; Staiger, Hunter; Naing, Aung; Marler, Joan; Ralchenko, Yuri (June 2024, The European Physical Journal D)

   AbstractMetastable levels of highly charged ions that can only decay via highly forbidden transitions can have a significant effect on the properties of high temperature plasmas. For example, the highly forbidden 3d$$^{10}$$ $_{}^{10}$$$_{J=0}$$ $_{J=0}^{}$- 3d$$^9$$ $_{}^9$4 s$$(\frac{5}{2},\frac{1}{2})_{J=3}$$ ${(\frac{5}{2},\frac{1}{2})}_{J=3}$magnetic octupole (M3) transition in nickel-like ions can result in a large metastable population of its upper level which can then be ionized by electrons of energies below the ground state ionization potential. We present a method to study metastable electronic states in highly charged ions that decay by x-ray emission in electron beam ion traps (EBIT). The time evolution of the emission intensity can be used to study the parameters of ionization balance dynamics and the lifetime of metastable states. The temporal and energy resolution of a new transition-edge sensor microcalorimeter array enables these studies at the National Institute of Standards and Technology EBIT. Graphical abstractNOMAD calculated time evolution of the ratio of the Ni-like and Co-like lines in Nd at varying electron densities compared with measured ratios 

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5. Evidence of a liquid–liquid phase transition in H$$_2$$O and D$$_2$$O from path-integral molecular dynamics simulations

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09525-x  

   Eltareb, Ali; Lopez, Gustavo E.; Giovambattista, Nicolas (April 2022, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract We perform path-integral molecular dynamics (PIMD), ring-polymer MD (RPMD), and classical MD simulations of H$$_2$$ ${}_2$O and D$$_2$$ ${}_2$O using the q-TIP4P/F water model over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. The density$$\rho (T)$$ $\rho \left(T\right)$, isothermal compressibility$$\kappa _T(T)$$ ${\kappa }_T\left(T\right)$, and self-diffusion coefficientsD(T) of H$$_2$$ ${}_2$O and D$$_2$$ ${}_2$O are in excellent agreement with available experimental data; the isobaric heat capacity$$C_P(T)$$ $C_P\left(T\right)$obtained from PIMD and MD simulations agree qualitatively well with the experiments. Some of these thermodynamic properties exhibit anomalous maxima upon isobaric cooling, consistent with recent experiments and with the possibility that H$$_2$$ ${}_2$O and D$$_2$$ ${}_2$O exhibit a liquid-liquid critical point (LLCP) at low temperatures and positive pressures. The data from PIMD/MD for H$$_2$$ ${}_2$O and D$$_2$$ ${}_2$O can be fitted remarkably well using the Two-State-Equation-of-State (TSEOS). Using the TSEOS, we estimate that the LLCP for q-TIP4P/F H$$_2$$ ${}_2$O, from PIMD simulations, is located at$$P_c = 167 \pm 9$$ $P_c=167\pm 9$ MPa,$$T_c = 159 \pm 6$$ $T_c=159\pm 6$ K, and$$\rho _c = 1.02 \pm 0.01$$ ${\rho }_c=1.02\pm 0.01$ g/cm$$^3$$ ${}^3$. Isotope substitution effects are important; the LLCP location in q-TIP4P/F D$$_2$$ ${}_2$O is estimated to be$$P_c = 176 \pm 4$$ $P_c=176\pm 4$ MPa,$$T_c = 177 \pm 2$$ $T_c=177\pm 2$ K, and$$\rho _c = 1.13 \pm 0.01$$ ${\rho }_c=1.13\pm 0.01$ g/cm$$^3$$ ${}^3$. Interestingly, for the water model studied, differences in the LLCP location from PIMD and MD simulations suggest that nuclear quantum effects (i.e., atoms delocalization) play an important role in the thermodynamics of water around the LLCP (from the MD simulations of q-TIP4P/F water,$$P_c = 203 \pm 4$$ $P_c=203\pm 4$ MPa,$$T_c = 175 \pm 2$$ $T_c=175\pm 2$ K, and$$\rho _c = 1.03 \pm 0.01$$ ${\rho }_c=1.03\pm 0.01$ g/cm$$^3$$ ${}^3$). Overall, our results strongly support the LLPT scenario to explain water anomalous behavior, independently of the fundamental differences between classical MD and PIMD techniques. The reported values of$$T_c$$ $T_c$for D$$_2$$ ${}_2$O and, particularly, H$$_2$$ ${}_2$O suggest that improved water models are needed for the study of supercooled water. 

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