Doping-dependent competition between superconductivity and polycrystalline charge density waves
S. Caprara, M. Grilli, J. Lorenzana, B. Leridon
备注:
13 figures. Changes from previous version are in red. A few clarifications and a discussion about the different materials were added together with additional references
From systematic analysis of the high pulsed magnetic field resistance data of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_{4}$ thin films, we extract an experimental phase diagram for several doping values ranging from the very underdoped to the very overdoped regimes. Our analysis highlights a competition between charge density waves and superconductivity which is ubiquitous between $x=0.08$ and $x=0.19$ and produces the previously observed double step transition. When suppressed by a strong magnetic field, superconductivity is resilient for two specific doping ranges centered around respectively $x\approx 0.09$ and $x\approx 0.19$ and the characteristic temperature for the onset of the competing charge density wave phase is found to vanish above $x = 0.19$. At $x=1/8$ the two phases are found to coexist exactly at zero magnetic field.
We investigated the temperature dependence of the density-of-states in the iron-based superconductor SmO_1-xF_xFeAs (x=0, 0.12, 0.15, 0.2) with high resolution angle-integrated photoemission spectroscopy. The density-of-states suppression is observed with decreasing temperature in all samples, revealing two characteristic energy scales (10meV and 80meV). However, no obvious doping dependence is observed. We argue that the 10meV suppression is due to an anomalously doping-independent normal state pseudogap, which becomes the superconducting gap once in the superconducting state; and alert the p…
We report the results from resistivity and magnetic measurements on polycrystalline Ce oxypnictide (CeFeAsO1-xFx) samples where x spans from 0.13 to 0.25. We find that the orbital limiting field is as high as 150 T and it systematically decreases with increasing doping. The Maki parameter is greater than one across the phase diagram and the large Maki parameter suggests that orbital and Pauli limiting effects contribute to the upper critical field. The broadening of the superconducting transition in the resistivity data was interpreted using the thermally activated flux flow (TAFF) model where…
We investigate the asymmetry between electron and hole doping in a 2D Mott insulator, and the resulting competition between antiferromagnetism (AF) and d-wave superconductivity (SC), using variational Monte Carlo for projected wave functions. We find that key features of the T = 0 phase diagram, such as critical doping for SC-AF coexistence and the maximum value of the SC order parameter, are determined by a single parameter which characterises the topology of the "Fermi surface" at half filling defined by the bare tight-binding parameters. Our results give insight into why AF wins for electro…
Raman spectra of polycrystalline NdFeAsO1-xFx (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2) compound have been systematically investigated as functions of temperature and fluorine concentration. Scanning electron microscopic and Raman microscopic characterization demonstrates that the polycrystalline samples mainly contain two phases, i.e. superconductor NdFeAsO1-xFx compound and a MnP-type FeAs phase, with dissimilar characteristic Raman bands. It was found that fluorine doping leads to structure disorder in the insulator Nd-O layers and high temperature coefficient of Fe-As vibrational mode.
We present a theoretical framework for a quantitative understanding of the full doping dependence of the optical spectra of the cuprates. In accord with experimental observations, the computed spectra show how the high-energy Mott features continue to persist in the overdoped regime even after the mid-infrared (MIR) peak originating from the pseudogap has collapsed in a quantum critical point. In this way, we reconcile the opposing tendencies of the MIR and Mott peaks to shift in opposite directions in the optical spectra with increasing doping. The competition between the pseudogap and the Mo…
We have synthesized polycrystalline samples of Pt-substituted SrFe2As2 and measured the temperature dependence of magnetization and electrical resistivity. We have observed the superconducting transition at Tc = 17 K with the maximum shielding volume fraction at x = 0.125 in Sr(Fe1-xPtx)2As2. It is found that the maximum Tc depends on the substituted element, so it is important to substitute various elements to explore new iron-based superconductors with higher Tc.
Using the numerical unrestricted Hartree-Fock approach, we study the ground state of a two-orbital model describing newly discovered FeAs-based superconductors. We observe the competition of a $(0, π)$ mode spin-density wave and the superconductivity as the doping concentration changes. There might be a small region in the electron-doping side where the magnetism and superconductivity coexist. The superconducting pairing is found to be spin singlet, orbital even, and mixed s$_{xy}$ + d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ wave (even parity).
