No Arabic abstract
We performed temperature dependent X-ray linear dichroism (XLD) experiments on an iron pnictide system, Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ with $x$=0.00 and 0.05, to experimentally verify existence of orbital ordering (OO). We observed clear XLD in polarization dependent X-ray absorption spectra of Fe $L$ edges. By exploiting the difference in the temperature dependent behaviors, we were able to separate OO and structure contributions to XLD. The observed OO signal indicates different occupation numbers for $d_{yz}$ and $d_{zx}$ orbitals and supports existence of a ferro-OO. The results are also consistent with the theoretical prediction. Moreover, we find substantial OO signal above the transition temperature, which suggests that OO fluctuation exists well above the transition temperature.
We investigate the optical conductivity as a function of temperature with light polarized along the in-plane orthorhombic $a$- and $b$-axes of Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ for $x$=0 and 2.5$%$ under uniaxial pressure. The charge dynamics at low frequencies on these detwinned, single domain compounds tracks the anisotropic $dc$ transport properties across their structural and magnetic phase transitions. Our findings allow us to estimate the dichroism, which extends to relatively high frequencies. These results are consistent with a scenario in which orbital order plays a significant role in the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition.
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 report inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of the in-plane polarized transverse acoustic phonon mode propagating along $qparallel$[100] in various hole-doped compounds belonging to the 122 family of iron-based superconductors. The slope of the dispersion of this phonon mode is proportional to the square root of the shear modulus $C_{66}$ in the $q rightarrow 0$ limit and, hence, sensitive to the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural phase transition occurring in these compounds. In contrast to a recent report for Ba(Fe$_{0.94}$Co$_{0.06}$)$_2$As$_2$ [F. Weber et al., Phys. Rev. B 98, 014516 (2018)], we find qualitative agreement between values of $C_{66}$ deduced from our experiments and those derived from measurements of the Youngs modulus in Ba$_{1-x}$(K,Na)$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ at optimal doping. These results provide an upper limit of about 50 {AA} for the nematic correlation length for the optimally hole-doped compounds. Furthermore, we also studied compounds at lower doping levels exhibiting the orthorhombic magnetic phase, where $C_{66}$ is not accessible by volume probes, as well as the C4 tetragonal magnetic phase.investigated
We report an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the iron-based superconductor family, Ba$_{1-x}$Na$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$. This system harbors the recently discovered double-Q magnetic order appearing in a reentrant C$_4$ phase deep within the underdoped regime of the phase diagram that is otherwise dominated by the coupled nematic phase and collinear antiferromagnetic order. From a detailed temperature-dependence study, we identify the electronic response to the nematic phase in an orbital-dependent band shift that strictly follows the rotational symmetry of the lattice and disappears when the system restores C$_4$ symmetry in the low temperature phase. In addition, we report the observation of a distinct electronic reconstruction that cannot be explained by the known electronic orders in the system.
The substitutional dependence of valence and spin-state configurations of Sr(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ ($x =$ 0, 0.05, 0.11, 0.17, and 0.38) is investigated with near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure at the $L_{2,3}$ edges of Fe, Co, and As. The present data provide direct spectroscopic evidence for an effectively isovalent substitution of Fe$^{2+}$ by Co$^{2+}$, which is in contrast to the widely assumed Co-induced electron-doping effect. Moreover, the data reveal that not only does the Fe valency remain completely unaffected across the entire doping range, but so do the Co and As valencies as well. The data underline a prominent role of the hybridization between (Fe,Co) 3$d_{xy}$, $d_{xz}$, $d_{yz}$ orbitals and As $4s/4p$ states for the band structure in $A$(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ and suggest that the covalency of the (Fe,Co)-As bond is a key parameter for the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity.