Fate of Quasiparticles at High Temperature in the Correlated Metal Sr_{2}RuO_{4}.

We study the temperature evolution of quasiparticles in the correlated metal Sr_{2}RuO_{4}. Our angle resolved photoemission data show that quasiparticles persist up to temperatures above 200 K, far beyond the Fermi liquid regime. Extracting the quasiparticle self-energy, we demonstrate that the quasiparticle residue Z increases with increasing temperature. Quasiparticles eventually disappear on approaching the bad metal state of Sr_{2}RuO_{4} not by losing weight but via excessive broadening from super-Planckian scattering. We further show that the Fermi surface of Sr_{2}RuO_{4}-defined as the loci where the spectral function peaks-deflates with increasing temperature. These findings are in semiquantitative agreement with dynamical mean field theory calculations.

Observation of Weyl Nodes in Robust Type-II Weyl Semimetal WP_{2}.

Distinct to type-I Weyl semimetals (WSMs) that host quasiparticles described by the Weyl equation, the energy dispersion of quasiparticles in type-II WSMs violates Lorentz invariance and the Weyl cones in the momentum space are tilted. Since it was proposed that type-II Weyl fermions could emerge from (W,Mo)Te_{2} and (W,Mo)P_{2} families of materials, a large number of experiments have been dedicated to unveiling the possible manifestation of type-II WSMs, e.g., surface-state Fermi arcs. However, the interpretations of the experimental results are very controversial. Here, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy supported by the first-principles calculations, we probe the tilted Weyl cone bands in the bulk electronic structure of WP_{2} directly, which are at the origin of Fermi arcs at the surfaces and transport properties related to the chiral anomaly in type-II WSMs. Our results ascertain that, due to the spin-orbit coupling, the Weyl nodes originate from the splitting of fourfold degenerate band-crossing points with Chern numbers C=±2 induced by the crystal symmetries of WP_{2}, which is unique among all the discovered WSMs. Our finding also provides a guiding line to observe the chiral anomaly that could manifest in novel transport properties.

Melatonin treatment prevents carbon tetrachloride-induced acute lung injury in rats by mitigating tissue antioxidant capacity and inflammatory response.

AIM: Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is an organic chemical that produces different tissue­damaging effects when ingested or inhaled. Present study aims to determine whether the application of exogenous melatonin, a neurohormone with numerous biological properties, can prevent disturbances in lung tissue antioxidative capacities and arginine metabolism, tissue inflammation and oxidative damage induced by exposure to CCl4 in rats. METHODS: The effects of melatonin on the changes occurring in rat lung tissue after an acute exposure to CCl4 were studied by monitoring alterations in antioxidant capacities, inflammatory parameters, parameters of arginine metabolism, and lipid and protein oxidative damage. RESULTS: The results indicated that melatonin prevents CCl4-induced lung damage by mitigating tissue antioxidant capacity and preventing nitric oxide production through a shift from nitric oxide synthase to arginase. Also, melatonin partially prevented tissue inflammation and molecules' oxidative modification seen after exposure to CCl4. CONCLUSIONS: The protective activity of melatonin can be attributed to its ability to scavenge both free radicals, as well as to its potential to increase tissue antioxidant capacity. The modulation of inflammatory response through both decrease in tissue inflammatory parameters and influence on arginine-nitric oxide metabolism might be an additional mechanism of action (Tab. 1, Fig. 2, Ref. 33).

Evidence of a Coulomb-Interaction-Induced Lifshitz Transition and Robust Hybrid Weyl Semimetal in T_{d}-MoTe_{2}.

Using soft x-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy we probed the bulk electronic structure of T_{d}-MoTe_{2}. We found that on-site Coulomb interaction leads to a Lifshitz transition, which is essential for a precise description of the electronic structure. A hybrid Weyl semimetal state with a pair of energy bands touching at both type-I and type-II Weyl nodes is indicated by comparing the experimental data with theoretical calculations. Unveiling the importance of Coulomb interaction opens up a new route to comprehend the unique properties of MoTe_{2}, and is significant for understanding the interplay between correlation effects, strong spin-orbit coupling and superconductivity in this van der Waals material.

