SmB 6 , a well-known Kondo insulator, exhibits a transport anomaly at low temperature. This anomaly is usually attributed to states within the hybridization gap. Recent theoretical work and transport measurements suggest that these in-gap states could be ascribed to topological surface states, which would make SmB 6 the first realization of topological Kondo insulator. Here by performing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments, we directly observe several dispersive states within the hybridization gap of SmB 6 . These states show negligible k z dependence, which indicates their surface origin. Furthermore, we perform photoemission circular dichroism experiments, which suggest that the in-gap states possess chirality of the orbital angular momentum. These states vanish simultaneously with the hybridization gap at around 150 K. Together, these observations suggest the possible topological origin of the in-gap states.

Single-layer FeSe film on SrTiO3 (001) was recently found to be the champion of interfacial superconducting systems, with a much enhanced superconductivity than the bulk iron-based superconductors. Its superconducting mechanism is of great interest. Although the film has a simple Fermi surface topology, its pairing symmetry is unsettled. Here by using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we systematically investigated the superconductivity of single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3(001) films. We observed fully gapped tunneling spectrum and magnetic vortex lattice in the film. Quasi-particle interference (QPI) patterns reveal scatterings between and within the electron pockets, and put constraints on possible pairing symmetries. By introducing impurity atoms onto the sample, we show that the magnetic impurities (Cr, Mn) can locally suppress the superconductivity but the non-magnetic impurities (Zn, Ag and K) cannot. Our results indicate that single-layer FeSe/ SrTiO3 has a plain s-wave paring symmetry whose order parameter has the same phase on all Fermi surface sections.Recently the discovery of enhanced superconductivity in single-layer FeSe on SrTiO3(001) has attracted tremendous interest [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9], not only for the new possible superconducting transition temperature records of Fe-based superconductors and interfacial superconductors (65K [3,4] or even higher [9]), but also its intriguing mechanism that enhances the paring. Thus it is of great importance to understand the pairing symmetry and underlying electron structure of single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3(001). Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) revealed that such films have only electron Fermi surfaces, similar to that of the alkali metal intercalated iron selenides (AxFe2-ySe2, A=K, Cs…) [3][4][5]. This seriously challenges the original s±-pairing scenario proposed for the iron pnictides that relies on the coupling between the electron pockets and the hole pockets at the Brillouin zone center [10,11]. Meanwhile both ARPES and previous STM studies found fully gapped superconducting state in single-layer FeSe, indicative of the absence of gap nodes [1,[3][4][5]. Various possible paring symmetries have been proposed for such systems with only electron pockets [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], such as plain s-wave paring [12][13][14], "quasi-nodeless" d-wave paring [15,16], and several new types of s± paring that involve the "folding" of Brillouin zone and band hybridization [17], orbital dependent pairing [18], or mixing of the even and odd-parity pairing [19]. Except the plain s-wave paring, all the other proposed pairing symmetries involve sign changing of the order parameter on different sections of the Fermi surface. To distinguish these scenarios, phase sensitive measurements are required, plus the detailed knowledge on the superconducting gap.STM has been shown to be able to provide information on the pairing symmetry by measuring local response of superconductivity to impurities (in-gap impurity states) [20][21][22] and throu...

Single-layer FeSe films with extremely expanded in-plane lattice constant of 3.99±0.02 Å are fabricated by epitaxially growing FeSe/Nb:SrTiO 3 /KTaO 3 heterostructures, and studied by in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Two elliptical electron pockets at the Brillion zone corner are resolved with negligible hybridization between them, indicating the symmetry of the low energy electronic structure remains intact as a free-standing single-layer FeSe, although it is on a substrate. The superconducting gap closes at a record high temperature of 70 K for the iron based superconductors. Intriguingly, the superconducting gap distribution is anisotropic but nodeless around the electron pockets, with minima at the crossings of the two pockets. Our results put strong constraints on the current theories, and support the coexistence of both even and odd parity spin-singlet pairing channels as classified by the lattice symmetry. [3][4][5]. For these systems, weak coupling theories based on spin-fluctuations predict a dwave pairing symmetry [6,7]. However, it is inconsistent with the isotropic superconducting gap observed by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) [2,3,8,9], together with evidences for nodeless superconducting gap from specific heat [10], nuclear magnetic resonance [11], etc. On the other hand, the sign preserving s-wave pairing symmetry [12][13][14][15] could not account for the spin-resonance mode found in Rb x Fe 2−y Se 2 by inelastic neutron scattering [16], which suggests the sign change of the superconducting order parameter on different Fermi surface sections [17].To explain the sign changing isotropic gap in e-FeHTSs, several novel pairing scenarios were proposed. For example, it is argued in the bonding-antibonding s ± pairing scenario that with strong hybridization between electron pockets, the two reconstructed electron pockets can have different signs [18]. A further study suggested that this pairing likely coexists with the d-wave to form an s + id-wave pairing symmetry [19]. More recently, the importance of the parity of the 2-Fe unit cell has been emphasized [20], and it has been proposed that there are even and odd parity s-wave spin singlet pairing states, and the coexistence of both states gives a fully gapped state with varied signs in different Fermi surface sections [21,22]. The hybridization between the two electron pockets is not necessary in this scenario. So far, these scenarios could not be convincingly tested, since the detailed structure of the two electron pockets could not be resolved in all known e-FeHTSs.Two recent ARPES studies have found a gap in singlelayer FeSe/STO, which closes at 65 K and suggests a possible record high superconducting transition temperature (T c ) of 65 K for FeHTSs [4,5]; or at least, it is the pair-formation temperature record, if the superconducting transition there is a two dimensional Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) type. Particularly, our previous ARPES study has found that the high T c in single-layer FeSe/STO is in...

