Cascade of magnetic field induced Lifshitz transitions in the ferromagnetic Kondo lattice material YbNi4P2

A ferromagnetic quantum critical point is thought not to exist in two and three-dimensional metallic systems yet is realized in the Kondo lattice compound YbNi4(P,As)2, possibly due to its one-dimensionality. It is crucial to investigate the dimensionality of the Fermi surface of YbNi4P2 experimentally but common probes such as ARPES and quantum oscillation measurements are lacking. Here, we studied the magnetic field dependence of transport and thermodynamic properties of YbNi4P2. The Kondo effect is continuously suppressed and additionally we identify nine Lifshitz transitions between 0.4 and 18 T. We analyze the transport coefficients in detail and identify the type of Lifshitz transitions as neck or void type to gain information on the Fermi surface of YbNi4P2. The large number of Lifshitz transitions observed within this small energy window is unprecedented and results from the particular flat renormalized band structure with strong 4f-electron character shaped by the Kondo lattice effect.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Interplay between Kondo suppression and Lifshitz transitions in YbRh2_2Si2_2 at high magnetic fields

We investigate the magnetic field dependent thermopower, thermal conductivity, resistivity and Hall effect in the heavy fermion metal YbRh2Si2. In contrast to reports on thermodynamic measurements, we find in total three transitions at high fields, rather than a single one at 10 T. Using the Mott formula together with renormalized band calculations, we identify Lifshitz transitions as their origin. The predictions of the calculations show that all experimental results rely on an interplay of a smooth suppression of the Kondo effect and the spin splitting of the flat hybridized bands.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Enhancement of the Nernst effect by stripe order in a high-Tc superconductor

The Nernst effect in metals is highly sensitive to two kinds of phase transition: superconductivity and density-wave order. The large positive Nernst signal observed in hole-doped high-Tc superconductors above their transition temperature Tc has so far been attributed to fluctuating superconductivity. Here we show that in some of these materials the large Nernst signal is in fact caused by stripe order, a form of spin / charge modulation which causes a reconstruction of the Fermi surface. In LSCO doped with Nd or Eu, the onset of stripe order causes the Nernst signal to go from small and negative to large and positive, as revealed either by lowering the hole concentration across the quantum critical point in Nd-LSCO, or lowering the temperature across the ordering temperature in Eu-LSCO. In the latter case, two separate peaks are resolved, respectively associated with the onset of stripe order at high temperature and superconductivity near Tc. This sensitivity to Fermi-surface reconstruction makes the Nernst effect a promising probe of broken symmetry in high-Tc superconductors

Decompressive Hemicraniectomy: Predictors and Functional Outcome In Patients With Ischemic Stroke

BACKGROUND Patients presenting with large ischemic strokes may develop uncontrollable, progressive brain edema that risks compression of brain parenchyma and cerebral herniation.1 Edema that does not respond to medical treatment necessitates decompressive hemicraniectomy (DH) as a life-saving procedure. The functional outcome of patients is uncertain and the patient’s family is presented with the difficult decision of intervention with DH. While the functional outcome of patients is not worsened by DH,2 neurological deficit is likely as a result of initial large-territory ischemia. The correlation of specific clinical variables preceding DH to patient outcome helps inform clinicians and families about prognosis.3 This study identifies an array of clinical variables in patients who underwent DH for ischemic stroke in order to investigate potential predictors of functional outcome. METHOD A total of 1,624 subjects that underwent any type of craniectomy from 2006 to 2014 were retrospectively screened via electronic medical record. The specific selection criterion was DH secondary to ischemic stroke involving the middle cerebral artery (MCA), internal carotid artery (ICA), or both. Subjects were excluded if they underwent craniectomy for any reason other than DH for ischemic stroke; or if the MCA or ICA were not implicated. The clinical variables that were collected may be divided into pre-DH and post-DH. The pre-DH variables involve patient demographics and past medical history, in addition to clinical variables during the period of presentation and clinical management leading up to DH. The post-DH variables describe the in-patient recovery period and discharge status. The primary outcome was functional status assessed by the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) score at 90 days post-DH. The MRS ranges from 0 (no symptoms) to 6 (death) with intermediate values (1-5) representing increasing functional and cognitive disability

Symmetry breaking orbital anisotropy on detwinned Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 above the spin density wave transition

Nematicity, defined as broken rotational symmetry, has recently been observed in competing phases proximate to the superconducting phase in the cuprate high temperature superconductors. Similarly, the new iron-based high temperature superconductors exhibit a tetragonal to orthorhombic structural transition (i.e. a broken C4 symmetry) that either precedes or is coincident with a collinear spin density wave (SDW) transition in undoped parent compounds, and superconductivity arises when both transitions are suppressed via doping. Evidence for strong in-plane anisotropy in the SDW state in this family of compounds has been reported by neutron scattering, scanning tunneling microscopy, and transport measurements. Here we present an angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of detwinned single crystals of a representative family of electron-doped iron-arsenide superconductors, Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 in the underdoped region. The crystals were detwinned via application of in-plane uniaxial stress, enabling measurements of single domain electronic structure in the orthorhombic state. At low temperatures, our results clearly demonstrate an in-plane electronic anisotropy characterized by a large energy splitting of two orthogonal bands with dominant dxz and dyz character, which is consistent with anisotropy observed by other probes. For compositions x>0, for which the structural transition (TS) precedes the magnetic transition (TSDW), an anisotropic splitting is observed to develop above TSDW, indicating that it is specifically associated with TS. For unstressed crystals, the band splitting is observed close to TS, whereas for stressed crystals the splitting is observed to considerably higher temperatures, revealing the presence of a surprisingly large in-plane nematic susceptibility in the electronic structure.Comment: final version published in PNAS, including supplementary informatio