In this study, we determined the effect of doping with the noble metal Ag on Ir$_2$Te$_4$ superconductors. Based on the resistivity, magnetization, and heat capacity, we explored the changes in the superconductivity and charge density wave for Cu$_{1-x}$Ag$_x$Ir$_2$Te$_4$ as a function of isoelectric substitution. We assessed a complete set of competing states from suppressed charge density wave in the low doping region to superconductor in the middle doping region and re-entrant charge density wave in the high doping region, thereby obtaining an electronic phase diagram, where the superconduc…
We describe from advanced first principles calculations the energetics of oxygen doping and its relation to insulator-metal transitions in underdoped YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$. We find a strong tendency of doping oxygens to order into non-magnetic Cu$^{1+}$O$_x$ chains at any $x$. Ordering produces one-dimensional metallic bands, while configurations with non-aligned oxygens are insulating. The Cu$^{2+}$O$_2$ planes remain insulating and antiferromagnetic up to a threshold between $x$=0.25 and 0.5, above which a paramagnetic normal-metal state prevails. The in-plane antiferro-paramagnetic competi…
We study the competition of antiferromagnetism and d-wave superconductivity at zero-temperature in the two-dimensional Hubbard model using Cellular Dynamical Mean Field Theory. The interplay between the two phases depends strongly on the strength of the correlation. At strong coupling ($ U \ge 8t$) the two phases do not mix, and a first-order transition takes place as a function of doping between two pure phases. At weak-coupling ($U \le 8t$) the two order parameters coexist within the same solution in a range of doping and the system smoothly evolves from the antiferromagnet to the supercondu…
We have synthesized the polycrystalline samples of Eu1-xKxFe2As2 (x = 0-1) and carried out systematic characterization using x-ray diffraction, ac & dc magnetic susceptibility, and electrical resistivity measurements. We have seen a clear signature of the coexistence of superconducting transition (Tc = 5.5 K) with SDW ordering in our under doped sample viz. x = 0.15. The spin density wave transition observed in EuFe2As2 get completely suppressed at x = 0.3 and superconductivity arises below 20 K. Superconducting transition temperature Tc increases with increase in K content and a maximum Tc = …
Using a combination of neutron, muon and synchrotron techniques we show how the magnetic state in NaFeAs can be tuned into superconductivity by replacing Fe by either Co or Ni. Electron count is the dominant factor, since Ni-doping has double the effect of Co-doping for the same doping level. We follow the structural, magnetic and superconducting properties as a function of doping to show how the superconducting state evolves, concluding that the addition of 0.1 electrons per Fe atom is sufficient to traverse the superconducting domain, and that magnetic order coexists with superconductivity a…
The discovery of EuFeAs2, currently the only charge-neutral parent phase of the 112-type iron-pnictide system, provides a new platform for the study of elemental doping effects on magnetism and superconductivity (SC). In this study, a series of polycrystalline EuFe1-yCoyAs2 and Eu0.9Pr0.1Fe1-yCoyAs2 samples are synthesized through solid-state reaction, and the evolutions of SC and magnetism with Co doping in EuFeAs2 and Eu0.9Pr0.1FeAs2 are investigated by electrical transport and magnetic susceptibility measurements. For EuFe1-yCoyAs2, the Eu-related antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition around 4…
The effects of nonmagnetic Zn and magnetic Ni substitution for Cu site on magnetism are studied by measurements of uniform magnetic susceptibility for lightly doped La_{2-x}Sr_xCu_{1-z}M_zO_4 (M=Zn or Ni) polycrystalline samples. For the parent x=0, Zn doping suppresses the Néel temperature T_N whereas Ni doping hardly changes T_N up to z=0.3. For the lightly doped samples with T_N~0, the Ni doping recovers T_N. For the superconducting samples, the Ni doping induces the superconductivity-to-antiferromagnetic transition (or crossover). All the heavily Ni doped samples indicate a spin glass beha…
