We report on isofield magnetization curves obtained as a function of temperature in two single crystals of $Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2$ with superconducting transition temperature $T_c$=28K and 32.7 K. Results obtained for fields above 20 kOe show a well defined rounding effect on the reversible region extending 1-3 K above $T_c(H)$ masking the transition. This rounding appears to be due to three-dimensional critical fluctuations, as the higher field curves obey a well know scaling law for this type of critical fluctuations. We also analysed the asymptotic behavior of $\sqrt M$vs.T curves in the reversible region which probes the shape of the gap near $T_c(H)$. Results of the analysis suggests that phase fluctuations are important in $Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2$ which is consistent with nodes in the gap.
High resolution magnetization measurements performed in a high quality Ba_(1-x)K_xFe2As2 single crystal allowed to determine the diamagnetism induced above the superconducting transition by thermally activated Cooper pairs. These data, obtained with magnetic fields applied along and transverse to the crystal ab layers, demonstrate experimentally that the superconducting transition of iron pnictides may be explained at a phenomenological level in terms of the Gaussian Ginzburg-Landau approach for three-dimensional anisotropic superconductors.
The pairing mechanism in the iron-pnictide superconductors is still unknown. However, similarities to the cuprate high-temperature superconductors suggest that a similar mechanism may be at work. Recently, careful experimental studies of the spin excitation spectrum revealed, like in the cuprates, a strong temperature dependence in the normal state and a resonance feature in the superconducting state. Motivated by these findings, we develop a model of electrons interacting with a temperature dependent magnetic excitation spectrum based on these experimental observations. We apply it to analyse…
We report on isofield magnetic relaxation data on a single crystal of $Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2$ with superconducting transition temperature $T_c$= 32.7 K which exhibit the so called fish-tail effect. A surface map of the superconducting transition temperature shows that the superconducting properties are close to homogeneous across the sample. Magnetic relaxation data, M(t), was used to obtain the activation energy U(M) in order to study different vortex dynamics regimes. Results of this analysis along with time dependent measurements as a function of field and temperature extended to the reversib…
We report a Fe Kβx-ray emission spectroscopy study of local magnetic moments in the rare-earth doped iron pnictide Ca_{1-x}RE_xFe_2As_2 (RE=La, Pr, and Nd). In all samples studied the size of the Fe local moment is found to decrease significantly with temperature and goes from ~0.9 μ_B at T = 300 K to ~0.45 μ_B at T = 70 K. In the collapsed tetragonal (cT) phase of Nd- and Pr-doped samples (T<70K) the local moment is quenched, while the moment remains unchanged for the La-doped sample, which does not show lattice collapse. Our results show that Ca_{1-x}RE_xFe_2As_2 (RE= Pr and Nd) exhibits a s…
This paper reviews quantum oscillation studies of iron-pnictide superconductors and related materials. These measurements give unique information regarding the full three dimensional topology of the Fermi surfaces and the renormalisation of the quasi-particle masses. The review will cover measurements of the 122 arsenide end members, XFe_2As_2 (X = Ba, Sr, Ca) which have a spin density wave ground state, but will concentrate on the phosphide end members (LaFePO and XFe2P2) which have a paramagnetic ground state and a Fermi surface topology which is similar to the higher Tc superconducting iron…
The recent discovery of superconductivity at moderately high temperature (26 K to 55 K) in doped iron-based pnictides (LnO_{1-x}F_xFeAs, where Ln = La, Ce, Sm, Pr, Nd, etc.), having layered-structure-like cuprates, has triggered renewed challenge towards understanding the pairing mechanism. After reviewing the current findings on these systems, a theoretical model of a combined mechanism is suggested in which the phonon-mediated and distortion-field-mediated pairing processes give the right order of superconducting critical temperature T_c. The distortion-field modes arise from Jahn-Teller or …
The effect of pressure on the crystalline structure and superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of the 111-type Na1-xFeAs system using in situ high pressure synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction and diamond anvil cell techniques is studied. A pressure-induced tetragonal to tetragonal isostructural phase transition was found. The systematic evolution of the FeAs4 tetrahedron as a function of pressure based on Rietveld refinements on the powder x-ray diffraction patterns was obtained. The non-monotonic Tc(P) behavior of Na1-xFeAs is found to correlate with the anomalies of the distance betwee…
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…