Sr 2 IrO 4 was predicted to be a high-temperature superconductor upon electron doping since it highly resembles the cuprates in crystal structure, electronic structure, and magnetic coupling constants. Here, we report a scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) study of Sr 2 IrO 4 with surface electron doping by depositing potassium (K) atoms. We find that as the electron doping increases, the system gradually evolves from an insulating state to a normal metallic state, via a pseudogaplike phase, and a phase with a sharp, V-shaped low-energy gap with about 95% loss of density of state (DOS) at E F . At certain K coverage (0.5-0.6 monolayer), the magnitude of the low-energy gap is 25-30 meV, and it closes at around 50 K. Our observations show that the electron-doped Sr 2 IrO 4 remarkably resembles hole-doped cuprate superconductors.

Nano-sized crystalline silicon particles, prepared by a laser-induced vapour deposition method, were coated onto the surface of particles of a modified natural graphite (SSG) by sonicated dispersion and a subsequent heat-treatment process. The microstructure of the Si-coated SSG was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the nanometer-scale Si particles were uniformly and completely coated on the surface of SSG particles, and both the Si and SSG particles existed in the crystalline state. The Si-coated SSG exhibits a much higher reversible capacity than pristine SSG, while keeping the good cycling performance of SSG material. The higher capacity can be ascribed to the alloying of Si with lithium. Because of the heat-treatment at 600 uC, used to achieve a good combination of Si with the SSG base, the cycling of the composites is very satisfactory. As a result, Si-coated SSG is a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries.

Viral hepatitis is a major public health concern in China, but data on national epidemiological characteristics are lacking. We collected reporting incidence data on hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in China from 2004 to 2014. Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) was performed to accurately describe the reporting incidence trends of HBV and HCV. A mathematical model was used to estimate the relative change in incidence across provinces and age groups. Nationwide, a total of 916 426 hepatitis B cases and 39 381 hepatitis C cases were recorded in 2004; the reporting incidences of HBV and HCV were 70.50/100 000 and 3.03/100 000, respectively. The overall relative changes in HBV and HCV reporting incidences in China from 2004 to 2014 were 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-1.00, P = .082) and 1.16 (95% CI 1.12-1.20, P < .001), respectively. Thirteen provinces experienced decline in HBV reporting incidence. Most provinces exhibited an increasing trend in HCV reporting incidence. People aged ≤24 displayed a significant descending trend in HBV reporting incidence; people aged ≥55 exhibited a significant increasing trend. For HCV infection, the reporting incidence increased in all age groups except the 10-14 age group. In China, the majority of provinces have experienced decline or remained stable in HBV infection but show significant increases in HCV infection. Children and adolescents are well protected from HBV infection, while relatively higher increasing rates are found among older people. HCV is much more prevalent among older people, although its emergence has shifted to younger age groups.

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Superconductivity in FeSe is greatly enhanced in films grown on SrTiO3 substrates, although the mechanism behind remains unclear. Recently, surface potassium (K) doping has also proven able to enhance the superconductivity of FeSe. Here, by using scanning tunneling microscopy, we compare the K doping dependence of the superconductivity in FeSe films grown on two substrates: SrTiO3 (001) and graphitized SiC (0001). For thick films (20 unit cells (UC)), the optimized superconducting (SC) gaps are of similar size (∼9 meV) regardless of the substrate. However, when the thickness is reduced to a few UC, the optimized SC gap is increased up to ∼15 meV for films on SrTiO3, whereas it remains unchanged for films on SiC. This clearly indicates that the FeSe/SrTiO3 interface can further enhance the superconductivity, beyond merely doping electrons. Intriguingly, we found that this interface enhancement decays exponentially as the thickness increases, with a decay length of 2.4 UC, which is much shorter than the length scale for relaxation of the lattice strain, pointing to interfacial electron-phonon coupling as the likely origin.