Bounds on Nanoscale Nematicity in Single-Layer FeSe/SrTiO$_3$

Abstract

We use scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and quasiparticle interference (QPI) imaging to investigate the low-energy orbital texture of single-layer FeSe/SrTiO$_3$. We develop a $T$-matrix model of multi-orbital QPI to disentangle scattering intensities from Fe $3d_{xz}$ and $3d_{yz}$ bands, enabling the use of STM as a nanoscale detection tool of nematicity. By sampling multiple spatial regions of a single-layer FeSe/SrTiO$_3$ film, we quantitatively exclude static $xz/yz$ orbital ordering with domain size larger than $\delta r^2$ = 20 nm $\times$ 20 nm, $xz/yz$ Fermi wave vector difference larger than $\delta k$ = 0.014 $\pi$, and energy splitting larger than $\delta E$ = 3.5 meV. The lack of detectable ordering pinned around defects places qualitative constraints on models of fluctuating nematicity.