Electronic structure of optimally doped pnictide Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2: a comprehensive angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy investigation

Doping-dependent superconducting physical quantities of K-doped BaFe[Formula: see text]As[Formula: see text] obtained through infrared spectroscopy

We investigated four single crystals of K-doped BaFe[Formula: see text]As[Formula: see text] (Ba-122), Ba[Formula: see text]K[Formula: see text]Fe[Formula: see text]As[Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] 0.29, 0.36, 0.40, and 0.51, using infrared spectroscopy. We explored a wide variety of doping levels, from under- to overdoped. We obtained the superfluid plasma frequencies ([Formula: see text]) and corresponding London penetration depths ([Formula: see text]) from the measured optical conductivity spectra. We also extracted the electron-boson spectral density (EBSD) functions using a two-parallel charge transport channel approach in the superconducting (SC) state. From the extracted EBSD functions, the maximum SC transition temperatures ([Formula: see text]) were determined using a generalized McMillan formula and the SC coherence lengths ([Formula: see text]) were calculated using the timescales encoded in the EBSD functions and reported Fermi velocities. We identified some similarities and differences in the doping-dependent SC quantities between the K-doped Ba-122 and the hole-doped cuprates. We expect that the various SC quantities obtained across the wide doping range will provide helpful information for establishing the microscopic pairing mechanism in Fe-pnictide superconductors.

Spin polarized density functional theory calculations of the electronic structure and magnetism of the 112 type iron pnictide compound [Formula: see text]

Using density-functional theory, we investigate the electronic, magnetic, and hyperfine-interaction properties of the 112-type iron-pnictide compound [Formula: see text], which is isostructural to the high-temperature iron-based superconductor [Formula: see text]. We show that the band structure of [Formula: see text] is similar to that of the 112-type compounds' family, with hole-like and electron-like bands at the Brillouin-zone center and corners, respectively. We demonstrate that the bands near the Fermi level originate mainly from the Fe atoms. The presence of a mixture of ionic and covalent bonding is predicted from the charge-density and atom-resolved density-of-states calculations. There is good agreement between the calculated hyperfine-interaction parameters with those obtained from the [Formula: see text]Fe and [Formula: see text]Eu Mössbauer measurements. The spatial distribution of atoms in [Formula: see text] leads to an in-plane 2D magnetism. Moreover, ab-initio calculations predict the compound's magnetic moment and the magnetic moments of each constituent atom. Also, the density of states profile provides insight into the relative magnitude of these moments. Electronic structure calculations and Fermi surface topology reveal various physical and chemical properties of [Formula: see text]. Valence electron density maps indicate the co-existence of a wide range of chemical bonds in this system, and based on structural properties, the transport characteristics are deduced and discussed. A thorough analysis of the atomic structure of [Formula: see text] and its role in the bond formation is presented.

Unified Phase Diagram for Iron-Based Superconductors

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.

Correlation-induced self-doping in the iron-pnictide superconductor Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O

The electronic structure of the iron-based superconductor Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O (Tc(onset)=23.5  K) has been investigated by using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and combined local density approximation and dynamical mean field theory calculations. The electronic states near the Fermi level are dominated by both the Fe 3d and Ti 3d orbitals, indicating that the spacer layers separating different FeAs layers are also metallic. By counting the enclosed volumes of the Fermi surface sheets, we observe a large self-doping effect; i.e., 0.25 electrons per unit cell are transferred from the FeAs layer to the Ti2As2O layer, leaving the FeAs layer in a hole-doped state. This exotic behavior is successfully reproduced by our dynamical mean field calculations, in which the self-doping effect is attributed to the electronic correlations in the 3d shells. Our work provides an alternative route of effective doping without element substitution for iron-based superconductors.

Selective Mott physics as a key to iron superconductors

We show that electron- and hole-doped BaFe(2)As(2) are strongly influenced by a Mott insulator that would be realized for half-filled conduction bands. Experiments show that weakly and strongly correlated conduction electrons coexist in much of the phase diagram, a differentiation which increases with hole doping. This selective Mottness is caused by the Hund's coupling effect of decoupling the charge excitations in different orbitals. Each orbital then behaves as a single-band doped Mott insulator, where the correlation degree mainly depends on how doped is each orbital from half filling. Our scenario reconciles contrasting evidences on the electronic correlation strength, implies a strong asymmetry between hole and electron doping, and establishes a deep connection with the cuprates.

Investigation of real materials with strong electronic correlations by the LDA+DMFT method

Materials with strong electronic correlations are at the cutting edge of experimental and theoretical studies, capturing the attention of researchers for a great variety of interesting phenomena: metal-insulator, phase and magnetic spin transitions, `heavy fermion' systems, interplay between magnetic order and superconductivity, appearance and disappearance of local magnetic moments, and transport property anomalies. It is clear that the richness of physical phenomena for these compounds is a result of partially filled 3d, 4f or 5f electron shells with local magnetic moments preserved in the solid state. Strong interactions of d and f electrons with each other and with itinerant electronic states of the material are responsible for its anomalous properties. Electronic structure calculations for strongly correlated materials should explicitly take into account Coulombic interactions between d or f electrons. Recent advances in this field are related to the development of the LDA+DMFT method, which combines local density approximation (LDA) with dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) to account for electronic correlation effects. In recent years, LDA+DMFT has allowed the successful treatment not only of simple systems but also of complicated real compounds. Nowadays, the LDA+DMFT method is the state-of-the-art tool for investigating correlated metals and insulators, spin and metal-insulator transitions (MIT) in transition-metal compounds in paramagnetic and magnetically ordered phases.

Hidden T-linear scattering rate in Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 revealed by optical spectroscopy

The optical properties of Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 have been determined in the normal state for a number of temperatures over a wide frequency range. Two Drude terms, representing two groups of carriers with different scattering rates (1/τ), well describe the real part of the optical conductivity σ1(ω). A "broad" Drude component results in an incoherent background with a T-independent 1/τb, while a "narrow" Drude component reveals a T-linear 1/τn resulting in a resistivity ρn≡1/σ1n(ω→0) also linear in temperature. An arctan(T) low-frequency spectral weight is also strong evidence for a T-linear 1/τ. A comparison to other materials with similar behavior suggests that the T-linear 1/τn and ρn in Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 originate from scattering from spin fluctuations and hence that an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point is likely to exist in the superconducting dome.

Effect of Fermi surface nesting on resonant spin excitations in Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2

We report inelastic neutron scattering measurements of the resonant spin excitations in Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe(2)As(2) over a broad range of electron band filling. The fall in the superconducting transition temperature with hole doping coincides with the magnetic excitations splitting into two incommensurate peaks because of the growing mismatch in the hole and electron Fermi surface volumes, as confirmed by a tight-binding model with s(±)-symmetry pairing. The reduction in Fermi surface nesting is accompanied by a collapse of the resonance binding energy and its spectral weight, caused by the weakening of electron-electron correlations.

Absence of a holelike fermi surface for the iron-based K0.8F1.7Se2 superconductor revealed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

We have performed an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the new iron-based superconductor K(0.8)Fe(1.7)Se(2) (T(c)∼30 K). Clear band dispersion is observed with the overall bandwidth renormalized by a factor of 2.5 compared to our local density approximation calculations, indicating relatively strong correlation effects. Only an electronlike band crosses the Fermi energy, forming a nearly circular Fermi surface (FS) at M (π, 0). The holelike band at Γ sinks ∼90 meV below the Fermi energy, with an indirect band gap of 30 meV, to the bottom of the electronlike band. The observed FS topology in this superconductor favors (π, π) inter-FS scattering between the electronlike FSs at the M points, in sharp contrast to other iron-based superconductors which favor (π, 0) inter-FS scattering between holelike and electronlike FSs.