CeAu_(2)In_(4):A candidate of quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice

Needle-like single crystals of CeAu_(2)In_(4)have been grown from In flux and characterized as a new candidate of quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice compound by crystallographic,magnetic,transport,and specific-heat measurements down to very low temperatures.We observe an antiferromagnetic transition at T_(N)≈0.9 K,a highly non-mean-field profile of the corresponding peak in specific heat,and a large Sommerfeld coefficientγ=369 mJ·mol^(-1)·K^(-2).The Kondo temperature T_(K)is estimated to be 1.1 K,being low and comparable to TN.While Fermi liquid behavior is observed deep into the magnetically ordered phase,the Kadowaki-Woods ratio is much reduced relative to the expected value for Ce compounds with Kramers doublet ground state.Markedly,this feature shares striking similarities to that of the prototypical quasi-one-dimensional compounds YbNi_(4)P_(2) and CeRh_(6)Ge_(4) with tunable ferromagnetic quantum critical point.Given the shortest Ce-Ce distance along the needle direction,CeAu_(2)In_(4)appears to be an interesting model system for exploring antiferromagnetic quantum critical behaviors in a quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice with enhanced quantum fluctuations.

CrAlGe:An itinerant ferromagnet with strong tunability by heat treatment

We present a comprehensive investigation on CrAlGe and realize that it is an itinerant ferromagnet with strong tunability of the Curie temperature T_(C)and the spontaneous momentμ_(0)depending on annealing heat treatment.While the value of T_(C) was previously reported to be 80 K withμ_(0)≈0.41μB,in this work the two quantities attain values as high as 170 K and 0.66μ_(B),respectively.Heat treatment does not cause changes of the lattice parameters and symmetry,but results in a slight narrowing of the Bragg peaks.The strong tunability of the itinerant ferromagnetism indicates significantly tunable hybridization between the Cr 3d electrons and the conduction bands,in agreement with the dominant Cr–Al/Ge bonds of this compound.Further tuning along the same line towards even stronger or weaker itinerant ferromagnetism promises an interesting follow-up to clarify the localized-itinerant duality of the 3d electrons in this compound.

Quantum phase transitions in CePdAl probed by ultrasonic and thermoelectric measurements

CePdAl has been recently recognized as a frustrated antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion compound with a pressureor field-tuned,extended quantum critical phase at zero temperature.Identifying characteristic signatures of the emerging quantum critical phase,which are expected to be distinct from those near a quantum critical point,remains challenging.In this work,by performing ultrasonic and thermoelectric measurements down to very low temperatures in a^(3)He–^(4)He dilution refrigerator in the presence of magnetic field,we are able to obtain some crucial thermodynamic and thermal transport features of the quantum critical phase,including a frustration-related elastic softening detected by ultrasound and a Fermi-surface change probed by thermoelectric effect.

Unusual thermodynamics of low-energy phonons in the Dirac semimetal Cd_(3)As_(2)

By studying the thermal conductivity,specific heat,elastic modulus,and thermal expansion as a function of temperature for Cd_(3)As_(2),we have unveiled a couple of important thermodynamic features of the low-energy phonons strongly interacting with Dirac electrons.The existence of soft optical phonons,as inferred from the extremely low thermal conductivity,is unambiguously confirmed by low-temperature specific heat revealing significant deviation from Debye's description.The estimated Debye temperature is small in the range of 100-200 K and varies significantly depending upon the measurement used in its experimental determination.The thermodynamic Gr¨uneisen ratioγreveals a remarkable reduction below about 100 K,an energy scale that is highly relevant to the Dirac states,towards negative values below about 10 K that are indicative of lattice instability.

Pressure effect in the Kondo semimetal CeRu4Sn6 with nontrivial topology

Kondo semimetal CeRu4Sn6 is attracting renewed attention due to the theoretically predicted nontrivial topology in its electronic band structure. We report hydrostatic and chemical pressure effects on the transport properties of single- and poly-crystalline samples. The electrical resistivity p （T） is gradually enhanced by applying pressure over a wide temperature range from room temperature down to 25 mK. Two thermal activation gaps estimated from high- and low-temperature windows are found to increase with pressure. A flat p（T） observed at the lowest temperatures below 300 mK appears to be robust against both pressure and field. This feature as well as the increase of the energy gaps calls for more intensive investigations with respect to electron correlations and band topology.

Re-entry rocket basic flow characteristics and thermal environment of different retro-propulsion modes

During the supersonic re-entry of multi-nozzle heavy rockets into the atmosphere,the basic flow state becomes increasingly complex due to the coupling effect between the retropropulsion plumes and the freestream.A numerical method using the hybrid Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes and Large Eddy Simulation(RES)method and discrete coordinate method is developed to accurately estimate the thermal environment.In addition,finite rate chemical kinetics is used to calculate the afterburning reactions.The numerical results agree well with wind tunnel data,which confirms the validity and accuracy of the numerical method.Computations are conducted for the heavy carrier rocket re-entry from 53.1 km to 39.5 km altitude with 180°angle of attack by using three different Supersonic Retro-Propulsion(SRP)modes.The numerical results reveal that these three SRP flow fields are all Short Penetration Models(SPM).As the re-entry altitudes decrease,both the plume-plume interaction and the plume-freestream interaction become weaker.The highest temperatures in the plume shear layers of the three SRP modes increase by 8.36%,7.33%and 6.92%respectively after considering afterburning reactions,and all occur at a reentry altitude of 39.5 km.As the rocket re-enters the atmosphere,the maximum heat flux on the rocket base plate of three SRP modes stabilizes at 290,170 and 200 kW/m^(2) respectively,but the maximum heat flux on the side wall increases significantly.When the altitude declines to 39.5 km,the extreme heat flux of the three modes increase by 84.16%,49.45%and 62.97%respectively compared to that at 53.1 km.

