We report the first Nernst effect measurement on the new iron-based superconductor LaO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$FeAs $(x=0.1)$. In the normal state, the Nernst signal is negative and very small. Below $T_{c}$ a large positive peak caused by vortex motion is observed. The flux flowing regime is quite large compared to conventional type-II superconductors. However, a clear deviation of the Nernst signal from normal state background and an anomalous depression of off-diagonal thermoelectric current in the normal state between $T_{c}$ and 50 K are observed. We propose that this anomaly in the normal state Nernst effect could correlate with the SDW fluctuations.
Raman spectra have been measured on iron-based quaternary CeO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs and LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs with varying fluorine doping at room temperatures. A group analysis has been made to clarify the optical modes. Based on the first principle calculations, the observed phonon modes can be assigned accordingly. In LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs, the E$_g$ and A$_{1g}$ modes related to the vibrations of La, are suppressed with increasing F doping. However F doping only has a small effect on the E$_g$ and A$_{1g}$ modes of Fe and As. The Raman modes of La and As are absent in rare-earth substituted CeO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs, and the E$_g$ mode of oxygen, corresponding to the in-plane vibration of oxygen, moves to around 450 cm$^{-1}$ and shows a very sharp peak. Electronic scattering background is low and electron-phonon coupling is not evident for the observed phonon modes. Three features are found above 500 cm$^{-1}$, which may be associated with multi-phonon process. Nevertheless it is also possible that they are related to magnetic fluctuations or interband transitions of d orbitals considering their energies.
The specific heat $C(T)$ of new iron-based high-$T_c$ superconductor SmO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs ($0 leq x leq 0.2$) was systematically studied. For undoped $x$ = 0 sample, a specific heat jump was observed at 130 K. This is attributed to the structural or spin-density-wave (SDW) transition, which also manifests on resistivity as a rapid drop. However, this jump disappears with slight F doping in $x$ = 0.05 sample, although the resistivity drop still exists. The specific heat $C/T$ shows clear anomaly near $T_c$ for $x$ = 0.15 and 0.20 superconducting samples. Such anomaly has been absent in LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs. For the parent compound SmOFeAs, $C(T)$ shows a sharp peak at 4.6 K, and with electron doping in $x$ = 0.15 sample, this peak shifts to 3.7 K. It is interpreted that such a sharp peak results from the antiferromagnetic ordering of Sm$^{3+}$ ions in this system, which mimics the electron-doped high-$T_c$ cuprate Sm$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_{4-delta}$.
We investigated the temperature dependence of the density-of-states in the iron-based superconductor SmO_1-xF_xFeAs (x=0, 0.12, 0.15, 0.2) with high resolution angle-integrated photoemission spectroscopy. The density-of-states suppression is observed with decreasing temperature in all samples, revealing two characteristic energy scales (10meV and 80meV). However, no obvious doping dependence is observed. We argue that the 10meV suppression is due to an anomalously doping-independent normal state pseudogap, which becomes the superconducting gap once in the superconducting state; and alert the possibility that the 80meV-scale suppression might be an artifact of the polycrystalline samples.
We have studied the newly found superconductor compound LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs through the first-principles density functional theory calculations. We find that the parent compound LaOFeAs is a quasi-2-dimensional antiferromgnetic semimetal with most carriers being electrons and with a magnetic moment of $2.3mu_B$ located around each Fe atom on the Fe-Fe square lattice. Furthermore this is a commensurate antiferromagnetic spin density wave due to the Fermi surface nesting, which is robust against the F-doping. The observed superconduction happens on the Fe-Fe antiferromagnetic layer, suggesting a new superconductivity mechanism, mediated by the spin fluctuations. An abrupt change on the Hall measurement is further predicted for the parent compound LaOFeAs.
Using state-of-the-art first-principles calculations we study the magnetic behaviour of CeOFeAs. We find the Ce layer moments oriented perpendicular to those of the Fe layers. An analysis of incommensurate magnetic structures reveals that the Ce-Ce magnetic coupling is rather weak with, however, a strong Fe-Ce coupling. Comparison of the origin of the tetragonal to orthorhombic structural distortion in CeOFeAs and LaOFeAs show marked differences; in CeOFeAs the distortion is stabilized by a lowering of spectral weight at the Fermi level, while in LaOFeAs by a reduction in magnetic frustration. Finally, we investigate the impact of electron doping upon CeOFeAs and show that while the ground state Fe moment remains largely unchanged by doping, the stability of magnetic order goes to zero at a doping that corresponds well to the vanishing of the Neel temperature.