Atomically Precise Lateral Modulation of a Two-Dimensional Electron Liquid in Anatase TiO2 Thin Films.

Engineering the electronic band structure of two-dimensional electron liquids (2DELs) confined at the surface or interface of transition metal oxides is key to unlocking their full potential. Here we describe a new approach to tailoring the electronic structure of an oxide surface 2DEL demonstrating the lateral modulation of electronic states with atomic scale precision on an unprecedented length scale comparable to the Fermi wavelength. To this end, we use pulsed laser deposition to grow anatase TiO2 films terminated by a (1 × 4) in-plane surface reconstruction. Employing photostimulated chemical surface doping we induce 2DELs with tunable carrier densities that are confined within a few TiO2 layers below the surface. Subsequent in situ angle-resolved photoemission experiments demonstrate that the (1 × 4) surface reconstruction provides a periodic lateral perturbation of the electron liquid. This causes strong backfolding of the electronic bands, opening of unidirectional gaps and a saddle point singularity in the density of states near the chemical potential.

Tailoring the nature and strength of electron-phonon interactions in the SrTiO3(001) 2D electron liquid.

Surfaces and interfaces offer new possibilities for tailoring the many-body interactions that dominate the electrical and thermal properties of transition metal oxides. Here, we use the prototypical two-dimensional electron liquid (2DEL) at the SrTiO3(001) surface to reveal a remarkably complex evolution of electron-phonon coupling with the tunable carrier density of this system. At low density, where superconductivity is found in the analogous 2DEL at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface, our angle-resolved photoemission data show replica bands separated by 100 meV from the main bands. This is a hallmark of a coherent polaronic liquid and implies long-range coupling to a single longitudinal optical phonon branch. In the overdoped regime the preferential coupling to this branch decreases and the 2DEL undergoes a crossover to a more conventional metallic state with weaker short-range electron-phonon interaction. These results place constraints on the theoretical description of superconductivity and allow a unified understanding of the transport properties in SrTiO3-based 2DELs.

Distinct Evolutions of Weyl Fermion Quasiparticles and Fermi Arcs with Bulk Band Topology in Weyl Semimetals.

The Weyl semimetal phase is a recently discovered topological quantum state of matter characterized by the presence of topologically protected degeneracies near the Fermi level. These degeneracies are the source of exotic phenomena, including the realization of chiral Weyl fermions as quasiparticles in the bulk and the formation of Fermi arc states on the surfaces. Here, we demonstrate that these two key signatures show distinct evolutions with the bulk band topology by performing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, supported by first-principles calculations, on transition-metal monophosphides. While Weyl fermion quasiparticles exist only when the chemical potential is located between two saddle points of the Weyl cone features, the Fermi arc states extend in a larger energy scale and are robust across the bulk Lifshitz transitions associated with the recombination of two nontrivial Fermi surfaces enclosing one Weyl point into a single trivial Fermi surface enclosing two Weyl points of opposite chirality. Therefore, in some systems (e.g., NbP), topological Fermi arc states are preserved even if Weyl fermion quasiparticles are absent in the bulk. Our findings not only provide insight into the relationship between the exotic physical phenomena and the intrinsic bulk band topology in Weyl semimetals, but also resolve the apparent puzzle of the different magnetotransport properties observed in TaAs, TaP, and NbP, where the Fermi arc states are similar.

Momentum-Resolved Electronic Structure of the High-T_{c} Superconductor Parent Compound BaBiO_{3}.

