We report the first Nernst effect measurement on the new iron-based superconductor LaO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$FeAs $(x=0.1)$. In the normal state, the Nernst signal is negative and very small. Below $T_{c}$ a large positive peak caused by vortex motion is observed. The flux flowing regime is quite large compared to conventional type-II superconductors. However, a clear deviation of the Nernst signal from normal state background and an anomalous depression of off-diagonal thermoelectric current in the normal state between $T_{c}$ and 50 K are observed. We propose that this anomaly in the normal state Nernst effect could correlate with the SDW fluctuations.
In this paper we calculate the electron-phonon coupling of the newly-discovered superconductor LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs from first-principles, using Density Functional Perturbation Theory. For pure LaOFeAs, the calculated electron-phonon coupling constant $λ=0.21$ and logarithmic-averaged frequency $ω_{ln}=206 K$, give a maximum $T_c$ of 0.8 K, using the standard Migdal-Eliashberg theory. For the $F-$doped compounds, we predict even smaller coupling constants, due to the strong suppression of the electronic Density of States at the Fermi level. To reproduce the experimental $T_c=26 K$, a 5-6 times…
We report density functional theory calculations for the parent compound LaOFeAs of the newly discovered 26K Fe-based superconductor LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs. We find that the ground state is an ordered antiferromagnet, with staggered moment about 2.3$μ_B$, on the border with the Mott insulating state. We fit the bands crossing the Fermi surface, derived from Fe and As, to a tight-binding Hamiltonian using maximally localized Wannier functions on Fe 3d and As 4p orbitals. The model Hamiltonian accurately describes the Fermi surface obtained via first-principles calculations. Due to the evident pro…
Diamagnetic susceptibility measurements under high hydrostatic pressure (up to 1.03 GPa) were carried out on the newly discovered Fe-based superconductor LaO_{1-x}F_{x}FeAs(x=0.11). The transition temperature T_c, defined as the point at the maximum slope of superconducting transition, was enhanced almost linearly by hydrostatic pressure, yielding a dT_c/dP of about 1.2 K/GPa. Differential diamagnetic susceptibility curves indicate that the underlying superconducting state is complicated. It is suggested that pressure plays an important role on pushing low T_c superconducting phase toward the …
We have performed 75As Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements on aligned powders of the new LaO0.9F0.1FeAs superconductor. In the normal state, we find a strong temperature dependence of the spin shift and Korringa behavior of the spin lattice relaxation rate. In the superconducting state, we find evidence for line nodes in the superconducting gap and spin-singlet pairing. Our measurements reveal a strong anisotropy of the spin lattice relaxation rate, which suggest that superconducting vortices contribute to the relaxation rate when the field is parallel to the c-axis but not for the p…
Raman spectra have been measured on iron-based quaternary CeO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs and LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs with varying fluorine doping at room temperatures. A group analysis has been made to clarify the optical modes. Based on the first principle calculations, the observed phonon modes can be assigned accordingly. In LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs, the E$_g$ and A$_{1g}$ modes related to the vibrations of La, are suppressed with increasing F doping. However F doping only has a small effect on the E$_g$ and A$_{1g}$ modes of Fe and As. The Raman modes of La and As are absent in rare-earth substituted CeO$_…
Using angle-integrated photoemission spectroscopy we have probed the novel LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$FeAs superconductor over a wide range of photon energies and temperatures. We have provided the first full characterization of the orbital character of the VB DOS and of the magnitude of the d-p hybridization energy. Finally, we have identified two characteristic temperatures: 90K where a pseudogap-like feature appears to close and 120K where a sudden change in the DOS near E$_F$ occurs. We associate these phenomena with the SDW magnetic ordering and the structural transition seen in the parent compo…
We report the theoretical study of the flux-lattice melting in the novel iron-based superconductor $LaO_{0.9}F_{0.1}FeAs$ and $LaO_{0.925}F_{0.075}FeAs$. Using the Hypernetted-Chain closure and an efficient algorithm, we calculate the two-dimensional one-component plasma pair distribution functions, static structure factors and direct correlation functions at various temperatures. The Hansen-Verlet freezing criterion is shown to be valid for vortex-liquid freezing in type-II superconductors. Flux-lattice meting lines for $LaO_{0.9}F_{0.1}FeAs$ and $LaO_{0.925}F_{0.075}FeAs$ are predicted throu…
We present point-contact spectroscopy data for junctions between a normal metal and the newly discovered F-doped superconductor LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1-δ}$FeAs (F-LaOFeAs). A zero-bias conductance peak was observed and its shape and magnitude suggests the presence of Andreev bound states at the surface of F-LaOFeAs, which provides a possible evidence of an unconventional pairing symmetry with a nodal gap function. The maximum gap value $Δ_0\approx3.9\pm0.7$meV was determined from the measured spectra, in good agreement with the recent experiments on specific heat and lower critical field.
