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A precise measurement of the proton flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1 GV to 1.8 TV is presented based on 300 million events. Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the proton flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. We present the detailed variation with rigidity of the flux spectral index for the first time. The spectral index progressively hardens at high rigidities.

We present the ultralow-temperature specific-heat and thermal-conductivity measurements on single crystals of the triangular rare-earth lattice material $\mathrm{KBaYb}{\left({\mathrm{BO}}_3\right)}_2$. Our experiments show the absence of long-range magnetic order down to 50 mK, giving the possibility of a quantum spin liquid ground state in this frustrated compound. Furthermore, no signature of spin freezing is observed down to 50 mK in the ac susceptibility measurements. However, no notable contributions from gapless magnetic excitations, but only a Schottky anomaly is observed in the specific-heat data. The ultralow-temperature thermal-conductivity data show that the residual linear term at zero field is negligible, and the thermal conductivity is insensitive to the magnetic field up to 9 T. The ground state of this frustrated triangular rare-earth lattice material is discussed.

We present ultralow-temperature thermal conductivity measurements on single crystals of the prototypical charge-density-wave material $1T\text{−}{\mathrm{TaS}}_2$, which was recently argued to be a candidate for a quantum spin liquid. Our experiments show that the residual linear term of thermal conductivity at zero field is essentially zero, within experimental accuracy. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity is found to be insensitive to the magnetic field up to 9 T. These results clearly demonstrate the absence of itinerant magnetic excitations with fermionic statistics in bulk $1T\text{−}{\mathrm{TaS}}_2$, and thus put a strong constraint on the theories of the ground state of this material.

We report on the observation of new properties of secondary cosmic rays Li, Be, and B measured in the rigidity (momentum per unit charge) range 1.9 GV to 3.3 TV with a total of $5.4\times {10}^6$ nuclei collected by AMS during the first five years of operation aboard the International Space Station. The Li and B fluxes have an identical rigidity dependence above 7 GV and all three fluxes have an identical rigidity dependence above 30 GV with the $\mathrm{Li}/\mathrm{Be}$ flux ratio of $2.0\pm 0.1$. The three fluxes deviate from a single power law above 200 GV in an identical way. This behavior of secondary cosmic rays has also been observed in the AMS measurement of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O but the rigidity dependences of primary cosmic rays and of secondary cosmic rays are distinctly different. In particular, above 200 GV, the secondary cosmic rays harden more than the primary cosmic rays.

Recently, a novel material with a bilayer kagome lattice ${\mathrm{Ca}}_{10}{\mathrm{Cr}}_7{\mathrm{O}}_{28}$ was proposed to be a gapless quantum spin liquid, due to the lack of long-range magnetic order and the observation of broad diffuse excitations. Here, we present the ultralow-temperature thermal conductivity measurements on single crystals of ${\mathrm{Ca}}_{10}{\mathrm{Cr}}_7{\mathrm{O}}_{28}$ to detect its low-lying magnetic excitations. At finite temperatures, with increasing magnetic fields, the thermal conductivity exhibits a clear dip around 6 T, which may correspond to a crossover in the magnetic ground state. At the zero-temperature limit, no residual linear term is found at any fields, indicating the absence of gapless itinerant fermionic excitations. Therefore, if the spinons do exist, they are either localized or gapped. In the gapped case, the fitting of our data gives a small gap, $\mathrm{\Delta }\sim 0.27\left(2\right)$ K. These results put strong constraints on the theoretical description of the ground state in this quantum spin liquid candidate.

We present the ultralow-temperature specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements on single crystals of ${\mathrm{YbMgGaO}}_4$, which was recently argued to be a promising candidate for a quantum spin liquid (QSL). In a zero magnetic field, a large magnetic contribution of specific heat is observed, and exhibits a power-law temperature dependence ($C_m\sim T^{0.74}$). On the contrary, we do not observe any significant contribution of thermal conductivity from magnetic excitations. In magnetic fields $H\ge 6\mathrm{T}$, the exponential $T$ dependence of $C_m$ and the enhanced thermal conductivity indicate a magnon gap of the fully polarized state. The absence of magnetic thermal conductivity at the zero field in this QSL candidate puts a strong constraint on the theories of its ground state.

Precision measurements by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station of the primary cosmic-ray electron flux in the range 0.5 to 700 GeV and the positron flux in the range 0.5 to 500 GeV are presented. The electron flux and the positron flux each require a description beyond a single power-law spectrum. Both the electron flux and the positron flux change their behavior at $\sim 30\mathrm{GeV}$ but the fluxes are significantly different in their magnitude and energy dependence. Between 20 and 200 GeV the positron spectral index is significantly harder than the electron spectral index. The determination of the differing behavior of the spectral indices versus energy is a new observation and provides important information on the origins of cosmic-ray electrons and positrons.

