Very large spontaneous electric polarization in BiFeO3 single crystals at room temperature and its evolution under cycling fields

Electric polarization loops are measured at room temperature on highly pure BiFeO3 single crystals synthesized by a flux growth method. Because the crystals have a high electrical resistivity, the resulting low leakage currents allow us to measure a large spontaneous polarization reaching 100 microC.cm^{-2}, a value never reported in the bulk. During electric cycling, the slow degradation of the material leads to an evolution of the hysteresis curves eventually preventing full saturation of the crystals.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Doping dependence of the lattice dynamics in Ba(Fe1−x_{1-x}Cox_x)2_2As2_2 studied by Raman spectroscopy

We report Raman scattering spectra of iron-pnictide superconductor Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ single crystals with varying cobalt $x$ content. Upon cooling through the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic transition, we observe a large splitting of the E$_g$ in-plane phonon modes involving Fe and As displacements. The splitting of the in-plane phonons at the transition is strongly reduced upon doping and disappears for $x=0.06$ qualitatively following the trend displayed by the Fe magnetic moment. The origin of the splitting is discussed in terms of magnetic frustration inherent to iron-pnictide systems and we argue that such enhanced splitting may be linked to strong spin-phonon coupling.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Impact of the Spin Density Wave Order on the Superconducting Gap of Ba(Fe1−x_{1-x}Cox_x)2_2As2_2

We report a doping dependent electronic Raman scattering measurements on iron-pnictide superconductor Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ single crystals. A strongly anisotropic gap is found at optimal doping for x=0.065 with $\Delta_{max}\sim 5\Delta_{min}$. Upon entering the coexistence region between superconducting (SC) and spin-density-wave (SDW) orders, the effective pairing energy scale is strongly reduced. Our results are interpreted in terms of a competition between SC and SDW orders for electronic state at the Fermi level. Our findings advocate for a strong connection between the SC and SDW gaps anisotropies which are both linked to interband interactions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

The nodal gap component as a good candidate for the superconducting order parameter in cuprates

Although more than twenty years have passed since the discovery of high temperature cuprate superconductivity, the identification of the superconducting order parameter is still under debate. Here, we show that the nodal gap component is the best candidate for the superconducting order parameter. It scales with the critical temperature $T_c$ over a wide doping range and displays a significant temperature dependence below $T_c$ in both the underdoped and the overdoped regimes of the phase diagram. In contrast, the antinodal gap component does not scale with $T_c$ in the underdoped side and appears to be controlled by the pseudogap amplitude. Our experiments establish the existence of two distinct gaps in the underdoped cuprates

Unconventional high-energy-state contribution to the Cooper pairing in under-doped copper-oxide superconductor HgBa2_2Ca2_2Cu3_3O8+δ_{8+\delta}

We study the temperature-dependent electronic B1g Raman response of a slightly under-doped single crystal HgBa$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{8+\delta}$ with a superconducting critical temperature Tc=122 K. Our main finding is that the superconducting pair-breaking peak is associated with a dip on its higher-energy side, disappearing together at Tc. This result hints at an unconventional pairing mechanism, whereas spectral weight lost in the dip is transferred to the pair-breaking peak at lower energies. This conclusion is supported by cellular dynamical mean-field theory on the Hubbard model, which is able to reproduce all the main features of the B1g Raman response and explain the peak-dip behavior in terms of a nontrivial relationship between the superconducting and the pseudo gaps.Comment: 7 pages 4 figure

Evolution of the gaps through the cuprate phase-diagram

The actual physical origin of the gap at the antinodes, and a clear identification of the superconducting gap are fundamental open issues in the physics of high-$T_c$ superconductors. Here, we present a systematic electronic Raman scattering study of a mercury-based single layer cuprate, as a function of both doping level and temperature. On the deeply overdoped side, we show that the antinodal gap is a true superconducting gap. In contrast, on the underdoped side, our results reveal the existence of a break point close to optimal doping below which the antinodal gap is gradually disconnected from superconductivity. The nature of both the superconducting and normal state is distinctly different on each side of this breakpoint

Magnetic properties of Yb2Mo2O7 and Gd2Mo2O7 from rare earth Mossbauer measurements

Using 170-Yb and 155-Gd Mossbauer measurements down to 0.03K, we have examined the semiconducting pyrochlore Yb2Mo2O7 where the Mo intra-sublattice interaction is anti-ferromagnetic and the metallic pyrochlore Gd2Mo2O7 where this interaction is ferromagnetic. Additional information was obtained from susceptibility, magnetisation and 172-Yb perturbed angular correlation measurements. The microscopic measurements evidence lattice disorder which is important in Yb2Mo2O7 and modest in Gd2Mo2O7. Magnetic irreversibilities occur at 17K in Yb2Mo2O7 and at 75K in Gd2Mo2O7 and below these temperatures the rare earths carry magnetic moments which are induced through couplings with the Mo sublattice. In Gd2Mo2O7, we observe the steady state Gd hyperfine populations at 0.027K are out of thermal equilibrium, indicating that Gd and Mo spin fluctuations persist at very low temperatures. Frustration is thus operative in this essentially isotropic pyrochlore where the dominant Mo intra-sublattice interaction is ferromagnetic.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure