ABSTRACT
A small in-plane external uniaxial pressure has been widely used as an effective method to acquire single domain iron pnictide BaFe2As2, which exhibits twin-domains without uniaxial strain below the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural (nematic) transition temperature Ts. Although it is generally assumed that such a pressure will not affect the intrinsic electronic/magnetic properties of the system, it is known to enhance the antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering temperature TN ( < Ts) and create in-plane resistivity anisotropy above Ts. Here we use neutron polarization analysis to show that such a strain on BaFe2As2 also induces a static or quasi-static out-of-plane (c-axis) AF order and its associated critical spin fluctuations near TN/Ts. Therefore, uniaxial pressure necessary to detwin single crystals of BaFe2As2 actually rotates the easy axis of the collinear AF order near TN/Ts, and such effects due to spin-orbit coupling must be taken into account to unveil the intrinsic electronic/magnetic properties of the system.
ABSTRACT
High-temperature superconductivity is closely adjacent to a long-range antiferromagnet, which is called a parent compound. In cuprates, all parent compounds are alike and carrier doping leads to superconductivity, so a unified phase diagram can be drawn. However, the properties of parent compounds for iron-based superconductors show significant diversity and both carrier and isovalent dopings can cause superconductivity, which casts doubt on the idea that there exists a unified phase diagram for them. Here we show that the ordered moments in a variety of iron pnictides are inversely proportional to the effective Curie constants of their nematic susceptibility. This unexpected scaling behavior suggests that the magnetic ground states of iron pnictides can be achieved by tuning the strength of nematic fluctuations. Therefore, a unified phase diagram can be established where superconductivity emerges from a hypothetical parent compound with a large ordered moment but weak nematic fluctuations, which suggests that iron-based superconductors are strongly correlated electron systems.
ABSTRACT
We report structural transformation of sixfold vortex domains into two-, four-, and eightfold vortices via a different type of topological defect in hexagonal manganites. Combining high-resolution electron microscopy and Landau-theory-based numerical simulations, we investigate the remarkable atomic arrangement and the intertwined relationship between the vortex structures and the topological defects. The roles of their displacement field, formation temperature, and nucleation sites are revealed. All conceivable vortices in the system are topologically classified using homotopy group theory, and their origins are identified.
ABSTRACT
We use inelastic neutron scattering to show that superconductivity in electron-underdoped NaFe0.985Co0.015As induces a dispersive sharp resonance near E(r1)=3.25 meV and a broad dispersionless mode at E(r2)=6 meV. However, similar measurements on overdoped superconducting NaFe0.935Co0.045As find only a single sharp resonance at E(r)=7 meV. We connect these results with the observations of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy that the superconducting gaps in the electron Fermi pockets are anisotropic in the underdoped material but become isotropic in the overdoped case. Our analysis indicates that both the double neutron spin resonances and gap anisotropy originate from the orbital dependence of the superconducting pairing in the iron pnictides. Our discovery also shows the importance of the inelastic neutron scattering in detecting the multiorbital superconducting gap structures of iron pnictides.
ABSTRACT
High-temperature superconductivity in iron pnictides occurs when electrons and holes are doped into their antiferromagnetic parent compounds. Since spin excitations may be responsible for electron pairing and superconductivity, it is important to determine their electron/hole-doping evolution and connection with superconductivity. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering to show that while electron doping to the antiferromagnetic BaFe2As2 parent compound modifies the low-energy spin excitations and their correlation with superconductivity (<50 meV) without affecting the high-energy spin excitations (>100 meV), hole-doping suppresses the high-energy spin excitations and shifts the magnetic spectral weight to low-energies. In addition, our absolute spin susceptibility measurements for the optimally hole-doped iron pnictide reveal that the change in magnetic exchange energy below and above T(c) can account for the superconducting condensation energy. These results suggest that high-T(c) superconductivity in iron pnictides is associated with both the presence of high-energy spin excitations and a coupling between low-energy spin excitations and itinerant electrons.
ABSTRACT
Topological vortices with swirling ferroelectric, magnetic and structural anti-phase relationship in hexagonal RMnO3 (R = Ho to Lu, Y, and Sc) have attracted much attention because of their intriguing behaviors. Herein, we report the structure of multiferroic vortex domains in YMnO3 at atomic scale using state-of-the-art aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Two types of displacements were identified among six domain walls (DWs); six translation-ferroelectric domains denoted by α+, γ-, ß+, α-, γ+ and ß-, respectively, were recognized, demonstrating the interlocking nature of the anti-vortex domain. We found that the anti-vortex core is about four unit cells wide. In addition, we reconstructed the vortex model with three swirling pairs of DWs along the [001] direction. These results are very critical for the understanding of topological behaviors and unusual properties of the multiferroic vortex.
ABSTRACT
The parent compounds of iron pnictide superconductors are bad metals with a collinear antiferromagnetic structure and Néel temperatures below 220 K. Although alkaline iron selenide A(y)Fe(1.6+x)Se(2) (A=K, Rb, Cs) superconductors are isostructural with iron pnictides, in the vicinity of the undoped limit they are insulators, forming a block antiferromagnetic order and having Néel temperatures of roughly 500 K. Here we show that the spin waves of the insulating antiferromagnet Rb(0.89)Fe(1.58)Se(2) can be accurately described by a local moment Heisenberg Hamiltonian. A fitting analysis of the spin wave spectra reveals that the next-nearest neighbour couplings in Rb(0.89)Fe(1.58)Se(2), (Ba,Ca,Sr)Fe(2)As(2), and Fe(1.05)Te are of similar magnitude. Our results suggest a common origin for the magnetism of all the Fe-based superconductors, despite having different ground states and antiferromagnetic orderings.
Subject(s)
Chemistry, Physical , Ferrous Compounds/chemistry , Iron/chemistry , Magnetics/methods , Crystallography, X-Ray , Electric Conductivity , Electrons , Molecular Structure , Rubidium/chemistry , Selenium/chemistry , Temperature , ThermodynamicsABSTRACT
We report the fabrication and the nonlinear optical properties of Rh-doped BaTiO3 thin films. The films were deposited on SrTiO3 (100) substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. The deposited Rh:BaTiO3 thin films were single phase and c-axis orientation investigated by x-ray diffraction. The films exhibited large nonlinear optical effects, which were determined using Z-scan technique at a wavelength of 532 nm with a laser duration of 10 ns. The real and imaginary parts of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility chi (3) were 5.71 x 10(-7) esu and 9.59 x 10(-8) esu, respectively. The value of Re chi (3) of Rh:BaTiO3 films is much larger than those of several representative nonlinear optical thin films. The results show that Rh:BaTiO3 thin films have great potential applications for nonlinear optical devices.
