Spectroscopic Evidence for a Three-Dimensional Charge Density Wave in Kagome Superconductor CsV3Sb5

The recently discovered AV3Sb5 (A=K, Rb, Cs) family, possessing V kagome nets, has received considerable attention due to the topological electronic structure and intriguing correlated phenomena, including an exotic charge density wave (CDW) and superconductivity. Detailed electronic structure studies are essential to unravel the characteristics and origin of the CDW as well as its interplay with superconductivity. Here, we present angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements for CsV3Sb5 at multiple temperatures and photon energies to reveal the nature of the CDW from an electronic structure perspective. We present evidence for a three-dimensional (3D) CDW order. In the process we also pinpoint a surface state attributed to a Cs terminated surface. This state was previously attributed to band folding band due to a CDW along the c direction or a quantum well state from quantum confinement. The CDW expected 2-fold lattice reconstruction along c axis is observed to be a quadrupling of the unit cell, thus for the first time directly demonstrating the 3D nature of the CDW from the electronic structure perspective. Moreover, this 3D CDW configuration originates from two distinct types of distortions in adjacent kagome layers. These present results not only provide key insights into the nature of the unconventional CDW in CsV3Sb5 but also provides an important reference for further studies on the relationship between the CDW and superconductivity.

Modification of a Shockley-Type Surface State on Pt(111) upon Deposition of Gold Thin Layers

We present a first-principles fully-relativistic study of surface and interface states in the n one monolayer (ML) Au/Pt(111) heterostructures. The modification of an unoccupied s − p -type surface state existing on a Pt(111) surface at the surface Brillouin zone center upon deposition of a few atomic Au layers is investigated. In particular, we find that the transformation process of such a surface state upon variation of the Au adlayer thickness crucially depends on the nature of the relevant quantum state in the adsorbate. When the Au adlayer consists of one or two monolayers and this relevant state has energy above the Pt(111) surface state position, the latter shifts downward upon approaching the Au adlayer. As a result, in the 1 ML Au/Pt(111) and 2 ML Au/Pt(111) heterostructures at the equilibrium adlayer position, the Pt-derived surface state experiences strong hybridization with the bulk electronic states and becomes a strong occupied resonance. In contrast, when the number n of atomic layers in the Au films increases to three or more, the Pt(111) surface state shifts upward upon reduction of the distance between the Pt(111) surface and the Au adlayer. At equilibrium, the Pt-derived surface state transforms into an unoccupied quantum-well state of the Au adlayer. This change is explained by the fact that the relevant electronic state in free-standing Au films with n ≥ 3 has lower energy in comparison to the Pt(111) surface state.

Effect of inserted Cu layer on CoFe/Cu/MgO/CoFe magnetic tunnel junction

In this paper, we carried out first-principles calculations based on density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green’s function to investigate the tunneling magnetoresistance effect in CoFe/Cu/MgO/CoFe magnetic tunnel junctions. Insertion of a nonmagnetic Cu layer between the tunnel barrier and the electrode is shown to result in the inverse and oscillation of the tunneling magnetoresistance as a function of the Cu layer at different bias voltage. The inverse phenomenon is discussed in terms of the conductance and the tunneling probability of electron at zero bias voltage. We suggest that the oscillation of tunneling magnetoresistance results from quantum well state formed in nonmagnetic Cu layer which can bring about the multiple scattering of tunneling electrons due to influence of the bias voltage on the oscillation period of the tunneling magnetoresistance.