No Arabic abstract
Since the discovery of pressure-induced superconductivity in the two-leg ladder system BaFe$_2X_3$ ($X$=S, Se), with the 3$d$ iron electronic density $n = 6$, the quasi-one-dimensional iron-based ladders have attracted considerable attention. Here, we use Density Functional Theory (DFT) to predict that the novel $n = 6$ iron ladder BaFe$_2$Te$_3$ could be stable with a similar crystal structure as BaFe$_2$Se$_3$. Our results also indicate that BaFe$_2$Te$_3$ will display the complex 2$times$2 Block-type magnetic order. Due to the magnetic striction effects of this Block order, BaFe$_2$Te$_3$ should be a magnetic noncollinear ferrielectric system with a net polarization $0.31$ $mu$C/cm$^2$. Compared with the S- or Se-based iron ladders, the electrons of the Te-based ladders are more localized, implying that the degree of electronic correlation is enhanced for the Te case which may induce additional interesting properties. The physical and structural similarity with BaFe$_2$Se$_3$ also suggests that BaFe$_2$Te$_3$ could become superconducting under high pressure.
The quasi-one-dimensional spin ladder compounds, BaFe$_2$S$_3$ and BaFe$_2$Se$_3$, are investigated by infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We observe strong anisotropic electronic properties and an optical gap in the leg direction that is gradually filled above the antiferromagnetic (afm) ordering temperature, turning the systems into a metallic phase. Combining the optical data with the DFT calculations we associate the optical gap feature with the $p$-$d$ transition that appears only in the afm ordered state. Hence, the insulating ground state along the leg direction is attributed to Slater physics rather than Mott-type correlations.
Electrical resistivity measurements have been performed on the iron-based ladder compounds Ba$_{1-x}$Cs$_x$Fe$_2$Se$_3$ ($x$ = 0, 0.25, 0.65, and 1) under high pressure. A cubic anvil press was used up to 8.0 GPa, whereas further higher pressure was applied using a diamond anvil cell up to 30.0 GPa. Metallic behavior of the electrical conductivity was confirmed in the $x$ = 0.25 and 0.65 samples for pressures greater than 11.3 and 14.4 GPa, respectively, with the low-temperature $log T$ upturn being consistent with weak localization of 2D electrons due to random potential. At pressures higher than 23.8 GPa, three-dimensional Fermi-liquid-like behavior was observed in the latter sample. No metallic conductivity was observed in the parent compounds BaFe$_2$Se$_3$ ($x $ = 0) up to 30.0 GPa and CsFe$_2$Se$_3$ ($x$ = 1) up to 17.0 GPa. The present results indicate that the origins of the insulating ground states in the parent and intermediate compounds are intrinsically different; the former is a Mott insulator, whereas the latter is an Anderson insulator owing to the random substitution of Cs for Ba.
We have synthesized single crystals of CeZnAl$_3$, which is a new member of the family of the Ce-based intermetallics Ce$TX_3$ ($T$ = transition metal, $X$= Si, Ge, Al), crystallizing in the non-centrosymmetric tetragonal BaNiSn$_3$-type structure. Magnetization, specific heat and resistivity measurements all show that CeZnAl$_3$ orders magnetically below around 4.4 K. Furthermore, magnetization measurements exhibit a hysteresis loop at low temperatures and fields, indicating the presence of a ferromagnetic component in the magnetic state. This points to a different nature of the magnetism in CeZnAl$_3$ compared to the other isostructural Ce$T$Al$_3$ compounds. Resistivity measurements under pressures up to 1.8 GPa show a moderate suppression of the ordering temperature with pressure, suggesting that measurements to higher pressures are required to look for quantum critical behavior.
Control of emergent magnetic orders in correlated electron materials promises new opportunities for applications in spintronics. For their technological exploitation, it is important to understand the role of surfaces and interfaces to other materials and their impact on the emergent magnetic orders. Here, we demonstrate for iron telluride, the nonsuperconducting parent compound of the iron chalcogenide superconductors, determination and manipulation of the surface magnetic structure by low-temperature spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Iron telluride exhibits a complex structural and magnetic phase diagram as a function of interstitial iron concentration. Several theories have been put forward to explain the different magnetic orders observed in the phase diagram, which ascribe a dominant role either to interactions mediated by itinerant electrons or to local moment interactions. Through the controlled removal of surface excess iron, we can separate the influence of the excess iron from that of the change in the lattice structure.
The La and Ce di-tellurides LaTe$_2$ and CeTe$_2$ are deep in the charge-density-wave (CDW) ground state even at 300 K. We have collected their electrodynamic response over a broad spectral range from the far infrared up to the ultraviolet. We establish the energy scale of the single particle excitation across the CDW gap. Moreover, we find that the CDW collective state gaps a very large portion of the Fermi surface. Similarly to the related rare earth tri-tellurides, we envisage that interactions and Umklapp processes play a role in the onset of the CDW broken symmetry ground state.