No Arabic abstract
Neutron diffraction and small angle scattering experiments have been carried out on the double-isotopic polycrystalline sample (7Li0.82Fe0.18OD)FeSe. Profile refinements of the diffraction data establish the composition and reveal an essentially single phase material with lattice parameters of a= 3.7827 {AA} and c= 9.1277 {AA} at 4 K, in the ferromagnetic-superconductor regime, with a bulk superconducting transition of TC = 18 K. Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements in zero applied field reveal the onset of ferromagnetic order below TF ~ 12.5 K, with a wave vector and temperature dependence consistent with an inhomogeneous ferromagnet of spontaneous vortices or domains in a mixed state. No oscillatory long range ordered magnetic state is observed. Field dependent measurements establish a separate component of magnetic scattering from the vortex lattice, which occurs at the expected wave vector. The temperature dependence of the vortex scattering does not indicate any contribution from the ferromagnetism, consistent with diffraction data that indicate that the ordered ferromagnetic moment is quite small.
Spontaneous vortex phase (SVP) is an exotic quantum matter in which quantized superconducting vortices form in the absence of external magnetic field. Although being predicted theoretically nearly 40 years ago, its rigorous experimental verification still appears to be lacking. Here we present low-field magnetic measurements on single crystals of the iron-based ferromagnetic superconductor Eu(Fe$_{0.91}$Rh$_{0.09}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ which undergoes a superconducting transition at $T_mathrm{sc}$ = 19.6 K followed by a magnetic transition at $T_mathrm{m}$ = 16.8 K. We observe a characteristic first-order transition from a Meissner state within $T_mathrm{m}<T<T_mathrm{sc}$ to an SVP below $T_mathrm{m}$, under a magnetic field approaching zero. Additional isothermal magnetization and ac magnetization measurements at $Tll T_mathrm{sc}$ confirm that the system is intrinsically in a spontaneous-vortex ground state. The unambiguous demonstration of SVP in the title material lays a solid foundation for future imaging and spectroscopic studies on this intriguing quantum matter.
We use inelastic neutron scattering to study the low-energy spin excitations of 112-type iron pnictide Ca$_{0.82}$La$_{0.18}$Fe$_{0.96}$Ni$_{0.04}$As$_{2}$ with bulk superconductivity below $T_c=22$ K. A two-dimensional spin resonance mode is found around $E=$ 11 meV, where the resonance energy is almost temperature independent and linearly scales with $T_c$ along with other iron-based superconductors. Polarized neutron analysis reveals the resonance is nearly isotropic in spin space without any $L$ modulations. Due to the unique monoclinic structure with additional zigzag arsenic chains, the As $4p$ orbitals contribute to a three-dimensional hole pocket around $Gamma$ point and an extra electron pocket at $X$ point. Our results suggest that the energy and momentum distribution of spin resonance does not directly response to the $k_z$ dependence of fermiology, and the spin resonance intrinsically is a spin-1 mode from singlet-triplet excitations of the Cooper pairs in the case of weak spin-orbital coupling.
Among the mysteries surrounding unconventional, strongly correlated superconductors is the possibility of spatial variations in their superfluid density. We use atomic-resolution Josephson scanning tunneling microscopy to reveal a strongly inhomogeneous superfluid in the iron-based superconductor FeTe0.55Se0.45. By simultaneously measuring the topographic and electronic properties, we find that this inhomogeneity in the superfluid density is not caused by structural disorder or strong inter-pocket scattering, and does not correlate with variations in Cooper pair-breaking gap. Instead, we see a clear spatial correlation between superfluid density and quasiparticle strength, putting the iron-based superconductors on equal footing with the cuprates and demonstrating that locally, the quasiparticles are sharpest when the superconductivity is strongest. When repeated at different temperatures, our technique could further help elucidate what local and global mechanisms limit the critical temperature in unconventional superconductors.
Magnetically mediated Cooper pairing is generally regarded as a key to establish the unified mechanism of unconventional superconductivity. One crucial evidence is the neutron spin resonance arising in the superconducting state, which is commonly interpreted as a spin-exciton from collective particle-hole excitations confined below the superconducting pair-breaking gap ($2Delta$). Here, on the basis of inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a quasi-two-dimensional iron-based superconductor KCa$_2$Fe$_4$As$_4$F$_2$, we have discovered a two-dimensional spin resonant mode with downward dispersions, a behavior closely resembling the low branch of the hour-glass-type spin resonance in cuprates. The resonant intensity is predominant by two broad incommensurate peaks near $Q=$(0.5, 0.5) with a sharp energy peak at $E_R=16$ meV. The overall energy dispersion of the mode exceeds the measured maximum total gap $Delta_{rm tot}=|Delta_k|+|Delta_{k+Q}|$. These experimental results deeply challenge the conventional understanding of the resonance modes as magnetic excitons regardless of underlining pairing symmetry schemes, and it also points out that when the iron-based superconductivity becomes very quasi-two-dimensional, the electronic behaviors are similar to those in cuprates.
We report polarized neutron scattering measurements of the low energy spin fluctuations of the iron-selenide superconductor Li$_{0.8}$Fe$_{0.2}$ODFeSe below and above its superconducting transition temperature $T_c=41$ K. Our experiments confirmed that the resonance mode near 21 meV is magnetic. Moreover, the spin excitations are essentially isotropic in spin space at 5$leq Eleq$ 29 meV in the superconducting and normal states. Our results suggest that the resonance mode in iron-based superconductors becomes isotropic when the influence of spin-orbit coupling and magnetic/nematic order is minimized, similar to those observed in cuprate superconductors.