We present $^{75}$As Nuclear Magnetic and Quadrupole Resonance results (NMR, NQR) on a new set of LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ polycrystalline samples. Improved synthesis conditions led to more homogenized samples with better control of the fluorine content. The structural$\equiv$nematic, magnetic, and superconducting transition temperatures have been determined by NMR spin-lattice relaxation rate and AC susceptibility measurements. The so-determined phase diagram deviates from the published one especially for low F-doping concentrations. However, if the doping level is determined from the NQR spectra…
The interplay of competing orders is relevant to high-temperature superconductivity known to emerge upon suppression of a parent antiferromagnetic order typically via charge doping. How such interplay evolves at low temperature---in particular at what doping level the zero-temperature quantum critical point (QCP) is located---is still elusive because it is masked by the superconducting state. The QCP had long been believed to follow a smooth extrapolation of the characteristic temperature $T^*$ for the strange normal state well above the superconducting transition temperature. However, recentl…
Proximity to a Mott insulating phase is likely to be an important physical ingredient of a theory that aims to describe high-temperature superconductivity in the cuprates. Quantum cluster methods are well suited to describe the Mott phase. Hence, as a step towards a quantitative theory of the competition between antiferromagnetism (AFM) and d-wave superconductivity (SC) in the cuprates, we use Cellular Dynamical Mean Field Theory to compute zero temperature properties of the two-dimensional square lattice Hubbard model. The d-wave order parameter is found to scale like the superexchange coupli…
We report the Hall resistivity, $ρ_{xy}$ of polycrystalline SmFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$ for four different fluorine concentrations from the onset of superconductivity through the collapse of the structural phase transition. For the two more highly-doped samples, $ρ_{xy}$ is linear in magnetic field up to 50 T with only weak temperature dependence, reminiscent of a simple Fermi liquid. For the lightly-doped samples with $x<0.15$, we find a low temperature regime characterized $ρ_{xy}(H)$ being both non-linear in magnetic field and strongly temperature dependent even though the Hall angle is small. T…
Neutron scattering has been used to study the nature of the ferromagnetic transition in single crystals of La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO_3 and La_0.8Ca_0.2MnO_3, and polycrystalline samples of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO_3 and La_5/8Ca_3/8MnO_3 where the naturally occurring O-16 can be replaced with the O-18 isotope. Small angle neutron scattering on the x=0.3 single crystal reveals a discontinuous change in the scattering at the Curie temperature for wave vectors below ~0.065 A^-1. Strong relaxation effects are observed for this domain scattering, for the magnetic order parameter, and for the quasielastic scattering…
We report suppression of superconductivity in Bi4O4S3 compound by Se doping at S site. Bulk polycrystalline samples are synthesized by solid state reaction route. The Rietveld refined of XRD data of all the studied samples show that the same are crystallized in tetragonal I4/mmm space group with slightly increased c lattice constant with the Se doping. Superconductivity is observed at below 4.5 K in both dc magnetization and resistivity with temperature measurements for all Bi4O4S3-xSex (x = 0, 0.03, 0.09 and 0.15) samples, though the same is decreased slightly with increase in Se content. The…
We describe the interplay between d-wave superconductivity and spin density wave (SDW) order in a theory of the hole-doped cuprates at hole densities below optimal doping. The theory assumes local SDW order, and associated electron and hole pocket Fermi surfaces of charge carriers in the normal state. We describe quantum and thermal fluctuations in the orientation of the local SDW order, which lead to d-wave superconductivity: we compute the superconducting critical temperature and magnetic field in a `minimal' universal theory. We also describe the back-action of the superconductivity on the …
Using variational cluster perturbation theory we study the competition between d-wave superconductivity (dSC) and antiferromagnetism (AF) in the the t-t'-t''-U Hubbard model. Large scale computer calculations reproduce the overall ground state phase diagram of the high-temperature superconductors as well as the one-particle excitation spectra for both hole- and electron-doping. We identify clear signatures of the Mott gap as well as of AF and of dSC that should be observable in photoemission experiments.
We measured the in-plane resistivity anisotropy in the underdoped Ca$_{1-x}$Na$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ single crystals. The anisotropy (indicated by $ρ_{\rm b} - ρ_{\rm a}$) appears below a temperature well above magnetic transition temperature $T_{\rm N}$, being positive ($ρ_{\rm b} - ρ_{\rm a} > 0$) as $x\leq$ 0.14. With increasing the doping level to $x$ = 0.19, an intersection between $ρ_{\rm b}$ and $ρ_{\rm a}$ is observed upon cooling, with $ρ_{\rm b} - ρ_{\rm a} < 0$ at low-temperature deep inside a magnetically ordered state, while $ρ_{\rm b} - ρ_{\rm a}> 0$ at high temperature. Subsequently, …
Using nuclear quadrupole resonance, the phase diagram of 1111 $R$FeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ ($R$$=$La, Ce, Sm) iron pnictides is constructed as a function of the local charge distribution in the paramagnetic state, which features low-doping-like (LD-like) and high-doping-like (HD-like) regions. Compounds based on magnetic rare earths (Ce, Sm) display a unified behavior, and comparison with La-based compounds reveals the detrimental role of static iron $3d$ magnetism on superconductivity, as well as a qualitatively different evolution of the latter at high doping. It is found that the LD-like regions f…
The coexistence state of antiferromagnetism (AF) and superconductivity (SC) has been observed in five-layered cuprates. However, this coexistence state disappears, and the AF phase and SC phase lose contact in the doping phase diagram toward double- and single-layered cuprates. We investigate the mechanism of the disappearance of the coexistence of AF and SC in disordered cuprate superconductors in order to understand these doping phase diagrams. In single- and double-layered cuprates, electrons on the CuO$_2$ plane experience the disorder effect through inhomogeneity in the charge reservoir l…
We present a study of the structural and physical properties of directly hole doped LaFe1-xMnxAsO (x = 0.0-0.2) and the influence of charge compensation / electron-doping by additional F doping in LaFe0.9Mn0.1AsO1-yFy (y = 0.1-0.5). High quality polycrystalline samples were prepared using a solid state metathesis reaction. The unit cell increases upon Mn doping, but decreases again when additional F is inserted. The semiconducting character of LaFe1-xMnxAsO decreases with additional F doping. Muon spin relaxation (muSR) measurements reveal short range magnetic order in LaFe1-xMnxAsO and a supp…
Superconductivity occurs in electrochemically doped molybdenum dichalcogenides samples thicker than four layers. While the critical temperature (Tc) strongly depends on the field effect geometry (single or double gate) and on the sample (MoS2 or MoSe2), Tc always saturates at high doping. The pairing mechanism and the complicate dependence of Tc on doping, samples and field-effect geometry are currently not understood. Previous theoretical works assumed homogeneous doping of a single layer and attributed the Tc saturation to a charge density wave instability, however the calculated values of t…
The t-J model in the large N limit (N denotes the number of spin components) yields a pseudogap phase in the underdoped region which is related to a d-wave charge density wave (d-CDW). We present results for the doping dependence of the superconducting and d-CDW order parameters as well as for collective excitations in the presence of these two order parameters. We argue that the electronic Raman spectrum with B$_{1g}$ symmetry probes the amplitude fluctuations of the d-CDW at zero momentum.
We report the discovery and characterization of a novel 112-type iron pnictide EuFeAs2, with La-doping induced superconductivity in a series of Eu1-xLaxFeAs2. The polycrystalline samples were synthesized through solid state reaction method only within a very narrow temperature window around 1073 K. Small single crystals were also grown from a flux method with the size about 100 um. The crystal structure was identified by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis as a monoclinic structure with space group of P21/m. From resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements, we found that the par…
The recently discovered layered kagome metals AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A = K, Rb, and Cs) with vanadium kagome networks provide a novel platform to explore correlated quantum states intertwined with topological band structures. Here we report the prominent effect of hole doping on both superconductivity and charge density wave (CDW) order, achieved by selective oxidation of exfoliated thin flakes. A superconducting dome is revealed as a function of the effective doping content. The superconducting transition temperature ($T_{\mathrm{c}}$) and upper critical field in thin flakes are significantly enhanced…
Superconducting properties of Co-co-doped (Ca,RE)FeAs2 ((Ca,RE)112: RE = La, Pr) were investigated. Co-co-doping increased Tc of (Ca,Pr)112 while Mn-co-doping suppressed superconductivity of (Ca,RE)112. Co-co-doped (Ca,La)112 showed large diamagnetic screening and sharper superconducting transition than Co-free (Ca,La)112. Tczero observed in resistivity measurements increased from 14 K to 30 K by Co-co-doping, while Tconset was not increased. The critical current density (Jc) of Co-co-doped (Ca,La)112 were approximately 2.1 x 104 Acm-2 and 3.2 x 103 Acm-2 at 2 K and 25 K, respectively, near ze…