The Nernst effect has recently proven a sensitive probe for detecting unusual normal state properties of unconventional superconductors. In particular, it may sensitively detect Fermi surface reconstructions which are connected to a charge or spin density wave (SDW) ordered state, and even fluctuating forms of such a state. Here we summarize recent results for the Nernst effect of the iron pnictide superconductor $\rm LaO_{1-x}F_xFeAs$, whose ground state evolves upon doping from an itinerant SDW to a superconducting state, and the cuprate superconductor $\rm La_{1.8-x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_xCuO_4$ which…
We present the first experimental results of the lower critical field $H_{c1}$ of the newly discovered F-doped superconductor LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$FeAs (F-LaOFeAs) by global and local magnetization measurements. It is found that $H_{c1}$ showed an clear linear-$T$ dependence down to a temperature of 2 K, indicative of an unconventional pairing symmetry with a nodal gap function. Based on the d-wave model, we estimated a maximum gap value $Δ_0=4.0 \pm 0.6$ meV, in consistent with the recent specific heat and point-contact tunneling measurements. Taking the demagnetization factor into account, th…
The densities of the valence and conduction band electronic states of the newly discovered layered superconductors LaOFeAs, LaO$_{0.87}$F$_{0.13}$FeAs (Tc=26 K), SmO$_{0.95}$F$_{0.05}$FeAs and SmO$_{0.85}$F$_{0.15}$FeAs (Tc=43 K) are studied using soft X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy combined with FP LAPW calculations of LaOFeAs, LaO$_{0.875}$FeAs and LaO$_{0.875}$F${0.125}$FeAs. The Fe 3d-states are localized in energy near the top of the valence band and are partially hybridized with p-type O (2p), As (4p), and La (6p) states approximately 3 eV below the Fermi energy. The Fe L3 X-…
We have studied the newly found superconductor compound LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs through the first-principles density functional theory calculations. We find that the parent compound LaOFeAs is a quasi-2-dimensional antiferromgnetic semimetal with most carriers being electrons and with a magnetic moment of $2.3μ_B$ located around each Fe atom on the Fe-Fe square lattice. Furthermore this is a commensurate antiferromagnetic spin density wave due to the Fermi surface nesting, which is robust against the F-doping. The observed superconduction happens on the Fe-Fe antiferromagnetic layer, suggesting a…
Using state-of-the-art first-principles calculations we study the magnetic behaviour of CeOFeAs. We find the Ce layer moments oriented perpendicular to those of the Fe layers. An analysis of incommensurate magnetic structures reveals that the Ce-Ce magnetic coupling is rather weak with, however, a strong Fe-Ce coupling. Comparison of the origin of the tetragonal to orthorhombic structural distortion in CeOFeAs and LaOFeAs show marked differences; in CeOFeAs the distortion is stabilized by a lowering of spectral weight at the Fermi level, while in LaOFeAs by a reduction in magnetic frustration.…
We have employed a new route to synthesize single phase F-doped LaOFeAs compound and confirmed the superconductivity above 20 K in this Fe-based system. We show that the new superconductor has a rather high upper critical field of about 54 T. A clear signature of superconducting gap opening below T$_c$ was observed in the far-infrared reflectance spectra, with 2$Δ/\textit{k}T_c\approx$3.5-4.2. Furthermore, we show that the new superconductor has electron-type conducting carrier with a rather low carrier density.
Using state-of-the-art first-principles calculations we have elucidated the complex magnetic and structural dependence of LaOFeAs upon doping. Our key findings are that (i) doping results in an orthorhombic ground state and (ii) there is a commensurate to incommensurate transition in the magnetic structure between $x=0.025$ and $x=0.04$. Our calculations further imply that in this system magnetic order persists up to the onset of superconductivity at the critical doping of $x=0.05$. Finally, our investigations of the undoped parent compound reveal an unusually pronounced dependence of the magn…
By using a two-step method, we successfully synthesized the iron based new superconductor LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1-x}$FeAs. The Hall effect and magnetoresistance were measured in wide temperature region. A negative Hall coefficient R_H has been found implying a dominant conduction by electron-like charge carriers in this material. The charge carrier density determined at 100K is about 9.8E20 cm-3, which is close to the cuprate superconductors. It is further found that the magnetoresistance does not follow the Kohler's law. Meanwhile, the Hall coefficient, the resistivity at 0T, and magnetoresistance…
We report the specific heat measurements on the newly discovered Fe-based layered superconductor LaO_0.9F_{0.1-delta}FeAs with the onset transition temperature T_c \approx 28 K. A nonlinear magnetic field dependence of the electronic specific heat coefficient gamma(H) has been found in the low temperature limit, which is consistent with the prediction for a nodal superconductor. The maximum gap value Delta_0 \approx 3.4$\pm$0.5 meV was derived by analyzing gamma(H) based on the d-wave model. We also detected the electronic specific heat difference between 9 T and 0 T in wide temperature region…
We use group theory to classify the superconducting states of systems with two orbitals on a tetragonal lattice. The orbital part of the superconducting gap function can be either symmetric or anti-symmetric. For the orbital symmetric state, the parity is even for spin singlet and odd for spin triplet; for the orbital anti-symmetric state, the parity is odd for spin singlet and even for spin triplet. The gap basis functions are obtained with the use of the group chain scheme by taking into account the spin-orbit coupling. In the weak pairing limit, the orbital anti-symmetric state is only stab…
We have studied the reflectance of the recently discovered superconductor LaO_0.9F0.FeAs in a wide energy range from the far infrared to the visible regime. We report on the observation of infrared active phonons, the plasma edge (PE) and possible interband transitions. On the basis of this data and the reported in-plane penetration depth lambda_L(0) about 254 nm [H. Luetkens et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. v. 101, 0970009 (2008)] a disorder sensitive relatively small value of the total electron electron-boson coupling constant lambda_tot=lambda_e-ph+lambda_e-sp ~ 0.6 +- 0.35 can be estimated adoptin…
We present zero field and transverse field \muSR experiments on the recently discovered electron doped Fe-based superconductor LaO_{1-x}F_xFeAs. The zero field experiments on underdoped (x=0.075) and optimally doped (x=0.1) samples rule out any static magnetic order above 1.6 K in these superconducting samples. From transverse field experiments in the vortex phase we deduce the temperature and field dependence of the superfluid density. Whereas the temperature dependence is consistent with a weak coupling BCS s-wave or a dirty d-wave gap function scenario, the field dependence strongly evidenc…
We report resistivity and upper critical field B_c2(T) data for As deficient LaO_(0.9)F_(0.1)FeAs_(1-delta) in a wide temperature and high field range up to 60 T. These disordered samples exhibit a slightly enhanced superconducting transition at T_c = 29 K and a significantly enlarged slope dB_(c2))/dT = -5.4 T/K near T_c which contrasts with a flattening of B_(c2)(T) starting near 23 K above 30 T. This flattening is interpreted as Pauli limiting behaviour (PLB) with B_(c2)(0) approx 63 T. We compare our results with B_(c2)(T)-data reported in the literature for clean and disordered samples. W…
The electron-phonon coupling of LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs is re-investigated on the basis of density functional theory in local density approximation. The implications of the $(π,π)$ nesting of the Fermi surfaces are carefully studied and found to lead to a non-standard electron-phonon coupling of the corresponding Fe in-plane breathing mode, which might make a strong contribution to the high superconducting transition temperature. The semi-metallic behavior of the undoped material is also further illuminated.
In two recent articles (cond-mat/0606177 and arXiv:0804.1615), we have suggested a unified theory of superconductivity based on the real-space spin-parallel electron pairing and superconducting mechanism and have shown that the stable hexagonal and tetragonal vortex lattices (the optimal doping phases) can be expected in the newly discovered LaO{1-x}F{x}FeAs (x0=1/7=0.1428) and SmO{1-x}F{x}FeAs (x0=1/6=0.1667), respectively. In this paper, we present a theoretical study of the effects of hydrostatic and anisotropic pressure on the superconducting transition temperature Tc of the Fe-based layer…
High-resolution and high-flux neutron as well as X-ray powder-diffraction experiments were performed on the oxypnictide series LaO(1-x)FxFeAs with 0<x<0.15 in order to study the crystal and magnetic structure. The magnetic symmetry of the undoped compound corresponds to those reported for ReOFeAs (with Re a rare earth) and for AFe2As2 (A=Ba, Sr) materials. We find an ordered magnetic moment of 0.63(1)muB at 2 K in LaOFeAs, which is significantly larger than the values previously reported for this compound. A sizable ordered magnetic moment is observed up to a F-doping of 4.5% whereas there is …
We consider the shape of the curves of "Andreev" conductance of non-ballistic point contact NS heterosystems depending on the bias voltage at the contact. The obtained shape of those curves is caused by the contribution from the mechanism of coherent scattering by impurities which doubles the scattering cross section. The behavior of generalized and differential conductance is compared for ballistic and non-ballistic transport regimes. The criteria are considered allowing one to discriminate between those regimes with the corresponding conduction curves similar in appearance. The analysis is e…
We discuss the electronic structure, lattice dynamics and electron-phonon interaction of newly discovered superconductor LaO$_{0.5}$F$_{0.5}$BiS$_{2}$ using density functional based calculations. A strong Fermi surface nesting at $\mathbf{k}$=($π$,$π$,0) suggests a proximity to charge density wave instability and leads to imaginary harmonic phonons at this $\mathbf{k}$ point associated with in-plane displacements of S atoms. Total energy analysis resolves only a shallow double-well potential well preventing the appearance of static long-range order. Both harmonic and anharmonic contributions t…
We report the temperature dependent x-ray powder diffraction of the FeAs-based superconductors in the range between 300 K and 95 K. In the case of NdOFeAs we have detected the structural phase transition from the tetragonal phase, with P4/nmm space group, to the orthorhombic phase,with Cmma space group, over a broad temperature range from 150 K to 120 K, centered at T0 137K. This transition is reduced, by about 30K, by the internal chemical pressure going from LaOFeAs to NdOFeAs. On the contrary the superconducting critical temperature increases from 27K to 51 K going from LaOFeAs to NdOFeAs d…
In high-transition temperature (high-Tc) copper oxides, it is generally believed that antiferromagnetism plays a fundamental role in the superconducting mechanism because superconductivity occurs when mobile electrons or holes are doped into the antiferromagnetic parent compounds. The recent discovery of superconductivity in the rare-earth (R) iron-based oxide systems [RO1-xFxFeAs] has generated enormous interest because these materials are the first noncopper oxide superconductors with Tc exceeding 50 K. The parent (nonsuperconducting) LaOFeAs material is metallic but shows anomalies near 150…
Polycrystalline samples of RO1-xFxFeAs (0 < x < 0.25) (R = La, Sm, Gd) were investigated by wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDX) in the electron microscope to determine the composition of the samples, in particular the fluorine content. It was found that the measured fluorine content can deviate considerably from the initial weight. In the lanthanum compound LaO1-xFxFeAs, we found good agreement mainly for x > 0.05, but for x < 0.05 the fluorine hardly goes into the sample. For the samarium compound we measured less than half the fluorine in the sample as initially weighed at all flu…
Here we report the superconductivity in the iron-based oxyarsenide Sm[O1-xFx]FeAs, with the onset resistivity transition temperature at 55.0 K and Meissner transition at 54.6 K. This compound has the same crystal structure as LaOFeAs with shrunk crystal lattices, and becomes the superconductor with the highest critical temperature among all materials besides copper oxides.
