Dynamic competition between spin-density wave order and superconductivity in underdoped Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2

M Yi; Y Zhang; Z-K Liu; X Ding; J-H Chu; A F Kemper; N Plonka; B Moritz; M Hashimoto; S-K Mo; Z Hussain; T P Devereaux; I R Fisher; H H Wen; Z-X Shen; D H Lu

doi:10.1038/ncomms4711

Dynamic competition between spin-density wave order and superconductivity in underdoped Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2

Nat Commun. 2014 Apr 25:5:3711. doi: 10.1038/ncomms4711.

Authors

M Yi¹, Y Zhang², Z-K Liu¹, X Ding³, J-H Chu⁴, A F Kemper⁵, N Plonka¹, B Moritz⁶, M Hashimoto⁷, S-K Mo⁸, Z Hussain⁸, T P Devereaux⁹, I R Fisher¹, H H Wen³, Z-X Shen¹, D H Lu⁷

Affiliations

¹ 1] Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA [2] Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, and Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
² 1] Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA [2] Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
³ Center for Superconducting Physics and Materials, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, National Center of Microstructures and Quantum Manipulation, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
⁴ Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
⁵ Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
⁶ 1] Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA [2] Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202, USA.
⁷ Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
⁸ Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
⁹ Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.

PMID: 24762657
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4711

Abstract

An intriguing aspect of unconventional superconductivity is that it always appears in the vicinity of other competing phases, whose suppression brings the full emergence of superconductivity. In the iron pnictides, these competing phases are marked by a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition and a collinear spin-density wave (SDW) transition. There has been macroscopic evidence for competition between these phases and superconductivity as the magnitude of both the orthorhombicity and magnetic moment are suppressed in the superconducting state. Here, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on detwinned underdoped Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2, we observe a coexistence of both the SDW gap and superconducting gap in the same electronic structure. Furthermore, our data reveal that following the onset of superconductivity, the SDW gap decreases in magnitude and shifts in a direction consistent with a reduction of the orbital anisotropy. This observation provides direct spectroscopic evidence for the dynamic competition between superconductivity and both SDW and electronic nematic orders in these materials.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.