Phase-pure polycrystalline Ba0.6K0.4+xFe2As2 with were prepared using a one-step solid-state reaction method. We found that over-doping of potassium can improve critical current density (Jc). High-field Jc for samples with x = 0.1 is three times higher than that for samples with x = 0. Over-doping of K has minimal effect on the critical transition temperature (Tc). Less than 0.5 K degradations in Tc was measured for samples with x = 0.1. TEM revealed high concentration of dislocations in samples with x = 0.1, resulting in enhanced flux pining. Further analyses on magnetization loops for powder…
We analyze the effect of weak disorder on the competition between antiferromagnetic order and superconductivity in a model for iron-based superconductors. Under the assumption of an approximate particle-hole symmetry we show that conventional $s^{++}$ superconductivity cannot be realized in the case of coexisting magnetic and superconductive orders, observed experimentally at intermediate doping levels. This result holds for arbitrary impurity concentrations, and, in particular, in the clean limit. The inclusion of disorder further amplifies the phase competition between itinerant antiferromag…
We report significant enhancement in superconducting properties of yttrium substituted Ce1-xYxOFFeAs superconductors. The polycrystalline samples were prepared by two step solid state reaction technique. X-ray diffraction confirmed tetragonal ZrCuSiAs structure with decrease in both a and c lattice parameters on increasing yttrium substitution (with fixed F content). With smaller ion Y in place of Ce, the transition temperature increased by 6 K. Yttrium doping also lead to higher critical fields as well as stronger inter and intra-granular current density. The magnetization critical current de…
We study the symmetry and the structure of the gap in Fe-based superconductors by decomposing the pairing interaction obtained in the RPA into s- and d-wave components and into contributions from scattering between different Fermi surfaces. We show that each interaction is well approximated by the lowest angular harmonics and use this simplification to analyze the origin of the attraction in the two channels, the competition between s- and d-wave solutions, and the origin of superconductivity in heavily doped systems, when only electron or only hole pockets are present.
We report superconductivity in polycrystalline samples of the 1038-type compounds (Ca$_{1-x}$RE$_x$)$_{10}$(FeAs)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$) up to T$_c$ = 35 K with RE = Y, La-Nd, Sm, Gd-Lu. The critical temperatures are independent of the trivalent rare earth element used, yielding an universal T$_c$($x$) phase diagram for electron doping in all these systems. The absence of superconductivity in Eu$^{2+}$ doped samples, as well as the close resemblance of (Ca$_{1-x}$RE$_x$)$_{10}$(FeAs)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$) to the 1048 compound substantiate that the electron doping scenario in the RE-1038 and 1048 …
We use c-axis resistivity and magnetoresistance measurements to study the interplay between antiferromagnetic (AF) and superconducting (SC) ordering in underdoped RBa_2Cu_3O_{6+x} (R = Lu, Y) single crystals. Both orders are found to emerge from an anisotropic 3D metallic state, upon which antiferromagnetism opposes superconductivity by driving the doped holes towards localization. Despite the competition, the superconductivity sets in before the AF order is completely destroyed and coexists with latter in a certain range of hole doping. We find also that strong magnetic fields affect the AF-S…
The recently discovered coexistence of superconductivity and charge density wave order in the kagome systems AV3Sb5 (A = K, Rb, Cs) has stimulated enormous interest. According to theory, a vanadium-based kagome system may host a flat band, nontrivial linear dispersive Dirac surface states and electronic correlation. Despite intensive investigations, it remains controversial about the origin of the charge density wave (CDW) order, how does the superconductivity relate to the CDW, and whether the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) arises primarily from the kagome lattice or the CDW order. We report an …
BiOCuS is a band insulator that becomes metallic upon hole doping. Superconductivity was recently reported in doped BiOCu$_{1-x}$S and attributed to spin fluctuations as a pairing mechanism. Based on first principles calculations of the electron-phonon coupling, we argue that the latter is very strong in this material, and probably drives superconductivity, which is however strongly depressed by the proximity to magnetism. We find however that BiOCu$_{1-x}$S is a quite unique compound where both a conventional phonon-driven and an unconventional triplet superconductivity are possible, and comp…
We synthesized a series of Nb$_{2}$Pd$_{1-x}$Ru$_{x}$S$_{5}$ polycrystalline samples by a solid-state reaction method and systematically investigated the Ru-doping effect on superconductivity by transport and magnetic measurements. It is found that superconductivity is enhanced with Ru doping and is quite robust upon disorder. Hall coefficient measurements indicate that the charge transport is dominated by hole-type charge carriers similar to the case of Ir doping, suggesting multi-band superconductivity. Upon Ru or Ir doping, \emph H$_{c2}$/$\emph T_c$ exhibits a significant enhancement, exce…
We use a holographic theory to model and study the competition of four phases: an antiferromagnetic phase, a superconducting phase, a metallic phase and a striped phase, using as control parameters temperature and a doping-like parameter. We analyse the various instabilities and determine the possible phases. One class of phase diagrams, that we analyse in detail, is similar to that of high-temperature superconductors as well as other strange metal materials.
We give a brief review of the Mott-Kondo scenario and its consequence in the recently-discovered infinite-layer nickelate superconductors. We argue that the parent state is a self-doped Mott insulator and propose an effective $t$-$J$-$K$ model to account for its low-energy properties. At small doping, the model describes a low carrier density Kondo system with incoherent Kondo scattering at finite temperatures, in good agreement with experimental observation of the logarithmic temperature dependence of electric resistivity. Upon increasing Sr doping, the model predicts a breakdown of the Kondo…
Out-of-plane bond-order phase, superconductivity, and their competition in the $t$-$J_\parallel$-$J_\perp$ model: Possible implications for bilayer nickelates
Polycrystalline Sr1-xNdxFeAsF samples were prepared at various Nd-doping levels using both a stoichiometric mixture of the starting materials and in slight excess amounts of FeAs. Susceptibility and resistivity of the samples were studied down to 4 K revealing a probable coexistence of superconductivity and a magnetic ordering. Temperature dependence of resistivity for all the Nd-doped samples shows the presence of a transition below 15 K most likely originating from the magnetic ordering of Nd moments, while the spin-density-wave anomaly at 175 K survives up to 0.35 Nd-doping. Superconductivi…
The temperature dependence of the upper critical field, Hc2, for both field directions in partially substituted polycrystalline MgB2 was determined. Whereas the suppression of Tc is similar for aluminum and carbon substituted samples, Hc2 is affected by the substitution in profoundly different ways. In the case of Al substitution changes can tentatively be described by intrinsic effects (shift of the Fermi level). In the C substituted samples, Hc2 is increased drastically, and extrinsic effects (disorder) have to play a major role. The strong contrast between the two substitutions is discussed…
Low energy spin fluctuations are studied for the electron-doped Fe-based superconductor LaFeAsO(1-x)F(x) by inelastic neutron scattering up to the energy transfer of w = 15 meV using polycrystalline samples. Superconducting samples (x=0.057, Tc=25 K and x=0.082, Tc=29 K) show dynamical spin susceptibility chi"(w) almost comparable with the parent sample's. However chi"(w) is almost vanished in the x=0.158 sample where the superconductivity is highly suppressed. These results are compatible with the theoretical suggestions that the spin fluctuation plays an important role for the superconductiv…
The effects of planar hole content, p (= x), on the static magnetic susceptibility, chi(T), of polycrystalline La2-xSrxCu1-yZnyO4 compounds were investigated over a wide range of Sr (x) and Zn (y) contents. The magnetic behavior caused by Zn was found to depend strongly on the hole content. The apparent magnetic moment induced by Zn was larger in underdoped La2-xSrxCu1-yZnyO4, decreased quite sharply around p ~ 0.19, and did not change much for further overdoping. This is interpreted in terms of the effect of the pseudogap on the Zn-induced magnetic behavior, as there is growing evidence that …
We review results obtained with a recently proposed variational cluster approach (VCA) for the competition between d-wave superconductivity (dSC) and antiferromagnetism (AF) in the high-Tc cuprates. Comparing the single-particle spectra of a two-dimensional Hubbard model with quantum Monte-Carlo (QMC) and experimental data, we verify that the VCA correctly treats the low-energy excitations. The cluster calculations reproduce the overall ground-state phase diagram of the high-temperature superconductors both for electron- and hole-doping. In particular, they include salient features such as the…
We report on the superconductivity in ternary transition metal tellurides Ta2Pd3Te5 and Nb2Pd3Te5, which have a one-dimensional crystal structure. Single-crystalline and polycrystalline samples of Ta2Pd3Te5 show nonmetallic electron conduction, while Ti or W doping results in metallic behavior with a bulk superconducting transition at 2-4 K. In contrast, the polycrystalline samples of Nb2Pd3Te5, which are found to be isostructural to Ta2Pd3Te5, show a bulk superconducting transition at 3.3 K. The crystal structure and physical properties of Ta2Pd3Te5 and Nb2Pd3Te5 are also discussed in compari…
We report hard (14 keV) x-ray diffraction measurements on three compositions (x=0.11,0.12,0.13) of the high-temperature superconductor La2-xSrxCuO4. All samples show charge-density-wave (CDW) order with onset temperatures in the range 51-80 K and ordering wavevectors close to (0.23,0,0.5). The CDW is strongest with the longest in-plane correlation length near 1/8 doping. On entering the superconducting state the CDW is suppressed, demonstrating the strong competition between the charge order and superconductivity. CDW order coexists with incommensurate magnetic order and wavevectors of the two…
We report a complete multicomponent mean-field-theory for the coexistence and competition of charge ordering (CO), antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) spin ordering in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. Doping the AFM or CO state always generates a ferromagnetic component. Itinerant FM, AFM and CO, necessarily coexist and compete in a particle-hole asymmetric system. Melting of large AFM-CO orders by small magnetic fields and the related phenomenon of Colossal Magnetoresistance (CMR) may arise whenever the CO and AFM order parameters have similar magnitude and momentum struct…
Based on the extended Hubbard model we calculate the energy of stripe and spiral ground states. We find that uniform spirals get favored by a large $t'/t$ ratio but are unstable at small doping towards stripes and checkerboard textures with spin canting. The structure of these inhomogeneities also depends on t'/t and the associated spin currents may induce a small lattice distortion associated with local dipole moments. We discuss a new kind of stripe which appears as a domain wall of the antiferromagnetic (AF) order parameter with a fractional change of the phase of the AF order. For large |t…
The Fe1+y Te1-x Sex compounds belong to the family of iron-based high temperature superconductors, in which superconductivity often appears upon doping antiferromagnetic parent compounds. Unlike other Fe-based superconductors (in which the antiferromagnetic order is at the Fermi surface nesting wavevector [1/2,1/2,1]), the Fe1+y Te1-x Sex parent compound Fe1+y Te orders at a different wavevector, [1/2, 0, 1/2]. Furthermore, the ordering wavevector depends on y, the occupation of interstitial sites with excess iron; the origin of this behavior is controversial. Using inelastic neutron scatterin…
We report synthesis, crystal structure and physical properties of a novel quinary compound RbGd$_2$Fe$_4$As$_4$O$_2$. The new iron oxyarsenide is isostructural to the fluo-arsenide KCa$_2$Fe$_4$As$_4$F$_2$, both of which contain separate double Fe$_2$As$_2$ layers that are self hole-doped in the stoichiometric composition. Bulk superconductivity at $T_\mathrm{c}$ = 35 K is demonstrated by the measurements of electrical resistivity, dc magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity. An exceptionally high value of the initial slope of the upper critical field ($μ_0$d$H_{\mathrm{c2}}$/d$T|_{T_\mathrm{…
Several material families show competition between superconductivity and other orders. When such competition is driven by doping, it invariably involves spatial inhomogeneities which can seed competing orders. We study impurity-induced charge order in the attractive Hubbard model, a prototypical model for competition between superconductivity and charge density wave order. We show that a single impurity induces a charge-ordered texture over a length scale set by the energy cost of the competing phase. Our results are consistent with a strong-coupling field theory proposed earlier in which supe…