An intriguing aspect of unconventional superconductivity is that it always appears in the vicinity of other competing phases, whose suppression brings the full emergence of superconductivity. In the iron-pnictides, these competing phases are marked by a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition and a collinear spin-density-wave (SDW) transition. There has been macroscopic evidence for competition between these phases and superconductivity as the magnitude of both the orthorhombicity and magnetic moment are suppressed in the superconducting state. Here, using angle-resolved photoemission…
The sign and profile of the thermal Hall conductivity $κ_{xy}$ gives important insights into the gap structure of multi-band superconductors. With this perspective, we have investigated $κ_{xy}$ and the thermal conductivity $κ_{xx}$ in $\rm Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2$ which display large peak anomalies in the superconducting state. The anomalies imply that a large hole-like quasiparticle (qp) population exists below the critical temperature $T_c$. We show that the qp mean-free-path inferred from $κ_{xx}$ reproduces the observed anomaly in $κ_{xy}$, providing a consistent estimate of a large qp popula…
We systematically investigated the in-plane resistivity anisotropy of electron-underdoped $EuFe_{2-x}Co_xAs_2$ and $BaFe_{2-x}Co_xAs_2$, and hole-underdoped $Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2$. Large in-plane resistivity anisotropy was found in the former samples, while {\it tiny} in-plane resistivity anisotropy was detected in the latter ones. When it is detected, the anisotropy starts above the structural transition temperature and increases smoothly through it. As the temperature is lowered further, the anisotropy takes a dramatic enhancement through the magnetic transition temperature. We found that the…
Superconductivity in iron selenides has experienced a rapid growth, but not without major inconsistencies in the reported properties. For alkali-intercalated iron selenides, even the structure of the superconducting phase is a subject of debate, in part because the onset of superconductivity is affected much more delicately by stoichiometry and preparation than in cuprate or pnictide superconductors. If high-quality, pure, superconducting intercalated iron selenides are ever to be made, the intertwined physics and chemistry must be explained by systematic studies of how these materials form an…
Iron pnictides are the only known family of unconventional high-temperature superconductors besides cuprates. Until recently, it was widely accepted that superconductivity is spin-fluctuation driven and intimately related to their fermiology, specifically, hole and electron pockets separated by the same wave vector that characterizes the dominant spin fluctuations, and supporting order parameters (OP) of opposite signs. This picture was questioned after the discovery of a new family, based on the FeSe layers, either intercalated or in the monolayer form. The critical temperatures there reach ~…
Since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in iron pnictides in early 2008, many iron-based superconductors with different structures have been discovered, with the highest transition temperature to date being 57 K. By the end of 2010, another kind of new superconductor, the Fe-based chalcogenide K1-xFe2-ySe2 was discovered. A naive counting of the electrons in the system would lead to a conclusion that the system is heavily electron overdoped (~0.4 e/Fe). Band structure calculations further support this speculation and predict that the hole pockets which are found in the iron p…
We present a brief review of the present day situation with studies of high-temperature superconductivity in iron pnictides and chalcogenides. Recent discovery of superconductivity with T_c > 30 K in A_xFe_{2-x/2}Se_2 (A=K,Cs,Tl,...) represents the major new step in the development of new concepts in the physics of Fe - based high-temperature superconductors. We compare LDA and ARPES data on the band structure and Fermi surfaces of novel superconductors and those of the previously studied FeAs superconductors, especially isostructural 122 - superconductors like BaFe_2As_2. It appears that elec…
Investigating the role of disorder in superconductors is an essential part of characterizing the fundamental superconducting properties as well as assessing potential applications of the material. In most cases, the information available on the defect matrix is poor, making such studies difficult, but the situation can be improved by introducing defects in a controlled way, as provided by neutron irradiation. In this work, we analyze the effects of neutron irradiation on a Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ single crystal. We mainly concentrate on the magnetic properties which were determined by m…
It is well established that the occurrence of superconductivity in iron pnictides is closely related to the tetragonal to orthorhombic structural and antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase transitions. It, however, has not been clear whether the same scenario is appropriate for iron chalcogenide counterparts due to the absence of parent compounds for the latter family of superconductors. Here, we report the synthesis and structure determination of two novel phases in ethylenediamine intercalated FeSe, one is tetragonal and the other orthorhombic in room temperature, which can be stabilized with neutral…
