The pulsed high magnetic field facility and scientific research at Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center

Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center(WHMFC)at Huazhong University of Science and Technology is one of the top-class research centers in the world,which can offer pulsed fields up to 90.6 T with different field waveforms for scientific research and has passed the final evaluation of the Chinese government in 2014.This paper will give a brief introduction of the facility and the development status of pulsed magnetic fields research at WHMFC.In addition,it will describe the application development of pulsed magnetic fields in both scientific and industrial research.

Superconductivity and Fermi Surface Anisotropy in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide NbTe_2

Transition metal dichalcogenides, featuring layered structures, have aroused enormous interest as a platform for novel physical phenomena and a wide range of potential applications. Among them, special interest has been placed upon WTe_2 and MoTe_2, which exhibit non-trivial topology both in single layer and bulk as well as pressure induced or enhanced superconductivity. We study another distorted IT material NbTe_2 through systematic electrical transport measurements. Intrinsic superconductivity with onset transition temperature(T_c^(onset)) up to 0.72 K is detected where the upper critical field(H_c) shows unconventional quasi-linear behavior,indicating spin-orbit coupling induced p-wave paring. Furthermore, a general model is proposed to fit the angledependent magnetoresistance, which reveals the Fermi surface anisotropy of NbTe_2. Finally, non-saturating linear magnetoresistance up to 50 T is observed and attributed to the quantum limit transport.

Abrasive-assisted Nickel Electroforming Process with Moving Cathode

In traditional electroforming process for revolving parts with complex profiles, the drawbacks on surface of deposits, such as pinholes and nodules, will lead to varying physical and mechanical properties on different parts of electroformed components. To solve the problem, compositely moving cathode is employed in abrasive-assisted electroforming of revolving parts with complicated profiles. The cathode translates and rotates simultaneously to achieve uniform friction effect on deposits without drawbacks. The influences of current density and transla- tion speed on the microstructure and properties of the electroformed nickel layers are investigated. It is found that abrasive-assisted electroforming with compound cathode motion can effectively remove the pinholes and nodules, positively affect the crystal nucleation, and refine the grains of layer. The increase of current density will lead to coarse microstructure and lower micro hardness, from 325 HV down to 189 HV. While, faster translational linear speed produces better surface quality and higher micro hardness, from 236 HV up to 283 HV. The weld-ability of the electroformed layers are also studied through the metallurgical analysis of welded joints between nickel layer and 304 stainless steel. The electrodeposited nickel layer shows fine performance in welding. The novel compound motion of cathode promotes the mechanical properties and refines the microstructure of deposited layer.

Experimental observation of multiple topological nodal structure in LaSb_(2)

Unconventional fermions in the immensely studied topological semimetals are the source for rich exotic topological properties.Here,using symmetry analysis and first-principles calculations,we propose the coexistence of multiple topological nodal structure in LaSb_(2),including topological nodal surfaces,nodal lines and in particular eightfold degenerate nodal points,which have been scarcely observed in a single material.Further,utilizing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy,we confirm the existence of nodal surfaces and eightfold degenerate nodal points in LaSb_(2).The intriguing multiple topological nodal structure might play a crucial role in giving rise to the large linear magnetoresistance.Our work renews the insights into the exotic topological phenomena in LaSb_(2).

Pressure-tuning domain-wall chirality in noncentrosymmetric magnetic Weyl semimetal CeAlGe

Topological magnetic Weyl semimetals have been proposed to host controllable chiral domain walls which bear a great prospect in device applications. To exploit them in applications, it is important to have a proper way to tune and manipulate these domain walls. One possible means is through magnetoelastic coupling. The involvement of rare earth in the lately proposed RAl X(R =rare earth, X = Si and Ge) family magnetic Weyl semimetals may provide such a platform. Here we present the transport and thermodynamic properties of Ce Al Ge under hydrostatic pressure. We find that pressure enhances the antiferromagnetic exchange in Ce Al Ge but essentially retains its magnetic structure. A large topological Hall effect with a pronounced loop shape is observed within the magnetically ordered state, and it splits into two regions under pressure. Such an unusual electromagnetic response is inferred to be a consequence of chiral magnetic domain walls. The unprecedented concomitance of its evolution under pressure and the reentrance of antiferromagnetic order strongly suggest the capability of switching on/off this electromagnetic response in noncentrosymmetric magnetic Weyl semimetals via magnetoelastic coupling.

