Normal-State Hourglass Dispersion of the Spin Excitations in FeSe$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$

Abstract

We use cold neutron spectroscopy to study the low-energy spin excitations of superconducting (SC) FeSe$_{0.4}$Te$_{0.6}$ and essentially non-superconducting (NSC) FeSe$_{0.45}$Te$_{0.55}$. In contrast to BaFe$_{2-x}$(Co,Ni)$_{x}$As$_2$, where the low-energy spin excitations are commensurate both in the SC and normal state, the normal-state spin excitations in SC FeSe$_{0.4}$Te$_{0.6}$ are incommensurate and show an hourglass dispersion near the resonance energy. Since similar hourglass dispersion is also found in the NSC FeSe$_{0.45}$Te$_{0.55}$, we argue that the observed incommensurate spin excitations in FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_{x}$ are not directly associated with superconductivity. Instead, the results can be understood within a picture of Fermi surface nesting assuming extremely low Fermi velocities and spin-orbital coupling.