G. L. Sun

Electronic Phase Separation in the Slightly Underdoped Iron Pnictide Superconductor Ba1-xKxFe2As2

Here we present a combined study of the slightly underdoped novel pnictide superconductor Ba1-xKxFe2As2 by means of x-ray powder diffraction, neutron scattering, muon-spin rotation (microSR), and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). Static antiferromagnetic order sets in below T{m} approximately 70 K as inferred from the neutron scattering and zero-field-microSR data. Transverse-field microSR below Tc shows a coexistence of magnetically ordered and nonmagnetic states, which is also confirmed by MFM imaging. We explain such coexistence by electronic phase separation into antiferromagnetic and superconducting- or normal-state regions on a lateral scale of several tens of nanometers. Our findings indicate that such mesoscopic phase separation can be considered an intrinsic property of some iron pnictide superconductors.

(pi-pi) electronic order in iron arsenide superconductors

The distribution of valence electrons in metals usually follows the symmetry of the underlying ionic lattice. Modulations of this distribution often occur when those electrons are not stable with respect to a new electronic order, such as spin or charge density waves. Electron density waves have been observed in many families of superconductors, and are often considered to be essential for superconductivity to exist. Recent measurements seem to show that the properties of the iron pnictides are in good agreement with band structure calculations that do not include additional ordering, implying no relation between density waves and superconductivity in these materials. Here we report that the electronic structure of Ba1-xKxFe2As2 is in sharp disagreement with those band structure calculations, and instead reveals a reconstruction characterized by a (π, π) wavevector. This electronic order coexists with superconductivity and persists up to room temperature (300 K).

Very strong intrinsic flux pinning and vortex avalanches in (Ba,K)Fe2As2 superconducting single crystals

We report that the (Ba,K)Fe2As2 crystal with Tc =3 2 K shows a pinning potential, U0, as high as 104 K, with U0 showing very little field dependence. The (Ba,K)Fe2As2 single crystals become isotropic at low temperatures and high magnetic fields, resulting in a very rigid vortex lattice, even in fields very close to Hc2. The isotropic rigid vortices observed in the two-dimensional (2D) (Ba,K)Fe2As2 distinguish this compound from 2D high-Tc cuprate superconductors with 2D vortices. The vortex avalanches were also observed at low temperatures in the (Ba,K)Fe2As2 crystal. It is proposed that it is the K substitution that induces both almost isotropic superconductivity and the very strong intrinsic pinning in the (Ba,K)Fe2As2 crystal.

Momentum-resolved superconducting gap in the bulk of Ba1−xKxFe2As2 from combined ARPES and μSR measurements

Here we present a calculation of the temperature-dependent London penetration depth, ?(T), in Ba1-xKxFe2As2 (BKFA) on the basis of the electronic band structure (Zabolotnyy et al 2009 Nature?457 569, Zabolotnyy et al 2009 Physica C 469?448) and momentum-dependent superconducting gap (Evtushinsky et al 2009 Phys. Rev. B 79 054517) extracted from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data. The results are compared to the direct measurements of ?(T) by muon spin rotation (?SR) (Khasanov et al 2009 Phys. Rev. Lett.?102 187005). The value of ?(T=0), calculated with no adjustable parameters, equals 270?nm, while the directly measured one is 320?nm; the temperature dependence ?(T) is also easily reproduced. Such agreement between the two completely different approaches allows us to conclude that ARPES studies of BKFA are bulk-representative. Our review of the available experimental studies of the superconducting gap in the new iron-based superconductors in general allows us to state that most of them bear two nearly isotropic gaps with coupling constants 2?/kBTc=2.5?1.5 and 7?2.

Momentum dependence of the superconducting gap in Ba 1 − x K x Fe 2 As 2

D. V. Evtushinsky,1 D. S. Inosov,1,2 V. B. Zabolotnyy,1 A. Koitzsch,1 M. Knupfer,1 B. Buchner,1 M. S. Viazovska,3 G. L. Sun,2 V. Hinkov,2 A. V. Boris,2,4 C. T. Lin,2 B. Keimer,2 A. Varykhalov,5 A. A. Kordyuk,1,6 and S. V. Borisenko1 1Institute for Solid State Research, IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden, Germany 2Max-Planck-Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany 3Max-Planck-Institute for Mathematics, Vivatsgasse 7, 53111 Bonn, Germany 4Department of Physics, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU. United Kingdom 5BESSY GmbH, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany 6Institute of Metal Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03142 Kyiv, Ukraine Received 24 September 2008; revised manuscript received 30 December 2008; published 17 February 2009

Two-Gap Superconductivity in Ba1―xKxFe2As2: A Complementary Study of the Magnetic Penetration Depth by Muon-Spin Rotation and Angle-Resolved Photoemission

We investigate the magnetic penetration depth lambda in superconducting Ba1-xKxFe2As2 (Tc approximately 32 K) with muon-spin rotation (microSR) and angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES). Using microSR, we find the penetration-depth anisotropy gamma lambda=lambda c/lambda ab and the second-critical-field anisotropy gammaHc2 to show an opposite T evolution below Tc. This dichotomy resembles the situation in the two-gap superconductor MgB2. A two-gap scenario is also suggested by an inflection point in the in-plane penetration depth lambda ab around 7 K. The complementarity of microSR and ARPES allows us to pinpoint the values of the two gaps and to arrive to a remarkable agreement between the two techniques concerning the full T evolution of lambdaab. This provides further support for the described scenario and establishes ARPES as a tool to assess macroscopic properties of the superconducting condensate.

Phonon anomalies in pure and underdoped R 1 − x K x Fe 2 As 2 ( R = Ba , Sr) investigated by Raman light scattering

We present a detailed temperature-dependent Raman light scattering study of optical phonons in

Direct observation of local potassium variation and its correlation to electronic inhomogeneity in (Ba1-xKx)Fe2As 2 pnictide

{\text{Ba}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\text{K}}_{x}{\text{Fe}}_{2}{\text{As}}_{2}

Single Crystal Growth and Effect of Doping on Structural, Transport and Magnetic Properties of A1−xKxFe2As2 (A = Ba, Sr)

(

Suppression of the structural phase transition and lattice softening in slightly underdoped Ba1-xKxFe2As2 with electronic phase separation

x\ensuremath{\sim}0.28