We investigate the band structure of BaBiO_{3}, an insulating parent compound of doped high-T_{c} superconductors, using in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on thin films. The data compare favorably overall with density functional theory calculations within the local density approximation, demonstrating that electron correlations are weak. The bands exhibit Brillouin zone folding consistent with known BiO_{6} breathing distortions. Though the distortions are often thought to coincide with Bi^{3+}/Bi^{5+} charge ordering, core level spectra show that bismuth is monovalent. We further demonstrate that the bands closest to the Fermi level are primarily oxygen derived, while the bismuth 6s states mostly contribute to dispersive bands at deeper binding energy. The results support a model of Bi-O charge transfer in which hole pairs are localized on combinations of the O 2p orbitals.

NaFe_{0.56}Cu_{0.44}As: A Pnictide Insulating Phase Induced by On-Site Coulomb Interaction.

In the studies of iron pnictides, a key question is whether their bad-metal state from which the superconductivity emerges lies in close proximity with a magnetically ordered insulating phase. Recently, it was found that at low temperatures, the heavily Cu-doped NaFe_{1-x}Cu_{x}As (x>0.3) iron pnictide is an insulator with long-range antiferromagnetic order, similar to the parent compound of cuprates but distinct from all other iron pnictides. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we determined the momentum-resolved electronic structure of NaFe_{1-x}Cu_{x}As (x=0.44) and identified that its ground state is a narrow-gap insulator. Combining the experimental results with density functional theory (DFT) and DFT+U calculations, our analysis reveals that the on-site Coulombic (Hubbard) and Hund's coupling energies play crucial roles in the formation of the band gap about the chemical potential. We propose that at finite temperatures, charge carriers are thermally excited from the Cu-As-like valence band into the conduction band, which is of Fe 3d-like character. With increasing temperature, the number of electrons in the conduction band becomes larger and the hopping energy between Fe sites increases, and finally the long-range antiferromagnetic order is destroyed at T>T_{N}. Our study provides a basis for investigating the evolution of the electronic structure of a Mott insulator transforming into a bad metallic phase and eventually forming a superconducting state in iron pnictides.

Giant spin splitting of the two-dimensional electron gas at the surface of SrTiO3.

Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) forming at the interfaces of transition metal oxides exhibit a range of properties, including tunable insulator-superconductor-metal transitions, large magnetoresistance, coexisting ferromagnetism and superconductivity, and a spin splitting of a few meV (refs 10, 11). Strontium titanate (SrTiO3), the cornerstone of such oxide-based electronics, is a transparent, non-magnetic, wide-bandgap insulator in the bulk, and has recently been found to host a surface 2DEG (refs 12-15). The most strongly confined carriers within this 2DEG comprise two subbands, separated by an energy gap of 90 meV and forming concentric circular Fermi surfaces. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SARPES), we show that the electron spins in these subbands have opposite chiralities. Although the Rashba effect might be expected to give rise to such spin textures, the giant splitting of almost 100 meV at the Fermi level is far larger than anticipated. Moreover, in contrast to a simple Rashba system, the spin-polarized subbands are non-degenerate at the Brillouin zone centre. This degeneracy can be lifted by time-reversal symmetry breaking, implying the possible existence of magnetic order. These results show that confined electronic states at oxide surfaces can be endowed with novel, non-trivial properties that are both theoretically challenging to anticipate and promising for technological applications.

A time-dependent order parameter for ultrafast photoinduced phase transitions.

Strongly correlated electron systems often exhibit very strong interactions between structural and electronic degrees of freedom that lead to complex and interesting phase diagrams. For technological applications of these materials it is important to learn how to drive transitions from one phase to another. A key question here is the ultimate speed of such phase transitions, and to understand how a phase transition evolves in the time domain. Here we apply time-resolved X-ray diffraction to directly measure the changes in long-range order during ultrafast melting of the charge and orbitally ordered phase in a perovskite manganite. We find that although the actual change in crystal symmetry associated with this transition occurs over different timescales characteristic of the many electronic and vibrational coordinates of the system, the dynamics of the phase transformation can be well described using a single time-dependent 'order parameter' that depends exclusively on the electronic excitation.

