No Arabic abstract
The quasi-1D organic Bechgaard salt (TMTSF)$_2$PF$_6$ displays spin-density-wave (SDW) order and superconductivity in close proximity in the temperature-pressure phase diagram. We have measured its normal-state electrical resistivity $rho_a(T)$ as a function of temperature and pressure, in the $T to 0$ limit. At the critical pressure where SDW order disappears, $rho_a(T) propto T$ down to the lowest measured temperature (0.1 K). With increasing pressure, $rho_a(T)$ acquires a curvature that is well described by $rho_a(T) = rho_0 + AT + BT^2$, where the strength of the linear term, measured by the $A$ coefficient, is found to scale with the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$. This correlation between $A$ and $T_c$ strongly suggests that scattering and pairing in (TMTSF)$_2$PF$_6$ have a common origin, most likely rooted in the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations associated with SDW order. Analysis of published resistivity data on the iron-pnictide superconductor Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ reveals a detailed similarity with (TMTSF)$_2$PF$_6$, suggesting that antiferromagnetic fluctuations play a similar role in the pnictides.
Measurements of the current-voltage characteristics were performed on Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ single crystals with doping level $0.044 leq x leq 0.1$. An unconventional increase in the flux-flow resistivity $rho_{rm ff}$ with decreasing magnetic field was observed across this doping range. Such an abnormal field dependence of flux-flow resistivity is in contrast with the linear field dependence of $rho_{rm ff}$ in conventional type-II superconductors, but is similar to the behavior recently observed in the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn$_5$. A significantly enhanced $rho_{rm ff}$ was found for the x=0.06 single crystals, implying a strong single-particle energy dissipation around the vortex cores. At different temperatures and fields and for a given doping concentration, the normalized $rho_{rm ff}$ scales with normalized field and temperature. The doping level dependence of these parameters strongly suggests that the abnormal upturn flux-flow resisitivity is likely related to the enhancement of spin fluctuations around the vortex cores of the optimally doped samples.
Systematic measurements of the resistivity, heat capacity, susceptibility and Hall coefficient are presented for single crystal samples of the electron-doped superconductor Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$. These data delineate an $x-T$ phase diagram in which the single magnetic/structural phase transition that is observed for undoped BaFe$_2$As$_2$ at 134 K apparently splits into two distinct phase transitions, both of which are rapidly suppressed with increasing Co concentration. Superconductivity emerges for Co concentrations above $x sim 0.025$, and appears to coexist with the broken symmetry state for an appreciable range of doping, up to $x sim 0.06$. The optimal superconducting transition temperature appears to coincide with the Co concentration at which the magnetic/structural phase transitions are totally suppressed, at least within the resolution provided by the finite step size between crystals prepared with different doping levels. Superconductivity is observed for a further range of Co concentrations, before being completely suppressed for $x sim 0.018$ and above. The form of this $x-T$ phase diagram is suggestive of an association between superconductivity and a quantum critical point arising from suppression of the magnetic and/or structural phase transitions.
Using electronic Raman spectroscopy, we report direct measurements of charge nematic fluctuations in the tetragonal phase of strain-free Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x})_{2}$As$_{2}$ single crystals. The strong enhancement of the Raman response at low temperatures unveils an underlying charge nematic state that extends to superconducting compositions and which has hitherto remained unnoticed. Comparison between the extracted charge nematic susceptibility and the elastic modulus allows us to disentangle the charge contribution to the nematic instability, and to show that charge nematic fluctuations are weakly coupled to the lattice.
We studied the temperature and magnetic field dependence of vortex dissipation and critical current in the mixed-state of unconventional superconducting alloys Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ ($0.044 leq x leq 0.100$) through current-voltage measurements. Our results reveal that all the electric field $E$ vs current density $j$ curves in the Ohmic regime merge to one point ($j_0,E_0$) and that there is a simple relationship between the critical current density $j_c$ and flux-flow resistivity $rho_{rm ff}$: $rho_{rm ff}/rho_{rm n} = (1- j_{c}/j_{0})^{-1}$, where $rho_{rm n}=E_0/j_0$ is the normal-state resistivity just above the superconducting transition. In addition, $E_0$ is positive for all five dopings, reflecting the abnormal behavior of the flux-flow resistivity $rho_{rm ff}$: it increases with decreasing magnetic field. In contrast, $E_0$ is negative for the conventional superconductor Nb since, as expected, $rho_{rm ff}$ decreases with decreasing magnetic field. Furthermore, in the under-doped and over-doped single crystals of Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$, the parameter $E_0$ remains temperature independent, while it decreases with increasing temperature for the single crystals around optimal doping ($ 0.060leq xleq 0.072 $). This result points to the co-existence of superconductivity with some other phase around optimal doping.
We present a systematic investigation of the electrical, structural, and antiferromagnetic properties for the series of Ba(Fe$_{1-x-y}$Co$_{x}$Rh$_{y}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds with fixed $x approx$ 0.027 and $ 0 leq y leq 0.035$. We compare our results for the Co-Rh doped Ba(Fe$_{1-x-y}$Co$_{x}$Rh$_{y}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds with the Co doped Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds. We demonstrate that the electrical, structural, antiferromangetic, and superconducting properties of the Co-Rh doped compounds are similar to the properties of the Co doped compounds. We find that the overall behaviors of Ba(Fe$_{1-x-y}$Co$_{x}$Rh$_{y}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ and Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds are very similar when the total number of extra electrons per Fe/$TM$ ($TM$ = transition metal) site is considered, which is consistent with the rigid band model. Despite the similarity, we find that the details of the transitions, for example, the temperature difference between the structural and antiferromagnetic transition temperatures and the incommensurability of the antiferromangetic peaks, are different between Ba(Fe$_{1-x-y}$Co$_{x}$Rh$_{y}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ and Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds.