Superconductivity emerging from a stripe charge order in IrTe2 nanoflakes.

Superconductivity in the vicinity of a competing electronic order often manifests itself with a superconducting dome, centered at a presumed quantum critical point in the phase diagram. This common feature, found in many unconventional superconductors, has supported a prevalent scenario in which fluctuations or partial melting of a parent order are essential for inducing or enhancing superconductivity. Here we present a contrary example, found in IrTe2 nanoflakes of which the superconducting dome is identified well inside the parent stripe charge ordering phase in the thickness-dependent phase diagram. The coexisting stripe charge order in IrTe2 nanoflakes significantly increases the out-of-plane coherence length and the coupling strength of superconductivity, in contrast to the doped bulk IrTe2. These findings clarify that the inherent instabilities of the parent stripe phase are sufficient to induce superconductivity in IrTe2 without its complete or partial melting. Our study highlights the thickness control as an effective means to unveil intrinsic phase diagrams of correlated van der Waals materials.

Infrared nano-spectroscopy of ferroelastic domain walls in hybrid improper ferroelectric Ca3Ti2O7.

Ferroic materials are well known to exhibit heterogeneity in the form of domain walls. Understanding the properties of these boundaries is crucial for controlling functionality with external stimuli and for realizing their potential for ultra-low power memory and logic devices as well as novel computing architectures. In this work, we employ synchrotron-based near-field infrared nano-spectroscopy to reveal the vibrational properties of ferroelastic (90[Formula: see text] ferroelectric) domain walls in the hybrid improper ferroelectric Ca[Formula: see text]Ti[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text]. By locally mapping the Ti-O stretching and Ti-O-Ti bending modes, we reveal how structural order parameters rotate across a wall. Thus, we link observed near-field amplitude changes to underlying structural modulations and test ferroelectric switching models against real space measurements of local structure. This initiative opens the door to broadband infrared nano-imaging of heterogeneity in ferroics.

Stabilization of ferromagnetic ordering in cobaltite double perovskites of La2CoIrO6 and La2CoPtO6.

We investigated the local electronic structure and magnetic properties of the cobaltite double perovskites La2CoIrO6 and La2CoPtO6 using Co L2,3-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Despite similarity in the local electronic structure (Co(2+) high-spin states) as well as in the crystal structure (P2(1)/n), only La2CoIrO6 exhibits substantial orbital and spin magnetic moments of Co(2+), whereas they are much weaker in the case of La2CoPtO6. This composition dependence is consistent with the results of magnetization measurements. The details of the mechanism of ferromagnetic ordering in the Co(2+) sublattice in La2CoIrO6 and the lack thereof in La2CoPtO6 are explained in terms of the orbital hybridization of the Co minority-spin t(2g) state and the Ir/Pt j(eff) = 1/2 state.

Electronic structure of double perovskite A2FeReO6 (A = Ba and Ca): interplay between spin-orbit interaction, electron correlation, and lattice distortion.

We have investigated the electronic structure of double perovskites, Ba(2)FeReO(6) (metallic) and Ca(2)FeReO(6) (insulating) using optical and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. By comparing the experimental results with the density functional theory calculations, we found that the electronic structure of Ba(2)FeReO(6) could be determined from the interaction of the electron correlation and spin-orbit coupling. On the other hand, for Ca(2)FeReO(6), the lattice distortion and electron correlation are important in determining the electronic structure. Additionally, the insulating gap in Ca(2)FeReO(6) is realized by the spin-orbit coupling. Our work shows that the subtle interplay of the spin-orbit interaction, electron correlation, and lattice distortion should be taken into account to understand the electronic structure of the 5d transition metal oxides.

Combined protective effects on interferon and interferon induction on herpes simplex and ectromelia virus infections in mice.

Mouse interferon or the induction of mouse interferon with polyriboinosinic acid-polyribocytidylic acid significantly protected mice against herpes simplex and ectromelia viral infections. When polyriboinosinic acid-polyribocytidylic acid was administered 24 h before herpes simplex or ectromelia viral infection and mouse interferon was administered shortly before and 24 h after infection, a combined protective effect against either herpes simplex or ectromelia viral infection in mice was evident. There was a significant decrease in the mortality rate with the combined treatment as compared either with the rate in group treated with interferon or polyriboinosinic acid-polyribocytidylic acid.