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Register a new userAnisotropic Energy Gaps of Iron-based Superconductivity from Intra-band Quasiparticle Interference in LiFeAs
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If strong electron-electron interactions between neighboring Fe atoms mediate the Cooper pairing in iron-pnictide superconductors, then specific and distinct anisotropic superconducting energy gaps Delta_i(k) should appear on the different electronic bands i. Here we introduce intra-band Bogoliubov quasiparticle scattering interference (QPI) techniques for determination of Delta_i(k) in such materials, focusing on LiFeAs. We identify the three hole-like bands assigned previously as gamma, alpha_2 and alpha_1, and we determine the anisotropy, magnitude and relative orientations of their Delta_i(k). These measurements will advance quantitative theoretical analysis of the mechanism of Cooper pairing in iron-based superconductivity.
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We investigate the role of gap characteristics such as anisotropy and inequality of the gaps in the quasiparticle interferences of iron pnictides using a five-orbital tight-binding model. We examine how the difference in the sensitivities exhibited by the sign-changing and -preserving $s$-wave superconductivity in an annular region around ($pi, 0$), which can be used to determine the sign change of the superconducting gap, gets affected when the gaps are unequal on the electron and hole pocket. In addition, we also discuss how robust these differentiating features are on changing the quasiparticle energy or when the gap is anisotropic.
We have performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on Fe-based superconductor LiFeAs (Tc = 18 K). We reveal multiple nodeless superconducting (SC) gaps with 2D/kBTc ratios varying from 2.8 to 6.4, depending on the Fermi surface (FS). We also succeeded in directly observing a gap anisotropy along the FS with magnitude up to ~30 %. The anisotropy is four-fold symmetric with an antiphase between the hole and electron FSs, suggesting complex anisotropic interactions for the SC pairing. The observed momentum dependence of the SC gap offers an excellent opportunity to investigate the underlying pairing mechanism.
We use scanning tunneling microscopy to investigate the doping dependence of quasiparticle interference (QPI) in NaFe1-xCoxAs iron-based superconductors. The goal is to study the relation between nematic fluctuations and Cooper pairing. In the parent and underdoped compounds, where four-fold rotational symmetry is broken macroscopically, the QPI patterns reveal strong rotational anisotropy. At optimal doping, however, the QPI patterns are always four-fold symmetric. We argue this implies small nematic susceptibility and hence insignificant nematic fluctuation in optimally doped iron pnictides. Since Tc is the highest this suggests nematic fluctuation is not a prerequistite for strong Cooper pairing.
Using a realistic ten-orbital tight-binding model Hamiltonian fitted to the angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) data on LiFeAs, we analyze the temperature, frequency, and momentum dependencies of quasiparticle interference (QPI) to identify gap sign changes in a qualitative way, following our original proposal [Phys. Rev. B 92, 184513 (2015)]. We show that all features present for the simple two-band model for the sign-changing $s_{+-}$-wave superconducting gap employed previously are still present in the realistic tight-binding approximation and gap values observed experimentally. We discuss various superconducting gap structures proposed for LiFeAs, and identify various features of these superconducting gaps functions in the quasiparticle interference patterns. On the other hand, we show that it will be difficult to identify the more complicated possible sign structures of the hole pocket gaps in LiFeAs, due to the smallness of the pockets and the near proximity of two of the gap energies.
Quasiparticle interference (QPI) by means of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and multi-orbital tight bind- ing calculations are used to investigate the band structure and superconducting order parameter of LiFeAs. Using this combination we identify intra- and interband scattering vectors between the hole (h) and electron (e) bands in the QPI maps. Discrepancies in the band dispersions inferred from previous ARPES and STM/STS are reconciled by recognizing a difference in the $k_z$ sensitivity for the two probes. The observation of both h-h and e-h scattering is exploited using phase-sensitive scattering selection rules for Bogoliubov quasiparticles. From this we infer an s$_pm$ gap structure, where a sign change occurs in the superconducting order parameter between the e and h bands.
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