Large gap, a pseudogap and proximity effect in the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor

We report directional point-contact spectroscopy data on the novel Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor for a Bi2Te3 thickness of 9 quintuple layers, bonded by van der Waals epitaxy to a Fe1+yTe film at an atomically sharp interface. Our data show a very large superconducting twin-gap structure with an energy scale exceeding that of bulk FeSe or FeSe1-xTex by a factor of 4. While the larger gap is isotropic and attributed to a thin FeTe layer in proximity of the interface, the smaller gap has a pronounced anisotropy and is associated with proximity-induced superconductivity in the topological insulator Bi2Te3. Zero resistance is lost above 8 K, but superconducting fluctuations are visible up to at least 12 K and the large gap is replaced by a pseudogap that persists up to 40 K. The spectra show a pronounced zero-bias conductance peak in the superconducting state, which may be a signature of an unconventional pairing mechanism.

Nanoscale structure and mechanism for enhanced electromechanical response of highly-strained BiFeO3 thin films

The nanostructural evolution of the strain-induced structural phase transition in BiFeO3 is examined. Using high-resolution X-ray diffraction and scanning-probe microscopy-based studies we have uniquely identified and examined the numerous phases present at these phase boundaries and have discovered an intermediate monoclinic phase in addition to the previously observed rhombohedral- and tetragonal-like phases. Further analysis has determined that the so-called mixed-phase regions of these films are not mixtures of rhombohedral- and tetragonal-like phases, but intimate mixtures of highly-distorted monoclinic phases with no evidence for the presence of the rhombohedral-like parent phase. Finally, we propose a mechanism for the enhanced electromechanical response in these films including how these phases interact at the nanoscale to produce large surface strains.

Comparison of D --> K_s^0 pi and D --> K_L^0 pi Decay Rates

We present measurements of D -> K0_S pi and D -> K0_L pi branching fractions using 281 pb-1 of psi(3770) data at the CLEO-c experiment. We find that B(D0 -> K0_S pi0) is larger than B(D0 -> K0_L pi0), with an asymmetry of R(D0) = 0.108 +- 0.025 +- 0.024. For B(D+ -> K0_S pi+) and B(D+ -> K0_L pi+), we observe no measurable difference; the asymmetry is R(D+) = 0.022 +- 0.016 +- 0.018. The D0 asymmetry is consistent with the value based on the U-spin prediction A(D0 -> K0 pi0)/A(D0 -> K0bar pi0) = -tan^2(theta_C), where theta_C is the Cabibbo angle.