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Black carbon (BC) absorption aerosol optical depth (AAODBC) defines the contribution of BC in light absorption and is retrievable using sun/sky radiometer measurements provided by Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) inversion products. In this study, we utilized AERONET-retrieved depolarization ratio (DPR, δp), single scattering albedo (SSA, ω), and Ångström Exponent (AE, å) of version 3 level 2.0 products as indicators to estimate the contribution of BC to the absorbing fractions of AOD. We applied our methodology to the AERONET sites, including North and South America, Europe, East Asia, Africa, India, and the Middle East, during 2000–2018. The long-term AAODBC showed a downward tendency over Sao Paulo (−0.001 year−1), Thessaloniki (−0.0004 year−1), Beijing (−0.001 year−1), Seoul (−0.0015 year−1), and Cape Verde (−0.0009 year−1) with the highest values over the populous sites. This declining tendency in AAODBC can be attributable to the successful emission control policies over these sites, particularly in Europe, America, and China. The AAODBC at the Beijing, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, and the Indian sites showed a clear seasonality indicating the notable role of residential heating in BC emissions over these sites during winter. We found a higher correlation between AAODBC and fine mode AOD at 440 nm at all sites except for Beijing. High pollution episodes, BC emission from different sources, and aggregation properties seem to be the main drivers of higher AAODBC correlation with coarse particles over Beijing.

The vertical distribution of single scattering albedos （SSAs） of Asian dust mixed with pollutants was derived using the multi-wavelength Raman lidar observation system at Gwangju （35.10°N,126.53°E）.Vertical profiles of both backscatter and extinction coefficients for dust and non-dust aerosols were extracted from a mixed Asian dust plume using the depolarization ratio from lidar observations.Vertical profiles of backscatter and extinction coefficients of non-dust particles were input into an inversion algorithm to retrieve the SSAs of non-dust aerosols.Atmospheric aerosol layers at different heights had different light-absorbing characteristics.The SSAs of non-dust particles at each height varied with aerosol type,which was either urban/industrial pollutants from China transported over long distances at high altitude,or regional/local pollutants from the Korean peninsula.Taking advantage of independent profiles of SSAs of non-dust particles,vertical profiles of SSAs of Asian dust mixed with pollutants were estimated for the first time,with a new approach suggested in this study using an empirical determination of the SSA of pure dust.The SSAs of the Asian dust-pollutants mixture within the planetary boundary layer （PBL） were in the range 0.88-0.91,while the values above the PBL were in the range 0.76-0.87,with a very low mean value of 0.76 ± 0.05.The total mixed dust plume SSAs in each aerosol layer were integrated over height for comparison with results from the Aerosol Robotics Network （AERONET） measurements.Values of SSA retrieved from lidar observations of 0.92 ± 0.01 were in good agreement with the results from AERONET measurements.

In this work, we present a method for estimating vertical resolved mass concentration of dust immersed in Asian dust plume using Raman scattering of quartz (silicon dioxide, silica). During the Asian dust period of March 15, 16, and 21 in 2010, Raman lidar measurements detected the presence of quartz, and successfully showed the vertical profiles of the quartz backscatter coefficient. Since the Raman backscatter coefficient was connected with the Raman backscatter differential cross section and the number density of quartz molecules, the mass concentration of quartz in the atmosphere can be estimated from the quartz backscatter coefficient. The weight percentage from 40 to 70 % for quartz in the Asian dust was estimated from references. The vertical resolved mass concentration of dust was estimated by quartz mass concentration and weight percentage. We also present a retrieval method to obtain dust backscatter coefficient from the mixed Asian dust and pollutant layer. OPAC (Optical Properties of Aerosol and Clouds) simulations were conducted to calculate dust backscatter coefficient. The retrieved dust mass concentration was used as an input parameter for the OPAC calculations. These approaches in the study will be useful for characterizing the quartz dominated in the atmospheric aerosols and estimating vertical resolved mass concentration of dust. It will be especially applicable for optically distinguishing the dust and non-dust aerosols in studies on the mixing state of Asian dust plume. Additionally, the presented method combined with satellite observations is enable qualitative and quantitative monitoring for Asian dust.

Strongly correlated materials with multiple order parameters provide unique insights into the fundamental interactions in condensed matter systems and present opportunities for innovative technological applications. A class of antiferromagnetic honeycomb lattices compounds, A 4 B 2 O 9 (A = Co, Fe, Mn; B = Nb, Ta), have been explored owing to the occurrence of linear magnetoelectricity. From our investigation of magnetoelectricity on single crystalline Co 4 Ta 2 O 9 , we discovered strongly nonlinear and antisymmetric magnetoelectric behavior above the spin-flop transition for magnetic fields applied along two orthogonal in-plane directions. This observation suggests that two types of inequivalent Co 2+ sublattices generate magnetic-field-dependent ferroelectric polarization with opposite signs. The results motivate fundamental and applied research on the intriguing magnetoelectric characteristics of these buckled-honeycomb lattice materials.

Magnetic properties can be manipulated to enhance certain functionalities by tuning different material processing parameters. Here, we present the controllable magnetization steps of hysteresis loops in double-perovskite single crystals of Eu 2 CoMnO 6 . Ferromagnetic order emerges below T C  ≈ 122 K along the crystallographic c axis. The difficulty in altering Co 2+ and Mn 4+ ions naturally induces additional antiferromagnetic clusters in this system. Annealing the crystals in different gas environments modifies the mixed magnetic state, and results in the retardation (after O 2 -annealing) and bifurcation (after Ar-annealing) of the magnetization steps of isothermal magnetization. This remarkable variation offers an efficient approach for improving the magnetic properties of double-perovskite oxides.

