No Arabic abstract
We report $^{77}$Se-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results down to sufficiently low temperatures under magnetic fields parallel to both the $ab$-plane and the c-axis in a paramagnetic/superconducting (PM/SC) phase of K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$. The observation of anisotropy in the orbital part of the Knight shift results in the anisotropy of its spin part increasing on approaching the transition temperature. The anisotropy of the Korringa relation suggests the presence of the weak spin fluctuations with a finite wave vector $bm{q}$, which induce the magnetic fluctuations along the ab-plane at the Se site. Such fluctuations do not correspond to the stripe $(pi,0)$ correlation of the Fe moment observed in many Fe-based superconductors, and are not contradictory to weak $(pi,pi)$ correlations. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$ shows a field-independent $T_1T sim const.$ behavior at low temperatures for $H parallel ab$, which is attributed to the nonzero density of states at the Fermi level and can be explained by the sign-changing order parameter even for nodeless gaps. The temperature dependence of $1/T_1$ is reproduced well by nodeless models with two isotropic gaps or a single anisotropic gap. The obtained gap magnitude in the isotropic two-gap model is comparable to those obtained in the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments.
We report the evolution of superconductivity and the phase diagram of the KxFe2-ySe2-zTez (z=0-0.6) crystals grown by a simple one-step synthesis. No structural transition is observed in any crystals, while lattice parameters exhibit a systematic expansion with Te content. The Tc exhibits a gradual decrease with increasing Te content from Tconset = 32.9 K at z = 0 to Tconset = 27.9 K at z = 0.5, followed by a sudden suppression of superconductivity at z = 0.6. Upon approaching a Te concentration of 0.6, the shielding volume fraction decreases and eventually drops to zero. Simultaneously, hump positions in r-T curve shift to lower temperatures. These results suggest that isovalent substitution of Te for Se in KxFe2-ySe2 crystals suppresses the superconductivity in this system.
We use neutron spectroscopy to determine the nature of the magnetic excitations in superconducting BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_{2}$ ($T_{c}=20$ K). Above $T_{c}$ the excitations are gapless and centered at the commensurate antiferromagnetic wave vector of the parent compound, while the intensity exhibits a sinusoidal modulation along the c-axis. As the superconducting state is entered a spin gap gradually opens, whose magnitude tracks the $T$-dependence of the superconducting gap observed by angle resolved photoemission. Both the spin gap and magnetic resonance energies are temperature textit{and} wave vector dependent, but their ratio is the same within uncertainties. These results suggest that the spin resonance is a singlet-triplet excitation related to electron pairing and superconductivity.
Neutron scattering is used to probe magnetic excitations in FeSe_{0.4}Te_{0.6} (T_c=14 K). Low energy spin fluctuations are found with a characteristic wave vector $(0.5,0.5,L)$ that corresponds to Fermi surface nesting and differs from Q_m=(delta,0,0.5) for magnetic ordering in Fe_{1+y}Te. A spin resonance with hbarOmega_0=6.5 meV approx 5.3 k_BT_c and hbarGamma=1.25 meV develops in the superconducting state from a normal state continuum. We show that the resonance is consistent with a bound state associated with s+/- superconductivity and imperfect quasi-2D Fermi surface nesting.
We have established a simple process that allows for the one-step synthesis of KxFe2-ySe2 single crystals, which exhibit high critical current density Jc. The post annealing and quenching technique has improved the homogeneity of as-grown crystals, resulting in full shielding of the external magnetic field. The quenched crystals show a superconducting transition at Tconset = 32.9 K and Tczero = 32.1 K. The upper critical fields mu_{0}Hc2(0) for H//ab and H//c are estimated to be ~206 and ~50 T, respectively. The critical current densities Jc for H//ab and H//c reach as high as 1.0times10^{5} and 3.4times10^{4} A/cm2 at 5 K. Furthermore, Jc exhibits a high field performance and a significantly weak temperature dependence up to 5 T, suggesting strong pinning. These results demonstrate that KxFe2-ySe2 would be a promising candidate material for practical applications.
When passing through a phase transition, electronic system saves energy by opening energy gaps at the Fermi level. Delineating the energy gap anisotropy provides insights into the origin of the interactions that drive the phase transition. Here, we report the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study on the detailed gap anisotropies in both the tetragonal magnetic and superconducting phases in Sr$_{1-x}$Na$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$. First, we found that the spin-density-wave (SDW) gap is strongly anisotropic in the tetragonal magnetic phase. The gap magnitude correlates with the orbital character of Fermi surface closely. Second, we found that the SDW gap anisotropy is isostructural to the superconducting gap anisotropy regarding to the angular dependence, gap minima locations, and relative gap magnitudes. Our results indicate that the superconducting pairing interaction and magnetic interaction share the same origin. The intra-orbital scattering plays an important role in constructing these interactions resulting in the orbital-selective magnetism and superconductivity in iron-based superconductors.