5 research outputs found
Thermal Hall Conductivity as a Probe of Gap Structure in Multi-band Superconductors: The Case of
The sign and profile of the thermal Hall conductivity gives
important insights into the gap structure of multi-band superconductors. With
this perspective, we have investigated and the thermal
conductivity in 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
. We show that the qp mean-free-path inferred from
reproduces the observed anomaly in , providing a consistent
estimate of a large qp population. Further, we demonstrate that the hole-like
signal is consistent with a theoretical scenario where despite potentially
large gap variations on the electron pockets, the minimal homogeneous gap of
the superconducting phase resides at a hole pocket. Implications for probing
the gap structure in the broader class of pnictide superconductors are
discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Orientation significantly updated from previous
(0811.4668v1) reflecting new theoretical understanding of experimental
results and physical implications. Introduction, discussion, and figures
updated including additional figure for model calculatio
Momentum dependence of superconducting gap, strong-coupling dispersion kink, and tightly bound Cooper pairs in the high-T_c (Sr,Ba)_(1−x)(K,Na)_xFe_2As_2 superconductors
We present a systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopic study of the high-Tc superconductor class (Sr/Ba)_(1−x)K_xFe_2As_2. By utilizing a photon-energy-modulation contrast and scattering geometry we report the Fermi surface and the momentum dependence of the superconducting gap, Δ(k⃗ ). A prominent quasiparticle dispersion kink reflecting strong scattering processes is observed in a binding-energy range of 25–55 meV in the superconducting state, and the coherence length or the extent of the Cooper pair wave function is found to be about 20 Å, which is uncharacteristic of a superconducting phase realized by the BCS-phonon-retardation mechanism. The observed 40±15 meV kink likely reflects contributions from the frustrated spin excitations in a J_1-J_2 magnetic background and scattering from the soft phonons. Results taken collectively provide direct clues to the nature of the pairing potential including an internal phase-shift factor in the superconducting order parameter which leads to a Brillouin zone node in a strong-coupling setting
Momentum-dependence of Superconducting Gap, strong-coupling dispersion Kink, and tightly bound Cooper pairs in the high-Tc (Sr,Ba)1-x(K,Na)xFe2As2 superconductors
We present a systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopic study of
the high-Tc superconductor class (Sr/Ba){1-x}(K/Na)xFe2As2. By utilizing a
photon-energy-modulation contrast and scattering geometry we report the Fermi
surface and the momentum dependence of the superconducting gap, Delta(k). A
prominent quasiparticle dispersion kink reflecting strong scattering processes
is observed in a binding-energy range of 25-55 meV in the superconducting
state, and the coherence length or the extent of the Cooper pair wave function
is found to be about 20-angstrom, which is uncharacteristic of a
superconducting phase realized by the BCS-phonon-retardation mechanism. The
observed 40 meV kink likely reflects contributions from the frustrated spin
excitations and scattering from the soft phonons. Results taken collectively
provide direct clues to the nature of the pairing potential including an
internal phase-shift factor in the superconducting order parameter which leads
to a Brillouin zone node in a strong-coupling setting.Comment: 12 pages + 5 figures; SC order-parameter is fit to the cosKx.cosKy
function (Fig-5
Sensitivity of the superconducting state and magnetic susceptibility to key aspects of electronic structure in ferropnictides
Experiments on the iron-pnictide superconductors appear to show some
materials where the ground state is fully gapped, and others where low-energy
excitations dominate, possibly indicative of gap nodes. Within the framework of
a 5-orbital spin fluctuation theory for these systems, we discuss how changes
in the doping, the electronic structure or interaction parameters can tune the
system from a fully gapped to nodal sign-changing gap with s-wave ()
symmetry (). In particular we focus on the role of the hole pocket at
the point of the unfolded Brillouin zone identified as crucial to
the pairing by Kuroki {\it et al.}, and show that its presence leads to
additional nesting of hole and electron pockets which stabilizes the isotropic
state. The pocket's contribution to the pairing can be tuned by doping,
surface effects, and by changes in interaction parameters, which we examine.
Analytic expressions for orbital pairing vertices calculated within the RPA
fluctuation exchange approximation allow us to draw connections between aspects
of electronic structure, interaction parameters, and the form of the
superconducting gap
Spectroscopic scanning tunneling microscopy insights into Fe-based superconductors
In the first three years since the discovery of Fe-based high Tc
superconductors, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy have shed
light on three important questions. First, STM has demonstrated the complexity
of the pairing symmetry in Fe-based materials. Phase-sensitive quasiparticle
interference (QPI) imaging and low temperature spectroscopy have shown that the
pairing order parameter varies from nodal to nodeless s\pm within a single
family, FeTe1-xSex. Second, STM has imaged C4 -> C2 symmetry breaking in the
electronic states of both parent and superconducting materials. As a local
probe, STM is in a strong position to understand the interactions between these
broken symmetry states and superconductivity. Finally, STM has been used to
image the vortex state, giving insights into the technical problem of vortex
pinning, and the fundamental problem of the competing states introduced when
superconductivity is locally quenched by a magnetic field. Here we give a
pedagogical introduction to STM and QPI imaging, discuss the specific
challenges associated with extracting bulk properties from the study of
surfaces, and report on progress made in understanding Fe-based superconductors
using STM techniques.Comment: 36 pages, 23 figures, 229 reference