Chiral phonons have recently been explored as a novel degree of freedom in quantum materials. The angular momentum carried by these quasiparticles is generated by the breaking of chiral degeneracy of phonons, owing to the chiral lattice structure or the rotational motion of ions of the material. In ferromagnets, a mechanism for generating non-equilibrium chiral phonons has been suggested, but their temporal evolution, which obeys Bose–Einstein statistics, remains unclear. Here we report the real-time dynamics of thermalized chiral phonons in an artificial superlattice composed of ferromagnetic metallic SrRuO 3 and non-magnetic insulating SrTiO 3 . Following the photo-induced ultrafast demagnetization in the SrRuO 3 layer, we observed the appearance of a magneto-optic signal in the superlattice, which is absent in the SrRuO 3 single films. This magneto-optic signal exhibits thermally driven dynamic properties and a clear correlation with the thickness of the non-magnetic SrTiO 3 layer, implying that it originates from thermalized chiral phonons. We use numerical calculations considering the magneto-elastic coupling in SrRuO 3 to validate our experimental observations and the angular momentum transfer mechanism between the lattice and spin systems in ferromagnetic systems and also to the non-magnetic system. Not only electrons but also phonons can transport angular momentum in solids. Now, in an artificial superlattice, ultrafast demagnetization induces transfer of angular momentum from the spin system to the lattice.

Despite numerous reports on the beneficial effects of catechin or epicatechin contained in tea and cacao extract on human health, a conclusive and precise molecular mechanism has not been elucidated. Metabolism of chemical compounds in gut microbiota recently gained significant attention, and extensive studies have been devoted in this field. In conjunction with these results, our group focused on the anti-inflammatory effects of both enantiomers of DHPV (5-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone), produced in the intestine by microbiota metabolism, on IEC-6 cells. Divergent and efficient enantioselective synthesis of (S)- and (R)-DHPV was efficiently achieved by cross-metathesis and Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation as a key reaction for four steps in 16% and 14% overall yields, respectively. The anti-inflammatory effects of two enantiomers were tested on IEC-6 cells, and we found that (S)-DHPV was more active than (R)-DHPV. This result implicates that the metabolite produced in the gut has beneficial effects on IEC-6 cells of rat intestines, and the chirality of the metabolite is important for its anti-inflammatory activity. This also provided information for the future discovery of novel small molecular therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Magnetic properties can be manipulated to enhance certain functionalities by tuning different material processing parameters. Here, we present the controllable magnetization steps of hysteresis loops in double-perovskite single crystals of Eu CoMnO . Ferromagnetic order emerges below T  ≈ 122 K along the crystallographic c axis. The difficulty in altering Co and Mn ions naturally induces additional antiferromagnetic clusters in this system. Annealing the crystals in different gas environments modifies the mixed magnetic state, and results in the retardation (after O -annealing) and bifurcation (after Ar-annealing) of the magnetization steps of isothermal magnetization. This remarkable variation offers an efficient approach for improving the magnetic properties of double-perovskite oxides.

Graphene, with spin and valley degrees of freedom, fosters unexpected physical and chemical properties for the realization of next-generation quantum devices. However, the spin symmetry of graphene is rather robustly protected, hampering manipulation of the spin degrees of freedom for the application of spintronic devices such as electric gate tunable spin filters. We demonstrate that a hybrid heterostructure composed of graphene and LaCoO3 epitaxial thin film exhibits an electrically tunable spin exchange splitting. The large and adjustable spin exchange splitting of 155.9 - 306.5 meV was obtained by the characteristic shifts in both the spin symmetry broken quantum Hall states and the Shubnikov-de-Haas oscillations. Strong hybridization induced charge transfer across the hybrid heterointerface has been identified for the observed spin exchange splitting. The substantial and facile controllability of the spin exchange splitting provides an opportunity for spintronics applications with the electrically-tunable spin polarization in hybrid heterostructures.

Ferromagnetic insulators play a crucial role in the development of low-dissipation quantum magnetic devices for spintronics. Epitaxial LaCoO3 thin film is a prominent ferromagnetic insulator, in which the robust ferromagnetic ordering emerges owing to epitaxial strain. Whereas it is evident that strong spin-lattice coupling induces ferromagnetism, the reported ferromagnetic properties of epitaxially strained LaCoO3 thin films were highly consistent. For example, even under largely modulated degree of strain, the reported Curie temperatures of epitaxially strained LaCoO3 thin films lie within 80-85 K, without much deviation. In this study, substantial enhancement (~18%) in the Curie temperature of epitaxial LaCoO3 thin films is demonstrated via crystallographic orientation dependence. By changing the crystallographic orientation of the films from (111) to (110), the crystal-field energy was reduced and the charge transfer between the Co and O orbitals was enhanced. These modifications led to a considerable enhancement of the ferromagnetic properties (including the Curie temperature and magnetization), despite the identical nominal degree of epitaxial strain. The findings of this study provide insights into facile tunability of ferromagnetic properties via structural symmetry control in LaCoO3.