High-precision x-ray FEL pulse arrival time measurements at SACLA by a THz streak camera with Xe clusters.

The accurate measurement of the arrival time of a hard X-ray free electron laser (FEL) pulse with respect to a laser is of utmost importance for pump-probe experiments proposed or carried out at FEL facilities around the world. This manuscript presents the latest device to meet this challenge, a THz streak camera using Xe gas clusters, capable of pulse arrival time measurements with an estimated accuracy of several femtoseconds. An experiment performed at SACLA demonstrates the performance of the device at photon energies between 5 and 10 keV with variable photon beam parameters.

Mixed dimensionality of confined conducting electrons in the surface region of SrTiO3.

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we show that the recently discovered surface state on SrTiO(3) consists of nondegenerate t(2g) states with different dimensional characters. While the d(xy) bands have quasi-2D dispersions with weak k(z) dependence, the lifted d(xz)/d(yz) bands show 3D dispersions that differ significantly from bulk expectations and signal that electrons associated with those orbitals permeate the near-surface region. Like their more 2D counterparts, the size and character of the d(xz)/d(yz) Fermi surface components are essentially the same for different sample preparations. Irradiating SrTiO(3) in ultrahigh vacuum is one method observed so far to induce the "universal" surface metallic state. We reveal that during this process, changes in the oxygen valence band spectral weight that coincide with the emergence of surface conductivity are disproportionate to any change in the total intensity of the O 1s core level spectrum. This signifies that the formation of the metallic surface goes beyond a straightforward chemical doping scenario and occurs in conjunction with profound changes in the initial states and/or spatial distribution of near-E(F) electrons in the surface region.

Evolution from a nodeless gap to d(x(2)-y(2))-wave in underdoped La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4.

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), it is revealed that the low-energy electronic excitation spectra of highly underdoped superconducting and nonsuperconducting La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) cuprates are gapped along the entire underlying Fermi surface at low temperatures. We show how the gap function evolves to a d(x(2)-y(2)) form with increasing temperature or doping, consistent with the vast majority of ARPES studies of cuprates. Our results provide essential information for uncovering the symmetry of the order parameter(s) in strongly underdoped cuprates, which is a prerequisite for understanding the pairing mechanism and how superconductivity emerges from a Mott insulator.

Elemental topological insulator with tunable Fermi level: strained α-Sn on InSb(001).

We report on the epitaxial fabrication and electronic properties of a topological phase in strained α-Sn on InSb. The topological surface state forms in the presence of an unusual band order not based on direct spin-orbit coupling, as shown in density functional and GW slab-layer calculations. Angle-resolved photoemission including spin detection probes experimentally how the topological spin-polarized state emerges from the second bulk valence band. Moreover, we demonstrate the precise control of the Fermi level by dopants.

Bulk electronic structure of superconducting LaRu2P2 single crystals measured by soft-X-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.

We present a soft x-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SX-ARPES) study of the stoichiometric pnictide superconductor LaRu(2)P(2). The observed electronic structure is in good agreement with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. However, it is significantly different from its counterpart in high-temperature superconducting Fe pnictides. In particular, the bandwidth renormalization present in the Fe pnictides (~2-3) is negligible in LaRu(2)P(2) even though the mass enhancement is similar in both systems. Our results suggest that the superconductivity in LaRu(2) P(2) has a different origin with respect to the iron pnictides. Finally, we demonstrate that the increased probing depth of SX-ARPES, compared to the widely used ultraviolet ARPES, is essential in determining the bulk electronic structure in the experiment.

Nature of weak magnetism in SrTiO3/LaAlO3 multilayers.

We report the observation of weak magnetism in superlattices of LaAlO(3)/SrTiO(3) using ß-detected nuclear magnetic resonance. The spin lattice relaxation rate of ^{8}Li in superlattices with a spacer layers of 8 and 6 unit cells of LaAlO(3) exhibits a strong peak near ~35 K, whereas no such peak is observed in a superlattice with spacer layer thickness of 3 unit cells. We attribute the observed temperature dependence to slowing down of weakly coupled electronic moments at the LaAlO(3)/SrTiO(3) interface. These results show that the magnetism at the interface depends strongly on the thickness of the spacer layer, and that a minimal thickness of ~4-6 unit cells is required for the appearance of magnetism. A simple model is used to determine that the observed relaxation is due to small fluctuating moments (~0.002µ(B)) in the two samples with a larger LaAlO(3) spacer thickness.

In situ investigation of the early stage of TiO2 epitaxy on (001) SrTiO3.

We report on a systematic study of the growth of epitaxial TiO(2) films deposited by pulsed laser deposition on Ti-terminated SrTiO(3) (001) single crystals. By using in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction, low energy electron diffraction, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and scanning probe microscopy, we show that the stabilization of the anatase (001) phase is preceded by the growth of a few nanometers thick pseudomorphic Sr(x)TiO(2+y) (x, y < 1) intermediate layer. The data demonstrate that the formation of this intermediate phase is related to the activation of a long range Sr migration from the SrTiO(3) substrate into the film. Our results enrich the phase diagram of the Sr-Ti-O system under epitaxial strain opening a route for the study of the electronic and dielectric properties of the reported Sr-deficient SrTiO(3) phase.

Observation of a singular Weyl point surrounded by charged nodal walls in PtGa.

Constrained by the Nielsen-Ninomiya no-go theorem, in all so-far experimentally determined Weyl semimetals (WSMs) the Weyl points (WPs) always appear in pairs in the momentum space with no exception. As a consequence, Fermi arcs occur on surfaces which connect the projections of the WPs with opposite chiral charges. However, this situation can be circumvented in the case of unpaired WP, without relevant surface Fermi arc connecting its surface projection, appearing singularly, while its Berry curvature field is absorbed by nontrivial charged nodal walls. Here, combining angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with density functional theory calculations, we show experimentally that a singular Weyl point emerges in PtGa at the center of the Brillouin zone (BZ), which is surrounded by closed Weyl nodal walls located at the BZ boundaries and there is no Fermi arc connecting its surface projection. Our results reveal that nontrivial band crossings of different dimensionalities can emerge concomitantly in condensed matter, while their coexistence ensures the net topological charge of different dimensional topological objects to be zero. Our observation extends the applicable range of the original Nielsen-Ninomiya no-go theorem which was derived from zero dimensional paired WPs with opposite chirality.

Could depression be a new branch of MIA syndrome?

The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of depression in our dialysis patients, to detect the most powerful variables associated with depression, and to determine the role of depression in prediction of mortality. The prospective follow-up study of 128 patients (77 HD and 51 CAPD, 65 male, aged 53.8 +/- 13.5 years, dialysis duration 64.7 +/- 64.8 months) was carried out over 36 months. Depression by the Beck Depression Inventory-BDI-II score, laboratory parameters (hemoglobin, serum albumin and creatinine concentration), immunological status (cytokines and hsCRP), comorbidity by Index of Physical Impairment (IPI) and adequacy of dialysis by Kt/V were monitored. The overall prevalence of depression in the dialysis patients (BDI score > or = 14) was 45.3%, and 28.2%, respectively, for moderate and severe depression (BDI > or = 20). The most powerful variable associated with depression was IL-6, but associations with albumin, hemoglobin, creatinine and IPI score were also found. During the follow-up period 36 patients died, 7 patients left the cohort and 2 patients were transplanted. If IPI score was not included in the multivariate Cox analysis, the BDI score remained one of the best predictors of mortality along with albumin. In conclusion, because of the close association of depression with inflammation, malnutrition, and cardiovascular mortality, it could be speculated that depression is one branch of the MIA (malnutrition, inflammation, atherosclerosis) syndrome.