A precision measurement by AMS of the antiproton flux and the antiproton-to-proton flux ratio in primary cosmic rays in the absolute rigidity range from 1 to 450 GV is presented based on $3.49\times 10^5$ antiproton events and $2.42\times 10^9$ proton events. The fluxes and flux ratios of charged elementary particles in cosmic rays are also presented. In the absolute rigidity range $\sim 60$ to $\sim 500\mathrm{GV}$, the antiproton $\overline{p}$, proton $p$, and positron $e^{+}$ fluxes are found to have nearly identical rigidity dependence and the electron $e^{-}$ flux exhibits a different rigidity dependence. Below 60 GV, the ($\overline{p}/p$), ($\overline{p}/e^{+}$), and ($p/e^{+}$) flux ratios each reaches a maximum. From $\sim 60$ to $\sim 500\mathrm{GV}$, the ($\overline{p}/p$), ($\overline{p}/e^{+}$), and ($p/e^{+}$) flux ratios show no rigidity dependence. These are new observations of the properties of elementary particles in the cosmos.

Precision measurements by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the International Space Station of ${}^3\mathrm{He}$ and ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ fluxes are presented. The measurements are based on 100 million ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ nuclei in the rigidity range from 2.1 to 21 GV and 18 million ${}^3\mathrm{He}$ from 1.9 to 15 GV collected from May 2011 to November 2017. We observed that the ${}^3\mathrm{He}$ and ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ fluxes exhibit nearly identical variations with time. The relative magnitude of the variations decreases with increasing rigidity. The rigidity dependence of the ${}^3\mathrm{He}/{}^4\mathrm{He}$ flux ratio is measured for the first time. Below 4 GV, the ${}^3\mathrm{He}/{}^4\mathrm{He}$ flux ratio was found to have a significant long-term time dependence. Above 4 GV, the ${}^3\mathrm{He}/{}^4\mathrm{He}$ flux ratio was found to be time independent, and its rigidity dependence is well described by a single power law $\propto R^{\mathrm{\Delta }}$ with $\mathrm{\Delta }=-0.294\pm 0.004$. Unexpectedly, this value is in agreement with the B/O and B/C spectral indices at high energies.

Knowledge of the precise rigidity dependence of the helium flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. A precise measurement of the helium flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1.9 GV to 3 TV based on 50 million events is presented and compared to the proton flux. The detailed variation with rigidity of the helium flux spectral index is presented for the first time. The spectral index progressively hardens at rigidities larger than 100 GV. The rigidity dependence of the helium flux spectral index is similar to that of the proton spectral index though the magnitudes are different. Remarkably, the spectral index of the proton to helium flux ratio increases with rigidity up to 45 GV and then becomes constant; the flux ratio above 45 GV is well described by a single power law.

A precision measurement of the nitrogen flux with rigidity (momentum per unit charge) from 2.2 GV to 3.3 TV based on $2.2\times {10}^6$ events is presented. The detailed rigidity dependence of the nitrogen flux spectral index is presented for the first time. The spectral index rapidly hardens at high rigidities and becomes identical to the spectral indices of primary He, C, and O cosmic rays above $\sim 700\mathrm{GV}$. We observed that the nitrogen flux ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}$ can be presented as the sum of its primary component ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}^P$ and secondary component ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}^S$, ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}={\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}^P+{\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}^S$, and we found ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}$ is well described by the weighted sum of the oxygen flux ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{O}}$ (primary cosmic rays) and the boron flux ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{B}}$ (secondary cosmic rays), with ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}^P=(0.090\pm 0.002)\times {\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{O}}$ and ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{N}}^S=(0.62\pm 0.02)\times {\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{B}}$ over the entire rigidity range. This corresponds to a change of the contribution of the secondary cosmic ray component in the nitrogen flux from 70% at a few GV to $<30\%$ above 1 TV.

A precision measurement by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station of the positron fraction in primary cosmic rays in the energy range from 0.5 to 350 GeV based on $6.8\times {10}^6$ positron and electron events is presented. The very accurate data show that the positron fraction is steadily increasing from 10 to $\sim 250\mathrm{GeV}$, but, from 20 to 250 GeV, the slope decreases by an order of magnitude. The positron fraction spectrum shows no fine structure, and the positron to electron ratio shows no observable anisotropy. Together, these features show the existence of new physical phenomena.