Performance analysis of cogeneration systems based on micro gas turbine(MGT),organic Rankine cycle and ejector refrigeration cycle

In this paper,the operation perfonnance of three novel kinds of cogeneration systems under design and off-design condition was investigated.The systems are MGT(micro gas turbine)+ORC(organic Rankine cycle)for electricity demand,MGT+ERC(ejector refrigeration cycle)for electricity and cooling demand,and MGT+ORC+ERC for electricity and cooling demand.The effect of 5 different working fluids on cogeneration systems was studied.The results show that under the design condition,when using R600 in the bottoming cycle,the MGT+ORC system has the lowest total output of 117.1 kW with a thermal efficiency of 0.334,and the MGT+ERC system has the largest total output of 142.6 kW with a thermal efficiency of 0.408.For the MGT+ORC+ERC system,the total output is between the other two systems,which is 129.3 kW with a thermal efficiency of 0.370.For the effect of different working fluids,R123 is the most suitable working fluid for MGT+ORC with the maximum electricity output power and R600 is the most suitable working fluid for MGT+ERC with the maximum cooling capacity,while both R600 and R123 can make MGT+ORC+ERC achieve a good comprehensive performance of refrigeration and electricity.The thermal efficiency of three cogeneration systems can be effectively improved under oredesign condition because the bottoming cycle can compensate for the power decrease of MGT.The results obtained in this paper can provide a reference for the design and operation of the cogeneration system for distributed energy systems(DES).

Generic Seebeck effect from spin entropy

How magnetism affects the Seebeck effect is an important issue of wide concern in the thermoelectric community but remains elusive.Based on a thermodynamic analysis of spin degrees of freedom on varied d-electron-based ferromagnets and antiferromagnets,we demonstrate that in itinerant or partially itinerant magnetic compounds there exists a generic spin contribution to the Seebeck effect over an extended temperature range from slightly below to well above the magnetic transition temperature.This contribution is interpreted as resulting from transport spin entropy of(partially)delocalized conducting d electrons with strong thermal spin fluctuations,even semiquantitatively in a single-band case,in addition to the conventional diffusion part arising from their kinetic degrees of freedom.As a highly generic effect,the spin-dependent Seebeck effect might pave a feasible way toward efficient“magnetic thermoelectrics.”

Large transverse thermoelectric figure of merit in a topological Dirac semimetal

The Seebeck effect encounters a few fundamental constraints hindering its thermoelectric(TE)conversion efficiency.Most notably,there are the charge compensation of electrons and holes that diminishes this effect,and the Wiedemann-Franz(WF)law that makes independent optimization of the corresponding electrical and thermal conductivities impossible.Here,we demonstrate that in the topological Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 the Nernst effect,i.e.,the transverse counterpart of the Seebeck effect,can generate a large TE figure of merit zNT.At room temperature,zNT≈0.5 in a small field of 2 T and it significantly surmounts its longitudinal counterpart for any field.A large Nernst effect is generically expected in topological semimetals,benefiting from both the bipolar transport of compensated electrons and holes and their high mobilities.In this case,heat and charge transport are orthogonal,i.e.,not intertwined by the WF law anymore.More importantly,further optimization of zNT by tuning the Fermi level to the Dirac node can be anticipated due to not only the enhanced bipolar transport,but also the anomalous Nernst effect arising from a pronounced Berry curvature.A combination of the topologically trivial and nontrivial advantages promises to open a new avenue towards high-efficient transverse thermoelectricity.

Quantum phase transition and destruction of Kondo effect in pressurized SmB6

SmB_6 has been a well-known Kondo insulator for decades, but recently attracts extensive new attention as a candidate topological system. Studying SmB_6 under pressure provides an opportunity to acquire the much-needed understanding about the effect of electron correlations on both the metallic surface state and bulk insulating state. Here we do so by studying the evolution of two transport gaps(low temperature gap E_l and high temperature gap E_h) associated with the Kondo effect by measuring the electrical resistivity under high pressure and low temperature(0.3 K) conditions. We associate the gaps with the bulk Kondo hybridization, and from their evolution with pressure we demonstrate an insulator-tometal transition at ~4 GPa. At the transition pressure, a large change in the Hall number and a divergence tendency of the electron-electron scattering coefficient provide evidence for a destruction of the Kondo entanglement in the ground state. Our results raise the new prospect for studying topological electronic states in quantum critical materials settings.