No Arabic abstract
We report on the Andreev spectroscopy and specific heat of high-quality single crystals BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_{2}$. The intrinsic multiple Andreev reflection spectroscopy reveals two anisotropic superconducting gaps $Delta_L approx 3.2 textendash 4.5$,meV, $Delta_S approx 1.2 textendash 1.6$,meV (the ranges correspond to the minimum and maximum value of the coupling energy in the $k_xk_y$-plane). The $25 textendash 30 %$ anisotropy shows the absence of nodes in the superconducting gaps. Using a two-band model with s-wave-like gaps $Delta_L approx 3.2$,meV and $Delta_S approx 1.6$,meV, the temperature dependence of the electronic specific heat can be well described. A linear magnetic field dependence of the low-temperature specific heat offers a further support of s-wave type of the order parameter. We find that a d-wave or single-gap BCS theory under the weak-coupling approach cannot describe our experiments.
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.
Since the discovery of the metallic antiferromagnetic (AF) ground state near superconductivity in iron-pnictide superconductors, a central question has been whether magnetism in these materials arises from weakly correlated electrons, as in the case of spin-density-wave in pure chromium, requires strong electron correlations, or can even be described in terms of localized electrons such as the AF insulating state of copper oxides. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering to determine the absolute intensity of the magnetic excitations throughout the Brillouin zone in electron-doped superconducting BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_{2}$ ($T_c=20$ K), which allows us to obtain the size of the fluctuating magnetic moment $<m^2>$, and its energy distribution. We find that superconducting BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_{2}$ and AF BaFe$_2$As$_2$ both have fluctuating magnetic moments $<m^2>approx3.2 mu_B^2$ per Fe(Ni), which are similar to those found in the AF insulating copper oxides. The common theme in both classes of high temperature superconductors is that magnetic excitations have partly localized character, thus showing the importance of strong correlations for high temperature superconductivity.
We use polarized inelastic neutron scattering to show that the neutron spin resonance below $T_c$ in superconducting BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_2$ ($T_c=20$ K) is purely magnetic in origin. Our analysis further reveals that the resonance peak near 7~meV only occurs for the planar response. This challenges the common perception that the spin resonance in the pnictides is an isotropic triplet excited state of the singlet Cooper pairs, as our results imply that only the $S_{001}=pm1$ components of the triplet are involved.
We use inelastic neutron scattering to study magnetic excitations of the FeAs-based superconductor BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_2$ above and below its superconducting transition temperature $T_c=20$ K. In addition to gradually open a spin gap at the in-plane antiferromagnetic ordering wavevector $(1,0,0)$, the effect of superconductivity is to form a three dimensional resonance with clear dispersion along the c-axis direction. The intensity of the resonance develops like a superconducting order parameter, and the mode occurs at distinctively different energies at $(1,0,0)$ and $(1,0,1)$. If the resonance energy is directly associated with the superconducting gap energy $Delta$, then $Delta$ is dependent on the wavevector transfers along the c-axis. These results suggest that one must be careful in interpreting the superconducting gap energies obtained by surface sensitive probes such as scanning tunneling microscopy and angle resolved photoemission.
We use inelastic neutron scattering to study the effect of an in-plane magnetic field on the magnetic resonance in optimally doped superconductors FeSe$_{0.4}$Te$_{0.6}$ ($T_c=14$ K) and BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_{2}$ ($T_c=20$ K). While the magnetic field up to 14.5 Tesla does not change the energy of the resonance, it particially suppresses $T_c$ and the corresponding superconductivity-induced intensity gain of the mode. However, we find no direct evidence for the field-induced spin-1 Zeeman splitting of the resonance. Therefore, it is still unclear if the resonance is the long-sought singlet-triplet excitation directly coupled to the superconducting electron Cooper pairs.