Nematicity as a Probe of Superconducting Pairing in Iron-Based Superconductors

Rafael M. Fernandes; Andrew J. Millis

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.127001

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Nematicity as a Probe of Superconducting Pairing in Iron-Based Superconductors

Rafael M. Fernandes, Andrew J. Millis

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.127001 · Physical Review Letters

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Abstract

In several families of iron-based superconducting materials, a d-wave pairing instability may compete with the leading s-wave instability. Here, we show that when both states have comparable free energies, superconducting and nematic degrees of freedom are strongly coupled. Whereas nematic order causes a sharp nonanalytic increase in Tc, nematic fluctuations can change the character of the s-wave to d-wave transition, favoring an intermediate state that does not break time-reversal symmetry but does break tetragonal symmetry. The coupling between superconductivity and nematicity is also manifested in the strong softening of the shear modulus across the superconducting transition. Our results show that nematicity can be used as a diagnostic tool to search for unconventional pairing states in iron pnictides and chalcogenides.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
(Ba1-xKx)Fe2As2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
Ba(Fe1-xMnx)2As2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
A1-yFe2-xSe2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
KFe2As2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
BaFe2(As1-xPx)2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
Sr2RuO4 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown