Origin of Gap Anisotropy in Spin Fluctuation Models of the Fe-pnictides

We discuss the large gap anisotropy found for the A1g (s-wave) state in RPA spin-fluctuation and functional renormalization group calculations and show how the simple arguments leading to isotropic sign-switched s-wave states in these systems need to be supplemented by a consideration of pair scattering within Fermi surface sheets and between the individual electron sheets as well. In addition, accounting for the orbital makeup of the states on the Fermi surface is found to be crucial.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Local modulations of the spin-fluctuation mediated pairing interaction by impurities in d-wave superconductors

We present a self-consistent real space formulation of spin-fluctuation mediated d-wave pairing. By calculating all relevant inhomogeneous spin and charge susceptibilities in real space within the random phase approximation (RPA), we obtain the effective pairing interaction and study its spatial dependence near both local potential and hopping impurities. A remarkably large enhancement of the pairing interaction may be obtained near the impurity site. We discuss the relevance of our result to inhomogeneities observed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy on the surface of cuprate superconductors.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Tunneling spectroscopy for probing orbital anisotropy in iron pnictides

Using realistic multi-orbital tight-binding Hamiltonians and the T-matrix formalism, we explore the effects of a non-magnetic impurity on the local density of states in Fe-based compounds. We show that scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) has very specific anisotropic signatures that track the evolution of orbital splitting (OS) and antiferromagnetic gaps. Both anisotropies exhibit two patterns that split in energy with decreasing temperature, but for OS these two patterns map onto each other under 90 degree rotation. STS experiments that observe these signatures should expose the underlying magnetic and orbital order as a function of temperature across various phase transitions.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, replacement with minor changes suggested by referee

Tc suppression and resistivity in cuprates with out of plane defects

Recent experiments introducing controlled disorder into optimally doped cuprate superconductors by both electron irradiation and chemical substitution have found unusual behavior in the rate of suppression of the critical temperature Tc vs. increase in residual resistivity. We show here that the unexpected discovery that the rate of Tc suppression vs. resistivity is stronger for out-of-plane than for in-plane impurities may be explained by consistent calculation of both Tc and resistivity if the potential scattering is assumed to be nearly forward in nature. For realistic models of impurity potentials, we further show that significant deviations from the universal Abrikosov-Gor'kov Tc suppression behavior may be expected for out of plane impurities.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Supercurrent through grain boundaries in the presence of strong correlations

Strong correlations are known to severely reduce the mobility of charge carriers near half-filling and thus have an important influence on the current carrying properties of grain boundaries in the high-$T_c$ cuprates. In this work we present an extension of the Gutzwiller projection approach to treat electronic correlations below as well as above half-filling consistently. We apply this method to investigate the critical current through grain boundaries with a wide range of misalignment angles for electron- and hole-doped systems. For the latter excellent agreement with experimental data is found. We further provide a detailed comparison to an analogous weak-coupling evaluation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Local density of states at polygonal boundaries of d-wave superconductors

Besides the well-known existence of Andreev bound states, the zero-energy local density of states at the boundary of a d-wave superconductor strongly depends on the boundary geometry itself. In this work, we examine the influence of both a simple wedge-shaped boundary geometry and a more complicated polygonal or faceted boundary structure on the local density of states. For a wedge-shaped boundary geometry, we find oscillations of the zero-energy density of states in the corner of the wedge, depending on the opening angle of the wedge. Furthermore, we study the influence of a single Abrikosov vortex situated near a boundary, which is of either macroscopic or microscopic roughness.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Vortex core shrinkage in a two gap superconductor: application to MgB2

As a model for the vortex core in MgB2 we study a two band model with a clean sigma band and a dirty pi band. We present calculations of the vortex core size in both bands as a function of temperature and show that there exists a Kramer-Pesch effect in both bands even though only one of the bands is in the clean limit. We present calculations for different pi band diffusivities and coherence lengths.Comment: Submitted to M2S-HTSC-VIII conference proceeding

Spin fluctuations and superconductivity in a 3D tight-binding model for BaFe2As2

Despite the wealth of experimental data on the Fe-pnictide compounds of the KFe2As2-type, K = Ba, Ca, or Sr, the main theoretical work based on multiorbital tight-binding models has been restricted so far to the study of the related 1111 compounds. This can be ascribed to the more three dimensional electronic structure found by ab initio calculations for the 122 materials, making this system less amenable to model development. In addition, the more complicated Brillouin zone (BZ) of the body-centered tetragonal symmetry does not allow a straightforward unfolding of the electronic band structure into an effective 1Fe/unit cell BZ. Here we present an effective 5-orbital tight-binding fit of the full DFT band structure for BaFeAs including the kz dispersions. We compare the 5-orbital spin fluctuation model to one previously studied for LaOFeAs and calculate the RPA enhanced susceptibility. Using the fluctuation exchange approximation to determine the leading pairing instability, we then examine the differences between a strictly two dimensional model calculation over a single kz cut of the BZ and a completely three dimensional approach. We find pairing states quite similar to the 1111 materials, with generic quasi-isotropic pairing on the hole sheets and nodal states on the electron sheets at kz = 0 which however are gapped as the system is hole doped. On the other hand, a substantial kz dependence of the order parameter remains, with most of the pairing strength deriving from processes near kz = pi. These states exhibit a tendency for an enhanced anisotropy on the hole sheets and a reduced anisotropy on the electron sheets near the top of the BZ.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figure

Induced Kramer-Pesch-Effect in a Two Gap Superconductor: Application to MgB2

The size of the vortex core in a clean superconductor is strongly temperature dependent and shrinks with decreasing temperature, decreasing to zero for T -> 0. We study this so-called Kramer-Pesch effect both for a single gap superconductor and for the case of a two gap superconductor using parameters appropriate for Magnesium Diboride. Usually, the Kramer-Pesch effect is absent in the dirty limit. Here, we show that the Kramer-Pesch effect exists in both bands of a two gap superconductor even if only one of the two bands is in the clean limit and the other band in the dirty limit, a case appropriate for MgB2. In this case an induced Kramer-Pesch effect appears in the dirty band. Besides numerical results we also present an analytical model for the spatial variation of the pairing potential in the vicinity of the vortex center that allows a simple calculation of the vortex core radius even in the limit T -> 0.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

Proximity fingerprint of s+- superconductivity

We suggest a straightforward and unambiguous test to identify possible opposite signs of superconducting order parameter in different bands proposed for iron-based superconductors (s+- state). We consider proximity effect in a weakly coupled sandwich composed of a s+- superconductor and thin layer of s-wave superconductor. In such system the s-wave order parameter is coupled differently with different s+- gaps and it typically aligns with one of these gaps. This forces the other s+- gap to be anti-aligned with the s-wave gap. In such situation the aligned band induces a peak in the s-wave density of states (DoS), while the anti-aligned band induces a dip. Observation of such contact-induced negative feature in the s-wave DoS would provide a definite proof for s+- superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, one figur