Magnetic-field-induced metal-insulator quantum phase transition in CaFeAsF near the quantum limit

The quantum limit, where only the lowest Landau level is occupied by electrons, can be achieved under a high magnetic field when the Landau level splitting is comparable with the Fermi energy. The rather small Fermi pockets and Fermi energy in CaFeAsF reported recently make this compound a good candidate for investigating the electrical transport near the quantum limit.Here, we report high-field experiments up to 65 T on a single-crystalline CaFeAsF, which shows a metal-insulator quantum phase transition tuned by the out-of-plane magnetic field. The obtained critical exponent zν through the finite-size scaling analysis is very close to 4/3. This transition is closely associated with the evolution of electronic states approaching the quantum limit.The resistivity behaviors as a function of field and temperature were evaluated based on Adams-Holstein theory(A-H theory).Moreover, the in-plane component of the field, which does not affect the transport behavior in the classical region, suppressed the magnetoresistance near the quantum limit.

Electrochemical machining of a convex strips structure on a revolving part by using site directed power interruption

Revolving parts with complex surface structures are widely used in machinery and mechanical equipment. The ECM process provides its adequacy to cut hard materials with different shapes, and its applications are widely increased, due to its outstanding advantages. In this paper, a new method for machining a convex strips structure on a cylinder by using site directed power interruption（SDPI） in the ECM process is presented. A variable correction value of the power-off time was defined and optimized to obtain the ideal interval for better machining accuracy and stability.The electric field distribution and the simulated convex profiles show that the stray current density can be reduced effectively by using the proposed method. The correction value has an important influence on the machining accuracy. A suitable correction value in the range of 0.6–1.2 s can effectively improve the machining accuracy of the convex strips structure. Experiments were also conducted to verify the proposed method. Results have confirmed that the stray corrosion on the convex strips surface is significantly reduced and the machining accuracy of convex strips structure is remarkably improved by using the proposed method with a suitable correction value in the ECM process. Finally, a convex strip with a height of 2 mm on a thin-wall revolving part was also produced successfully using a correction value of 0.9.

Strong Pauli paramagnetic effect in the upper critical field of KCa2Fe4As4F2

Recently, 12442 system of Fe-based superconductors has attracted considerable attention owing to its unique double-Fe As-layer structure. A steep increase in the in-plane upper critical field with cooling has been observed near the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, in KCa2Fe4As4F2 single crystals. Herein, we report a high-field investigation on upper critical field of this material over a wide temperature range, and both out-of-plane(H∥c, Hc2c) and in-plane(H∥ab, Hc2ab ) directions have been measured.A sublinear temperature-dependent behavior is observed for the out-of-plane Hc2c , whereas strong convex curvature with cooling is observed for the in-plane Hc2ab . Such behaviors could not be described by the conventional Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg(WHH) model. The data analysis based on the WHH model by considering the spin aspects reveals a large Maki parameter α=9,indicating that the in-plane upper critical field is affected by a very strong Pauli paramagnetic effect.

La_(2)Rh_(3+δ)Sb_(4):a new ternary superconducting rhodium-antimonide

Rhodium-containing compounds offer a fertile playground to explore novel materials with superconductivity(SC)and other fantastic electronic correlation effects.A new ternary rhodium-antimonide La_(2)Rh_(3)+δSb_(4)(δ≈1/8)has been synthesized by a Bi-flux method.It crystallizes in the orthorhombic La_(2)Rh_(3+δ)Sb_(4)-like structure,with the space group Pnma(No.62).The crystalline structure appears as stacking the two-dimensional RhSb_(4)-and RhSb_(5)-polyhedra networks along b axis,and the La atoms embed in the cavities of these networks.Band structure calculations confirm it as a multi-band metal with a van-Hove singularity like feature at the Fermi level,whose density of states are mainly of Rh-4d and Sb-5p characters.The calculations also imply that the redundant Rh acts as charge dopant.SC is observed in this material with onset transition at Ton c≈0.8 K.Ultra-low temperature magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements suggest that it is an s-wave type-II superconductor.Our work may also imply that the broad Ln_(2)Tm_(3+δ)Sb_(4)(Ln=rare earth,Tm=Rh,Ir)family may host new material bases where new superconductors,quantum magnetism and other electronic correlation effects could be found.