arXiv subjects

N. L. Wang

Publications and source records attributed to N. L. Wang.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Paraconductivity of K-doped SrFe2As2 superconductor

Paraconductivity of the optimally K-doped SrFe2As2 superconductor is investigated within existing fluctuation mechanisms. The in-plane excess conductivity has been measured in high quality single crystals, with a sharp superconducting transition at Tc=35.5K and a transition width less than 0.3K. The data have been also acquired in external magnetic field up to 14T. We show that the fluctuation conductivity data in zero field and for temperatures close to Tc, can be explained within a three-dimensional Lawrence-Doniach theory, with a negligible Maki-Thompson contribution. In the presence of the magnetic field, it is shown that paraconductivity obeys the three-dimensional Ullah-Dorsey scaling law, above 2T and for H||c. The estimated upper critical field and the coherence length nicely agree with the available experimental data.

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arXiv2012

Two successive field-induced spin-flop transitions in single-crystalline CaCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$

CaCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$, a ThCr$_{2}$Si$_{2}$-structure compound, undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at \emph{T$_{N}$}=76K with the magnetic moments being aligned parallel to the \emph{c} axis. Electronic transport measurement reveals that the coupling between conducting carriers and magnetic order in CaCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$ is much weaker comparing to the parent compounds of iron pnictide. Applying magnetic field along \emph{c} axis induces two successive spin-flop transitions in its magnetic state. The magnetization saturation behaviors with \emph{\textbf{H}$\parallel$c} and \emph{\textbf{H}$\parallel$ab} at 10K indicate that the antiferromagnetic coupling along \emph{c} direction is very weak. The interlayer antiferromagntic coupling constant \emph{J$_{c}$} is estimated to be about 2 meV.

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arXiv2012

Hybridization gap versus hidden order gap in URu$_2$Si$_2$ as revealed by optical spectroscopy

We present the in-plane optical reflectance measurement on single crystals of URu$_2$As$_2$. The study revealed a strong temperature-dependent spectral evolution. Above 50 K, the low frequency optical conductivity is rather flat without a clear Drude-like response, indicating a very short transport life time of the free carriers. Well below the coherence temperature, there appears an abrupt spectral weight suppression below 400 cm$^{-1}$, yielding evidence for the formation of a hybridization energy gap arising from the mixing of the conduction electron and narrow f-electron bands. A small part of the suppressed spectral weight was transferred to the low frequency side, leading to a narrow Drude component, while the majority of the suppressed spectral weight was transferred to the high frequency side centered near 4000 cm$^{-1}$. Below the hidden order temperature, another very prominent energy gap structure was observed, which leads to the removal of a large part of the Drude component and a sharp reduction of the carrier scattering rate. The study revealed that the hybridization gap and the hidden orger gap are distinctly different: they occur at different energy scales and exhibit completely different spectral characteristics.

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arXiv2012

Antiferromagnetic Spin Fluctuation above the Superconducting Dome and the Full-Gaps Superconducting State in LaFeAsO1-xFx Revealed by 75As-Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance

We report a systematic study by 75As nuclear-quadrupole resonance in LaFeAsO1-xFx. The antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation (AFSF) found above the magnetic ordering temperature TN = 58 K for x = 0.03 persists in the regime 0.04 < x < 0.08 where superconductivity sets in. A dome-shaped x-dependence of the superconducting transition temperature Tc is found, with the highest Tc = 27 K at x = 0.06 which is realized under significant AFSF. With increasing x further, the AFSF decreases, and so does Tc. These features resemble closely the cuprates La2-xSrxCuO4. In x = 0.06, the spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T1) below Tc decreases exponentially down to 0.13 Tc, which unambiguously indicates that the energy gaps are fully-opened. The temperature variation of 1/T1 below Tc is rendered nonexponential for other x by impurity scattering.