We have developed a field-effect transistor (FET) device using a solid ion conductor (SIC) as the gate dielectric, which can tune the carrier density of FeSe by driving lithium ions in and out of the FeSe thin flakes and consequently control the physical properties and phase transitions. A dome-shaped superconducting phase diagram was mapped out with increasing Li content, with $T_c\sim 46.6$ K for optimal doping, and an insulating phase was reached at the extremely overdoped regime. Our study suggests that, by using a solid ion conductor as the gate dielectric, the SIC-FET device is able to induce much higher carrier doping in the bulk, suit many surface-sensitive experimental probes, and stabilize structural phases that are inaccessible in ordinary conditions.

We present high-statistics, precision measurements of the detailed time and energy dependence of the primary cosmic-ray electron flux and positron flux over 79 Bartels rotations from May 2011 to May 2017 in the energy range from 1 to 50 GeV. For the first time, the charge-sign dependent modulation during solar maximum has been investigated in detail by leptons alone. Based on $23.5\times {10}^6$ events, we report the observation of short-term structures on the timescale of months coincident in both the electron flux and the positron flux. These structures are not visible in the $e^{+}/e^{-}$ flux ratio. The precision measurements across the solar polarity reversal show that the ratio exhibits a smooth transition over $830\pm 30$ days from one value to another. The midpoint of the transition shows an energy dependent delay relative to the reversal and changes by $260\pm 30$ days from 1 to 6 GeV.

A precision measurement by AMS of the positron fraction in primary cosmic rays in the energy range from 0.5 to 500 GeV based on 10.9 million positron and electron events is presented. This measurement extends the energy range of our previous observation and increases its precision. The new results show, for the first time, that above $\sim 200\mathrm{GeV}$ the positron fraction no longer exhibits an increase with energy.

We report the observation of new properties of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O measured in the rigidity (momentum/charge) range 2 GV to 3 TV with $90\times {10}^6$ helium, $8.4\times {10}^6$ carbon, and $7.0\times {10}^6$ oxygen nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during the first five years of operation. Above 60 GV, these three spectra have identical rigidity dependence. They all deviate from a single power law above 200 GV and harden in an identical way.

We report low-temperature heat transport measurements on superconducting iron sulfide FeS with $T_c\approx 5$ K, which has the same crystal structure and similar electronic band structure to the superconducting iron selenide FeSe. In zero magnetic field, a significant residual linear term ${\kappa }_0/T$ is observed. At low field, ${\kappa }_0/T$ increases rapidly with increasing field. These results suggest a nodal superconducting gap in FeS. We compare it with the sister compound FeSe and other iron-based superconductors with nodal gaps.

Extensive first-principle molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the phase behavior of metastable liquid Si at negative pressure. Our results show that the high-density liquid (HDL) and HDL-vapor spinodals indeed form a continuous reentrant curve and the liquid-liquid critical point seems to just coincide with its minimum. The line of density maxima also has a strong tendency to pass through this minimum. The phase behaviour of metastable liquid Si therefore tends to be a critical-point-free scenario rather than a second-critical-point one based on SW potential.

We present the ultralow-temperature specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements on single crystals of triangular-lattice compound ${\mathrm{EtMe}}_3\mathrm{Sb}[\mathrm{Pd}(\text{dmit}{)}_2{]}_2$, which has long been considered as a gapless quantum spin liquid candidate. In specific heat measurements, a finite linear term is observed, consistent with the previous work [S. Yamashita et al., Nat. Commun. 2, 275 (2011)]. However, we do not observe a finite residual linear term in the thermal conductivity measurements, and the thermal conductivity does not change in a magnetic field of 6 T. These results are in sharp contrast to previous thermal conductivity measurements on ${\mathrm{EtMe}}_3\mathrm{Sb}[\mathrm{Pd}(\text{dmit}{)}_2{]}_2$ [M. Yamashita et al., Science 328, 1246 (2010)], in which a huge residual linear term was observed and attributed to highly mobile gapless excitations, likely the spinons of a quantum spin liquid. In this context, the true ground state of ${\mathrm{EtMe}}_3\mathrm{Sb}[\mathrm{Pd}(\text{dmit}{)}_2{]}_2$ has to be reconsidered.

We report the observation of new properties of primary cosmic rays, neon (Ne), magnesium (Mg), and silicon (Si), measured in the rigidity range 2.15 GV to 3.0 TV with $1.8\times {10}^6\mathrm{Ne}$, $2.2\times {10}^6\mathrm{Mg}$, and $1.6\times {10}^6\mathrm{Si}$ nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment on the International Space Station. The Ne and Mg spectra have identical rigidity dependence above 3.65 GV. The three spectra have identical rigidity dependence above 86.5 GV, deviate from a single power law above 200 GV, and harden in an identical way. Unexpectedly, above 86.5 GV the rigidity dependence of primary cosmic rays Ne, Mg, and Si spectra is different from the rigidity dependence of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O. This shows that the Ne, Mg, and Si and He, C, and O are two different classes of primary cosmic rays.