In this paper we report the fabrication and superconducting properties of GdO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$FeAs. It is found that when x is equal to 0.17, GdO$_{0.83}$F$_{0.17}$FeAs is a superconductor with the onset transition temperature T$_{c}^{on}\approx$ 36.6K. Resistivity anomaly near 130K was observed for all samples up to x = 0.17, such a phenomenon is similar to that of LaO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$FeAs. Hall coefficient indicates that GdO$_{0.83}$F$_{0.17}$FeAs is conducted by electron-like charge carriers.
We used the proximity effect as a tool to achieve an ideal (barrier - free) NS boundary for quantitative evaluation of transport phenomena that accompany converting dissipative current into supercurrent in NS systems with unconventional superconductors, single - crystal chalcogenide FeSe and granulated pnictide LaO(F)FeAs. Using features (limitations) of Andreev reflection in the NS systems with dispersion of the electron spin subbands, we revealed direct evidence for spin - polarized nature of transport and the absence of residual magnetization in iron - based superconductors in the normal st…
The specific heat $C(T)$ of new iron-based high-$T_c$ superconductor SmO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs ($0 \leq x \leq 0.2$) was systematically studied. For undoped $x$ = 0 sample, a specific heat jump was observed at 130 K. This is attributed to the structural or spin-density-wave (SDW) transition, which also manifests on resistivity as a rapid drop. However, this jump disappears with slight F doping in $x$ = 0.05 sample, although the resistivity drop still exists. The specific heat $C/T$ shows clear anomaly near $T_c$ for $x$ = 0.15 and 0.20 superconducting samples. Such anomaly has been absent in LaO$_{…
We report experimental results of ^{75}As and ^{139}La nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in the iron-based layered La(O_{1-x}F_{x})FeAs (x= 0.0, 0.04 and 0.11) system. In the undoped LaOFeAs, 1/T_1 of ^{139}La exhibits a distinct peak at T_N ~ 142 K below which the spectra become broadened due to the internal magnetic field attributed to an antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering. In the 4% F-doped sample, 1/T_1T exhibits a Curie-Weiss temperature dependence down to 30 K, suggesting the development of AFM spin fluctuations with decreasing temperature. In the 11% F-doped sample, in contrast, pseudogap …
We have synthesized a quaternary fluoroarsenide SrFeAsF with the ZrCuSiAs-type structure (P4/nmm, a = 0.3999 and c = 0.8973 nm), which is composed of an alternately stacked (FeAs)- and (SrF)+ layers, analogous to the FeAs-based superconductor LaFeAsO. SrFeAsF shows metallic type conduction with the anomaly at ~180 K. The partial replacement of the Fe with Co suppresses the anomaly and induces the superconductivity, while the maximal Tc (4 K for SrFe0.875Co0.125AsF) is much lower than that of the Co-substituted LaFeAsO. Replacement of (LaO)+ layers with (SrF)+ layers results in a enlargement of…
Since the discovery of high-Tc LaO_1-xF_xFeAs, and other such systems based on FeAs layers, several proposals have been made for the superconducting order parameter Delta_k, on both phenomenological and microscopic grounds. Here we discuss how the symmetry of Delta_k in the bulk can be determined, assuming that single crystals will soon be available. We suggest that a measurement of the dependence of the low temperature specific heat on the angle of a magnetic field in the FeAs plane is the simplest such method, and calculate representative specific heat vs. field angle oscillations for the va…
A review of high-pressure studies on Fe-pnictide superconductors is given. The pressure effects on the magnetic and superconducting transitions are discussed for different classes of doped and undoped FeAs-compounds, ROFeAs (R = rare earth), AeFe2As2 (Ae = Ca, Sr, Ba), and AFeAs (A = Li, Na). Pressure tends to decrease the magnetic transition temperature in the undoped or only slightly doped compounds. The superconducting Tc increases with pressure for underdoped FeAs-pnictides, remains approximately constant for optimal doping, and decreases linearly in the overdoped range. The undoped LaOFeA…