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arXiv2012

Nanoscale phase separation of antiferromagnetic order and superconductivity in K$_{0.75}$Fe$_{1.75}$Se$_2$

We report an in-plane optical spectroscopy study on the iron-selenide superconductor K$_{0.75}$Fe$_{1.75}$Se$_2$. The measurement revealed the development of a sharp reflectance edge below T$_c$ at frequency much smaller than the superconducting energy gap on a relatively incoherent electronic background, a phenomenon which was not seen in any other Fe-based superconductors so far investigated. Furthermore, the feature could be noticeably suppressed and shifted to lower frequency by a moderate magnetic field. Our analysis indicates that this edge structure arises from the development of a Josephson-coupling plasmon in the superconducting condensate. Together with the transmission electron microscopy analysis, our study yields compelling evidence for the presence of nanoscale phase separation between superconductivity and magnetism. The results also enable us to understand various seemingly controversial experimental data probed from different techniques.

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arXiv2011

Thermal Hall Conductivity as a Probe of Gap Structure in Multi-band Superconductors: The Case of $\rm Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2$

The sign and profile of the thermal Hall conductivity $κ_{xy}$ gives important insights into the gap structure of multi-band superconductors. With this perspective, we have investigated $κ_{xy}$ and the thermal conductivity $κ_{xx}$ in $\rm Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2$ which display large peak anomalies in the superconducting state. The anomalies imply that a large hole-like quasiparticle (qp) population exists below the critical temperature $T_c$. We show that the qp mean-free-path inferred from $κ_{xx}$ reproduces the observed anomaly in $κ_{xy}$, providing a consistent estimate of a large qp population. Further, we demonstrate that the hole-like signal is consistent with a theoretical scenario where despite potentially large gap variations on the electron pockets, the minimal homogeneous gap of the superconducting phase resides at a hole pocket. Implications for probing the gap structure in the broader class of pnictide superconductors are discussed.

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arXiv2011

Nonequilibrium Quasiparticle Relaxation Dynamics in Single Crystals of Hole and Electron doped BaFe$_2$As$_2$

We report on the nonequilibrium quasiparticle dynamics in BaFe$_2$As$_2$ on both the hole doped (Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$) and electron doped (BaFe$_{2-y}$Co$_y$As$_2$) sides of the phase diagram using ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. Below $T_c$, measurements conducted at low photoinjected quasiparticle densities in the optimally and overdoped Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ samples reveal two distinct relaxation processes: a fast component whose decay rate increases linearly with excitation density and a slow component with an excitation density independent decay rate. We argue that these two processes reflect the recombination of quasiparticles in the two hole bands through intraband and interband processes. We also find that the thermal recombination rate of quasiparticles increases quadratically with temperature in these samples. The temperature and excitation density dependence of the decays indicates fully gapped hole bands and nodal or very anisotropic electron bands. At higher excitation densities and lower hole dopings, the dependence of the dynamics on quasiparticle density disappears as the data are more readily understood in terms of a model which accounts for the quasiequilibrium temperature attained by the sample. In the BaFe$_{2-y}$Co$_y$As$_2$ samples, dependence of the recombination rate on quasiparticle density at low dopings (i.e., $y=0.12$) is suppressed upon submergence of the inner hole band and quasiparticle relaxation occurs in a slow, density independent manner.

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arXiv2011

Optical study of the multiple charge density wave transitions in ErTe$_3$

We present an optical spectroscopy study on singe crystalline ErTe$_3$, a rare-earth-element tri-telluride which experiences two successive charge density wave (CDW) transitions at T$_{c1}$ = 267 K and T$_{c2}$ = 150 K. Two corresponding gap features, centered at 2770 \cm ($\sim$ 343 meV) and 890 \cm ($\sim$ 110 meV) respectively, are clearly seen in ordered state. A pronounced Drude component, which exists at all measurement temperatures, demonstrates the partial gap character of both CDW orders. About half of the unmodulated Fermi surface (FS) remains in the CDW state at the lowest measurement temperature. The study also reveals that fluctuation effect is still prominent in this two-dimensional (2D) material.

