Effect of pairing fluctuations on the spin resonance in Fe-based superconductors

Abstract

The spin resonance observed in the inelastic neutron scattering data on Fe-based superconductors has played a prominent role in the quest for determining the symmetry of the order parameter in these compounds. Most theoretical studies of the resonance employ an RPA-type approach in the particle-hole channel and associate the resonance in the spin susceptibility $\chi_S (\mathbf{q}, \omega)$ at momentum ${\bf Q} = (\pi,\pi)$ with the spin-exciton of an $s^{+-}$ superconductor, pulled below $2\Delta$ by residual attraction associated with the sign change of the gap between Fermi points connected by ${\bf Q}$. Here we explore the effect of fluctuations in the particle-particle channel on the spin resonance. Particle-particle and particle-hole channels are coupled in a superconductor and to what extent the spin resonance can be viewed as a particle-hole exciton needs to be addressed. In the case of purely repulsive interactions we find that the particle-particle channel at total momentum ${\bf Q}$ (the $\pi $channel) contributes little to the resonance. However, if the interband density-density interaction is attractive and the $\pi-$resonance is possible on its own, along with the spin-exciton, we find a much stronger shift of the resonance frequency from the position of the would-be spin-exciton resonance. We also show that the expected double-peak structure in this situation does not appear because of the strong coupling between particle-hole and particle-particle channels, and $\mathrm{Im} \chi_S ({\bf Q}, \omega)$ displays only a single peak.