The magnetism of the second antiferromagnetic phase (AF2) arising in the iron-based LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$H$_{x}$ superconductor for $x\gtrsim0.4$ was investigated by muon spin rotation measurements under hydrostatic pressure up to 2.6 GPa. The Néel temperature ($T_{\rm N}$) obtained for a sample with $x=0.51$ exhibits considerably greater sensitivity to pressure than that in the pristine antiferromagnetic phase (AF1, $x\lesssim0.06$). Moreover, while the AF1 phase is always accompanied by the structural transition (from tetragonal to orthorhombic) at a temperature ($T_{\rm s}$) which is slightly higher than $T_{\rm N}$, the AF2 phase prevails at higher pressures above $\sim$1.5 GPa where the structural transition is suppressed ($T_{\rm s}=0$). These features indicate that the microscopic origin of the AF2 phase is distinct from that of AF1, suggesting that electronic correlation plays important role in the former phase. We argue that the orbital-selective Mott transition is a plausible scenario to account for the observed pressure dependence of $T_{\rm N}$ and $T_{\rm s}$ in the AF2 phase.
We report 75As-NQR/NMR studies on the oxygen-deficient iron(Fe)-based oxypnictide superconductors LaFeAsO_{0.6} (T_c=28 K) along with the results on LaFeAsO, LaFeAsO_{0.75}(T_c=20 K) and NdFeAsO_{0.6}(T_c=53 K). Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T_1 of 75As NQR at zero field on LaFeAsO_{0.6} has revealed a T^3 dependence below T_c upon cooling without the coherence peak just below T_c, evidencing the unconventional superconducting state with the line-node gap. We have found an intimate relationship between the nuclear quadrupole frequencyof 75As and T_c for four samples used in this study…
We report systematic 57Fe-NMR and 75As-NMR/NQR studies on an underdoped sample (T_c=20 K), an optimally doped sample (T_c=28 K), and an overdoped sample (T_c=22 K) of oxygen-deficient iron (Fe)-based oxypnictide superconductor LaFeAsO_{1-y}$. A microscopic phase separation between superconducting domains and magnetic domains is shown to take place in the underdoped sample, indicating a local inhomogeneity in association with the density distribution of oxygen deficiencies. As a result, 1/T_1T in the normal state of the superconducting domain decreases significantly upon cooling at both the Fe …
We report $^{57}$Fe-NMR studies on the oxygen-deficient iron (Fe)-based oxypnictide superconductor LaFeAsO$_{0.7}$ ($T_{c}=$ 28 K) enriched by $^{57}$Fe isotope. In the superconducting state, the spin component of $^{57}$Fe-Knight shift $^{57}K$ decreases almost to zero at low temperatures and the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $^{57}(1/T_{1})$ exhibits a $T^{3}$-like dependence without the coherence peak just below $T_{c}$, which give firm evidence of the unconventional superconducting state formed by spin-singlet Cooper pairing. All these events below $T_c$ are consistently argued in t…
We investigate the evolution of magnetic properties as a function of hydrogen doping in iron based superconductor LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$H$_x$ using the dynamical mean-field theory combined with the density-functional theory. We find that two independent consequences of the doping, the increase of the electron occupation and the structural modification, have the opposite effects on the strength of electron correlation and magnetism, resulting in the minimum of the calculated magnetic moment around the intermediate doping level as a function of $x$. Our result provides a natural explanation for the puz…
We report a $^{75}$As nuclear magnetic resonance study in LaFeAsO single crystals, which undergoes nematic and antiferromagnetic transitions at $T_\text{nem}\sim 156$ K and $T_N \sim 138$ K, respectively. Below $T_\text{nem}$, the $^{75}$As spectrum splits sharply into two for an external magnetic field parallel to the orthorhombic $a$ or $b$ axis in the FeAs planes. Our analysis of the data demonstrates that the NMR line splitting arises from an electronically driven rotational symmetry breaking. The $^{75}$As spin-lattice relaxation rate as a function of temperature shows that spin fluctuati…
We present the first comprehensive derivation of the intrinsic electronic phase diagram of the iron-oxypnictide superconductors in the normal state based on the analysis of the electrical resistivity $ρ$ of both LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ and SmFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ for a wide range of doping. Our data give clear-cut evidence for unusual normal state properties in these new materials. In particular, the emergence of superconductivity at low doping levels is accompanied by distinct anomalous transport behavior in $ρ$ of the normal state which is reminiscent of the spin density wave (SDW) signature in th…
We report $^{75}$As nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) studies on superconducting oxypnictide LaFeAsO$_{0.92}$F$_{0.08}$ ($T_{\rm c}$ = 23 K). The temperature dependence of the spin lattice relaxation rate (1/$T_1$) decreases below $T_{\rm c}$ without a coherence (Hebel-Slichter) peak and shows a temperature dependence that is not simple power-law nor exponential. We show that the result can be understood in terms of two superconducting gaps of either $d$- or ${\pm}s$-wave symmetry, with the larger gap $Δ_1\sim 4 k_{\rm B}T_{\rm c}$ and the smaller one $Δ_2 \sim 1.5 k_{\rm B}T_{\rm c}$. Our re…
Electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements under high pressure were performed on an iron-based superconductor LaFePO. A steep increase in superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of LaFePO with dTc/dP > 4 K/GPa to a maximum of 8.8 K for P = 0.8 GPa was observed. These results are similar to isocrystalline LaFeAsO1-xFx system reported previously. X-ray diffraction measurements were also performed under high pressure up to 10 GPa, where linear compressibility ka and kc are presented.
We use neutron scattering to study the structural distortion and antiferromagnetic (AFM) order in LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$ as the system is doped with fluorine (F) to induce superconductivity. In the undoped state, LaFeAsO exhibits a structural distortion, changing the symmetry from tetragonal (space group $P4/nmm$) to orthorhombic (space group $Cmma$) at 155 K, and then followed by an AFM order at 137 K. Doping the system with F gradually decreases the structural distortion temperature, but suppresses the long range AFM order before the emergence of superconductivity. Therefore, while supercond…
Magnetism and symmetry of superconducting gap in LaFeAsO from dynamical mean-field theory
M. N. Mikheev Institute of Metal Physics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences（俄罗斯科学院乌拉尔分校 M.N. 米赫耶夫金属物理研究所）；Ural Federal University（乌拉尔联邦大学）；Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology（莫斯科物理技术学院）
The temperature dependence of electron spin resonance (ESR) was studied in the oxypnictide superconductors LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ (x = 0.0 and 0.13). In the samples, the ESR signal indicates that the g factor and peak-to-peak linewidth strongly depend on temperature, especially at low temperatures. It indicates a strong coupling picture with existence of local moment. The dependence mentioned above gradually attenuates, and tends to saturation around room-temperature. This behavior could be ascribed to "bottleneck" effect due to coupling of local moment and itinerant electron. In addition, a Cur…
To probe manifestations of multiband superconductivity in oxypnictides, we measured the angular dependence of the magnetic torque $τ(θ)$ in the mixed state of LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$FeAs single crystals as a function of temperature $T$ and magnetic fields $H$ up to 18 T. The paramagnetic contribution of the Fe ions is properly treated in order to extract the effective mass anisotropy parameter $γ=(m_c/m_{ab})^{1/2}$ from $τ(θ)$. We show that $γ$ depends strongly on both $T$ and $H$, reaching a maximum value of $\sim$ 10 followed by a decrease towards values close to 1 as $T$ is lowered. The obser…
The nature and value of the order parameters (OPs) in the superconducting Fe-based oxypnictides REFeAsO_(1-x)F_x (RE = rare earth) are a matter of intense debate, also connected to the pairing mechanism which is probably unconventional. Point-contact Andreev-reflection experiments on LaFeAsO_(1-x)F_x gave us direct evidence of three energy scales in the superconducting state: a nodeless superconducting OP, Delta1 = 2.8-4.6 meV, which scales with the local Tc of the contact; a larger unconventional OP that gives conductance peaks at 9.8-12 meV, apparently closes below Tc and decreases on increa…
LDA+DMFT (Local Density Approximation combined with Dynamical Mean-Field Theory) computation scheme has been used to calculate spectral properties of LaFeAsO -- the parent compound for new high-T$_c$ iron oxypnictides. Coulomb repulsion $U$ and Hund's exchange $J$ parameters for iron 3d electrons were calculated using \textit {first principles} constrained density functional theory scheme in Wannier functions formalism. Resulting values strongly depend on the number of states taken into account in calculations: when full set of O-$2p$, As-$4p$, and Fe-3d orbitals with corresponding bands are i…
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…
Spatial phase separation into mesoscopic domains of non-magnetic [superconducting (SC) below Tc = 25.5 K] and two kinds of magnetic phases, one showing disordered spin density wave (d-SDW) order and another associated with glassy weak magnetism (WM), are observed below ~100 K by muon spin rotation (muSR) in LaFeAsO1-xFx for x = 0.057(3) which is near the boundary of these phases on the doping phase diagram. In contrast to the competing order observed in the regular SDW phase of Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2, the WM domain exhibits cooperative coupling of superconducting and magnetic order parameters as inf…
We present results from a detailed experimental investigation of LaFeAsO, the parent material in the series of "FeAs" based oxypnictide superconductors. Upon cooling this material undergoes a tetragonal-orthorhombic crystallographic phase transition at ~160 K followed closely by an antiferromagnetic ordering near 145 K. Analysis of these phase transitions using temperature dependent powder X-ray and neutron diffraction measurements is presented. A magnetic moment of ~0.35 Bohr magnetons per iron is derived from Mossbauer spectra in the low temperature phase. Evidence of the structural transiti…
In the family of iron-based superconductors, LaFeAsO-type materials possess the simplest electronic structure due to their pronounced two-dimensionality. And yet they host superconductivity with the highest transition temperature Tc=55K. Early theoretical predictions of their electronic structure revealed multiple large circular portions of the Fermi surface with a very good geometrical overlap (nesting), believed to enhance the pairing interaction and thus superconductivity. The prevalence of such large circular features in the Fermi surface has since been associated with many other iron-base…
High-temperature (high-$T_{\rm c}$) superconductivity appears as a consequence of the carrier-doping of an undoped parent compound exhibiting antiferromagnetic order; thereby, ground-state properties of the parent compound are closely relevant to the superconducting state. On the basis of the concept, a spin-fluctuation has been addressed as an origin of pairing of the superconducting electrons in cuprates. Whereas, there is growing interest in the pairing mechanism such as an unconventional spin-fluctuation or an advanced orbital-fluctuation due to the characteristic multi-orbital system in i…
LDA+DMFT (Local Density Approximation combined with Dynamical Mean-Field Theory) computation scheme has been used to calculate spectral properties of LaFeAsO -- the parent compound of the new high-T_c iron oxypnictides. The average Coulomb repulsion U=3-4 eV and Hund's exchange J=0.8 eV parameters for iron 3d electrons were calculated using the first principles constrained density functional theory scheme in the Wannier functions formalism. DMFT calculations using these parameters result in moderately correlated electronic structure with effective electron mass enhancement m^*~2 that is in agr…
As experimentally well established, undoped LaFeAsO is antiferromagnetic below 137K with the magnetic moments lying on the Fe sites. We determine the orthorhombic body-centered group Imma (74) as the space group of the experimentally observed magnetic structure in the undistorted lattice, i.e., in a lattice possessing no structural distortions in addition to the magnetostriction. We show that LaFeAsO possesses a partly filled "magnetic band" with Bloch functions that can be unitarily transformed into optimally localized Wannier functions adapted to the space group Imma. This finding is interpr…
To probe manifestations of multiband superconductivity in oxypnictides, we measured the angular dependence of magnetic torque $τ(θ)$ in the mixed state of SmO$_{0.8}$F$_{0.2}$FeAs single crystals as functions of temperature $T$ and high magnetic field $H$ up to 30 T. We show that the effective mass anisotropy parameter $γ$ extracted from $τ(θ)$, can be greatly overestimated if the strong paramagnetism of Sm or Fe ions is not properly taken into account. The correctly extracted $γ$ depends on both $T$ and $H$, saturating at $γ\simeq 9$ at lower temperatures. Neither the London penetration depth…
The structural and magnetic phase transitions have been studied on NdFeAsO single crystals by neutron and x-ray diffraction complemented by resistivity and specific heat measurements. Two low-temperature phase transitions have been observed in addition to the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic transition at T_S = 142 K and the onset of antiferromagnetic (AFM) Fe order below T_N = 137 K. The Fe moments order AFM in the well-known stripe-like structure in the (ab) plane, but change from AFM to ferromagnetic (FM) arrangement along the c direction below T* = 15 K accompanied by the onset of Nd AFM order b…
We focus on a broad class of tetragonal itinerant systems sharing a tendency towards the spontaneous formation of incommensurate magnetism with ordering wavevectors $\mathbf{Q}_{1,2}=(π-δ,0)/(0,π-δ)$ or $\mathbf{Q}_{1,2}=(π,δ)/(-δ,π)$. Employing a Landau approach, we obtain the generic magnetic phase diagram and identify the leading instabilities near the paramagnetic-magnetic transition. Nine distinct magnetic phases exist that either preserve or violate the assumed $C_4$-symmetry of the paramagnetic phase. These are single- and double-$\mathbf{Q}$ phases consisting of magnetic stripes, helic…
The recent discovery of superconductivity in oxypnictides with the critical temperature (TC) higher than McMillan limit of 39 K (the theoretical maximum predicted by Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory) has generated great excitement. Theoretical calculations indicate that the electron-phonon interaction is not strong enough to give rise to such high transition temperatures, while strong ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic fluctuations have been proposed to be responsible. However, superconductivity and magnetism in pnictide superconductors show a strong sensitivity to the lattice, suggesting a…