Towards a consistent picture for quasi-1D organic superconductors

The electrical resistivity of the quasi-1D organic superconductor (TMTSF)2PF6 was recently measured at low temperature from the critical pressure needed to suppress the spin-density-wave state up to a pressure where superconductivity has almost disappeared. This data revealed a direct correlation between the onset of superconductivity at Tc and the strength of a non-Fermi-liquid linear term in the normal-state resistivity, going as r(T) = r0 + AT + BT2 at low temperature, so that A goes to 0 as Tc goes to 0. Here we show that the contribution of low-frequency antiferromagnetic fluctuations to the spin-lattice relaxation rate is also correlated with this non-Fermi-liquid term AT in the resistivity. These correlations suggest that anomalous scattering and pairing have a common origin, both rooted in the low-frequency antiferromagnetic fluctuations measured by NMR. A similar situation may also prevail in the recently-discovered iron-pnictide superconductors.Comment: ISCOM'09 proceedings to be published in Physica

Effect of Disorder on Fermi surface in Heavy Electron Systems

The Kondo lattice model with substitutional disorder is studied with attention to the size of the Fermi surface and the associated Dingle temperature. The model serves for understanding heavy-fermion Ce compounds alloyed with La according to substitution Ce{x}La{1-x}. The Fermi surface is identified from the steepest change of the momentum distribution of conduction electrons, and is derived at low enough temperature by the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) combined with the coherent potential approximation (CPA). The Fermi surface without magnetic field increases in size with decreasing x from x=1 (Ce end), and disappears at such x that gives the same number of localized spins as that of conduction electrons. From the opposite limit of x=0 (La end), the Fermi surface broadens quickly as x increases, but stays at the same position as that of the La end. With increasing magnetic field, a metamagnetic transition occurs, and the Fermi surface above the critical field changes continuously across the whole range of x. The Dingle temperature takes a maximum around x=0.5. Implication of the results to experimental observation is discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Nernst effect of iron pnictide and cuprate superconductors: signatures of spin density wave and stripe order

The Nernst effect has recently proven a sensitive probe for detecting unusual normal state properties of unconventional superconductors. In particular, it may sensitively detect Fermi surface reconstructions which are connected to a charge or spin density wave (SDW) ordered state, and even fluctuating forms of such a state. Here we summarize recent results for the Nernst effect of the iron pnictide superconductor $\rm LaO_{1-x}F_xFeAs$, whose ground state evolves upon doping from an itinerant SDW to a superconducting state, and the cuprate superconductor $\rm La_{1.8-x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_xCuO_4$ which exhibits static stripe order as a ground state competing with the superconductivity. In $\rm LaO_{1-x}F_xFeAs$, the SDW order leads to a huge Nernst response, which allows to detect even fluctuating SDW precursors at superconducting doping levels where long range SDW order is suppressed. This is in contrast to the impact of stripe order on the normal state Nernst effect in $\rm La_{1.8-x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_xCuO_4$. Here, though signatures of the stripe order are detectable in the temperature dependence of the Nernst coefficient, its overall temperature dependence is very similar to that of $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$, where stripe order is absent. The anomalies which are induced by the stripe order are very subtle and the enhancement of the Nernst response due to static stripe order in $\rm La_{1.8-x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_xCuO_4$ as compared to that of the pseudogap phase in $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$, if any, is very small.Comment: To appear in: 'Properties and applications of thermoelectric materials - II', V. Zlatic and A. Hewson, editors, Proceedings of NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Hvar, Croatia, September 19 -25, 2011, NATO Science for Peace and Security Series B: Physics and Biophysics, (Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

The NICMOS Snapshot Survey of nearby Galaxies

We present ``snapshot'' observations with the NearInfrared Camera and MultiObject Spectrometer (NICMOS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of 94 nearby galaxies from the Revised Shapley Ames Catalog. Images with 0.2 as resolution were obtained in two filters, a broad-band continuum filter (F160W, roughly equivalent to the H-band) and a narrow band filter centered on the Paschen alpha line (F187N or F190N, depending on the galaxy redshift) with the 51x51 as field of view of the NICMOS camera 3. A first-order continuum subtraction is performed, and the resulting line maps and integrated Paschen alpha line fluxes are presented. A statistical analysis indicates that the average Paschen alpha surface brightness {\bf in the central regions} is highest in early-type (Sa-Sb) spirals.Comment: Original contained error in flux calibration. Table 1 now has correct Paschen Alpha fluxes. 14 pages LaTeX with JPEG and PS figures. Also available at http://icarus.stsci.edu/~boeker/publications.htm