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MXene is a new family of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides, exfoliated from layered MAX phases, where M, A, and X represent early d transition metals, main-group sp elements, and C or/and N, respectively. MXene is generally prepared by selectively removing A layers from the corresponding MAX phases with etchant solutions. The distinctive properties and promising applications of MXene sheets make them strong candidates for alternatives of graphene, which [Detail] ...
New two-dimensional systems such as the surfaces of topological insulators (TIs) and graphene offer the possibility of experimentally investigating situations considered exotic just a decade ago. These situations include the quantum phase transition of the chiral type in electronic systems with a relativistic spectrum. Phonon-mediated (conventional) pairing in the Dirac semimetal appearing on the surface of a TI causes a transition into a chiral superconducting state, and exciton condensation in these gapless systems has long been envisioned in the physics of narrow-band semiconductors. Starting from the microscopic Dirac Hamiltonian with local attraction or repulsion, the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer type of Gaussian approximation is developed in the framework of functional integrals. It is shown that owing to an ultrarelativistic dispersion relation, there is a quantum critical point governing the zero-temperature transition to a superconducting state or the exciton condensed state. Quantum transitions having critical exponents differ greatly from conventional ones and belong to the chiral universality class. We discuss the application of these results to recent experiments in which surface superconductivity was found in TIs and estimate the feasibility of phonon pairing.
Owing to the exceptional properties of graphene, intensive studies have been carried out on novel two-dimensional (2D) materials. In the past several years, an elegant exfoliation approach has been used to successfully create a new family of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides, termed MXene, from layered MAX phases. More recently, some unique properties of MXene have been discovered leading to proposals of potential applications. In this review, we summarize the latest progress in development of MXene from both a theoretical and experimental view, with emphasis on the possible applications.
The growth of SrMnO3 films on SrTiO3(111) substrates by pulsed laser deposition was studied and found to produce cubic and hexagonal (4H) structures in the SrMnO3 films. By adjusting the substrate temperature and oxygen pressure, the stability of the two phases was fine-tuned, resulting in the growth of cubic-SrMnO3(111) or 4H-SrMnO3(0001) film, with the 4H phase being the more stable at room temperature and ambient pressure in the bulk form. The growth temperature of the cubic phase was also further lowered relative to the bulk thermodynamics by strain at the heterointerface, and once obtained, it was stable at temperatures of up to 800 °C.
We study optomechanically induced amplification and perfect transparency in a double-cavity optomechanical system. We find that if two control lasers with appropriate amplitudes and detunings are applied to drive the system, optomechanically induced amplification of a probe laser can occur. In addition, perfect optomechanically induced transparency, which is robust to mechanical dissipation, can be realized by the same type of driving. These results indicate important progress toward signal amplification, light storage, fast light, and slow light in quantum information processes.
Two recently observed 293Lv (Z = 116) α-decay chains [Eur. Phys. J. A 48, 62 (2012)] are investigated in the framework of covariant density functional theory with PC-PK1, where the pairing correlations are treated by the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer method with a density-independent zerorange force. From the calculated potential energy curves, it is found that two minima always occur, with one having an almost spherical shape and the other exhibiting a large deformed prolate shape. Originating from the ground state and the shape-isomeric state of 293Lv, the two observed α-decay chains are constructed and the calculated Qαvalues are found to be in good agreement with the data.
In this work, we study the collective dynamics of phase oscillators in a mobile ad hoc network whose topology changes dynamically. As the network size or the communication radius of individual oscillators increases, the topology of the ad hoc network first undergoes percolation, forming a giant cluster, and then gradually achieves global connectivity. It is shown that oscillator mobility generally enhances the coherence in such networks. Interestingly, we find a new type of phase synchronization/clustering, in which the phases of the oscillators are distributed in a certain narrow range, while the instantaneous frequencies change signs frequently, leading to shuttle-run-like motion of the oscillators in phase space. We conduct a theoretical analysis to explain the mechanism of this synchronization and obtain the critical transition point.
We design an optical feedback loop system consisting of a liquid-crystal spatial light modulator (SLM), a lens, polarizers, a CCD camera, and a computer. The system images every SLM pixel onto one camera pixel. The light intensity on the camera pixel shows a nonlinear relationship with the phase shift applied by the SLM. Every pixel behaves as a nonlinear map, and we can control the interaction of pixels. Therefore, this feedback loop system can be regarded as a spatially extended system. This experimental coupled map has variable dimensions, which can be up to 512 by 512. The system can be used to study high-dimensional problems that computer simulations cannot handle.
The parameter diversity effect in coupled nonidentical elements has attracted persistent interest in nonlinear dynamics. Of fundamental importance is the so-called optimal configuration problem for how the spatial position of elements with different parameters precisely determines the dynamics of the whole system. In this work, we study the optimal configuration problem for the vibration spectra in the classical mass–spring model with a ring configuration, paying particular attention to how the configuration of different masses affects the second smallest vibration frequency (ω2) and the largest one (ωN). For the extreme values of ω2 and ωN, namely, (ω2)min, (ω2)max, (ωN)min, and (ωN)max, we find some explicit organization rules for the optimal configurations and some approximation rules when the explicit organization rules are not available. The different distributions of ω2 and ωNare compared. These findings are interesting and valuable for uncovering the underlying mechanism of the parameter diversity effect in more general cases.
Most studies on the magnetic Aharonov–Bohm (A–B) effect focus on the action exerted by the magnetic flux on the electron beam, but neglect the back-action exerted by the electron beam on the magnetic flux. This paper focuses on the latter, which is the electromotive force ΔU across the solenoid induced by the time-dependent magnetic field of the electron beam. Based on the backaction analysis, we observe that the magnetic A–B effect arises owing to the interaction energy between the magnetic field of the electron beam and the magnetic field of the solenoid. We also demonstrate that the interpretation attributing the magnetic A–B effect to the vector potential violates the uncertainty principle.