This paper explains the multi-orbital band structures and itinerant magnetism of the iron-pnictide and chalcogenides. We first describe the generic band structure of an isolated FeAs layer. Use of its Abelian glide-mirror group allows us to reduce the primitive cell to one FeAs unit. From density-functional theory, we generate the set of eight Fe $d$ and As $p$ localized Wannier functions for LaOFeAs and their tight-binding (TB) Hamiltonian, $h(k)$. We discuss the topology of the bands, i.e. allowed and avoided crossings, the origin of the d6 pseudogap, as well as the role of the As $p$ orbita…
The discovery of the new family of oxypnictide superconductors, such as LaFeAsO0.89F0.1, with critical temperature, Tc, over 26 K, has brought new impetus to the fields of high temperature superconductivity and strongly correlated electron systems. These materials showed high upper critical fields, Hc2, which have been estimated to be higher than 55 or 63-65 T in LaO0.9F0.1FeAs with Tc of 26 K, 70 T in PrFeAsO0.85F0.15, and over 100 T in SmO0.85F0.15FeAs with Tc of 46 K. The two gap superconductivity proposed for LaO0.9F0.1FeAs suggests that the Hc2 could be further increased to a significant …
The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity (HTSC) in doped Iron pnictides is the latest example of unanticipated behavior exhibited by $d$- and $f$-band materials. The symmetry of the SC gap, along with the mechanism of its emergence from the ``normal'' state is a central issue in this context. Here, motivated by a host of experimental signatures suggesting strong correlations in the Fe-pnictides, we undertake a detailed study of their normal state. Focussing on symmetry-unbroken phases, we use the correlated band structure method, LDA+DMFT, to study the one-particle responses …
We report resistivity and upper critical field B_c2(T) data for disordered (As deficient) LaO_0.9F_0.1FeAs_1-delta in a wide temperature and high field range up to 60 T. These samples exhibit a slightly enhanced superconducting transition at T_c = 28.5 K and a significantly enlarged slope dB_c2/dT = -5.4 T/K near T_c which contrasts with a flattening of B_c2(T) starting near 23 K above 30 T. The latter evidences Pauli limiting behaviour (PLB) with B_c2(0) approximately 63 T. We compare our results with B_c2(T)-data from the literature for clean and disordered samples. Whereas clean samples sho…
Using the "break-junction" technique we prepared and studied superconductor - constriction - superconductor nanocontacts in polycrystalline samples of Fe-based superconductors CeO$_{0.88}$F$_{0.12}$FeAs (Ce-1111; $T_C^{\rm bulk} = 41 \pm 1 K$), LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$FeAs (La-1111; $T_C^{\rm bulk} = 28 \pm 1 K$), and FeSe ($T_C^{\rm bulk} = 12 \pm 1 K$). We detected two subharmonic gap structures related with multiple Andreev reflections, indicating the presence of two superconducting gaps with the BCS-ratios $2Δ_L/k_BT_C = 4.2 ÷5.9$ and $2Δ_S/k_BT_C\sim 1 \ll 3.52$, respectively. Temperature dep…
We report the results of a study of magnetic field features of electron transport in heterojunctions with NS boundary inside iron-based superconductors, represented by a binary phase of $α$ - FeSe and oxyarsenide pnictide LaO(F)FeAs. We used the ability of self magnetic field of the transport current to partially destroy superconductivity, no matter how low the field may be, in the NS interface area, where, due to the proximity effect, the superconducting order parameter, $Δ$, disperses from 1 to 0 within the scale of the Ginzburg-Landau coherence length. The following features of transport we…
We report B_c2 data for LaO_{0.9}F_{0.1}FeAs_{1-delta} in a wide T and field range up to 60 Tesla. The large slope of B_c2 approx ~ -6 Tesla/K near an improved T_c = 28.5 K of the in-plane B_c2(T) contrasts with a flattening starting at 23 K above 30 Tesla we regard as the onset of Pauli-limited behavior (PLB) with B_c2(0) about 65 Tesla. We interpret a similar hitherto unexplained flattening of the B_c2(T) curves reported for at least three other disordered closely related systems as also as a manifestation of PLB. Their Maki parameters have been estimated analyzing their B_c2(T) data within …