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arXiv2011

Infrared spectrum and its implications for the electronic structure of the semiconducting iron selenide K$_{0.83}$Fe$_{1.53}$Se$_2$

We report an infrared spectroscopy study on K$_{0.83}$Fe$_{1.53}$Se$_2$, a semiconducting parent compound of the new iron-selenide system. The major spectral features are found to be distinctly different from all other Fe-based superconducting systems. Our measurement revealed two peculiar spectral structures: a double peak structure between 4000-6000 cm$^{-1}$ and abundant phonon modes much more than those expected for a 122 structure. We elaborate that those features could be naturally explained from the blocked antiferromagnetism due to the presence of Fe vacancy ordering as determined by recent neutron diffraction experiments. The double peaks reflect the coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic couplings between the neighboring Fe sites.

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arXiv2011

High energy pseudogap and its evolution with doping in Fe-based superconductors as revealed by optical spectroscopy

We report optical spectroscopic measurements on electron- and hole-doped BaFe2As2. We show that the compounds in the normal state are not simple metals. The optical conductivity spectra contain, in addition to the free carrier response at low frequency, a temperature-dependent gap-like suppression at rather high energy scale near 0.6 eV. This suppression evolves with the As-Fe-As bond angle induced by electron- or hole-doping. Furthermore, the feature becomes much weaker in the Fe-chalcogenide compounds. We elaborate that the feature is caused by the strong Hund's rule coupling effect between the itinerant electrons and localized electron moment arising from the multiple Fe 3d orbitals. Our experiments demonstrate the coexistence of itinerant and localized electrons in iron-based compounds, which would then lead to a more comprehensive picture about the metallic magnetism in the materials.

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arXiv2011

Multiple superconducting gap and anisotropic spin fluctuations in iron arsenides: Comparison with nickel analog

We present extensive 75As NMR and NQR data on the superconducting arsenides PrFeAs0.89F0.11 (Tc=45 K), LaFeAsO0.92F0.08 (Tc=27 K), LiFeAs (Tc = 17 K) and Ba0.72K0.28Fe2As2 (Tc = 31.5 K) single crystal, and compare with the nickel analog LaNiAsO0.9F0.1 (Tc=4.0 K) . In contrast to LaNiAsO0.9F0.1 where the superconducting gap is shown to be isotropic, the spin lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 in the Fe-arsenides decreases below Tc with no coherence peak and shows a step-wise variation at low temperatures. The Knight shift decreases below Tc and shows a step-wise T variation as well. These results indicate spinsinglet superconductivity with multiple gaps in the Fe-arsenides. The Fe antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations are anisotropic and weaker compared to underdoped copper-oxides or cobalt-oxide superconductors, while there is no significant electron correlations in LaNiAsO0.9F0.1. We will discuss the implications of these results and highlight the importance of the Fermi surface topology.

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arXiv2011

Upper critical field of the 122-type iron pnictide superconductors

The upper critical fields ($H_{c2}$) of the single crystals $\rm(Sr,Na)Fe_2As_2$ and $\rm Ba_{0.55}K_{0.45}Fe_2As_2$ were determined by means of measuring the electrical resistivity, $ ρ_{xx}(μ_0H)$, using the facilities of pulsed magnetic field at Los Alamos. In general, these compounds possess a very large upper critical field ($H_{c2}(0)$) with a weak anisotropic effect. The detailed curvature of $H_{c2}(T_c)$ may depend on the magnetic field orientation and the sample compositions. We argue that such a difference mainly results from the multi-band effect, which might be modified via doping.

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arXiv2011

The magnetoresistance and Hall effect in CeFeAsO: a high magnetic field study

The longitudinal electrical resistivity and the transverse Hall resistivity of CeFeAsO are simultaneously measured up to a magnetic field of 45T using the facilities of pulsed magnetic field at Los Alamos. Distinct behaviour is observed in both the magnetoresistance Rxx(μ0H) and the Hall resistance Rxy(μ0H) while crossing the structural phase transition at Ts \approx 150K. At temperatures above Ts, little magnetoresistance is observed and the Hall resistivity follows linear field dependence. Upon cooling down the system below Ts, large magnetoresistance develops and the Hall resistivity deviates from the linear field dependence. Furthermore, we found that the transition at Ts is extremely robust against the external magnetic field. We argue that the magnetic state in CeFeAsO is unlikely a conventional type of spin-density-wave (SDW).

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arXiv2010

Optical spectroscopy study on CeTe$_3$: evidence for multiple charge-density-wave orders

We performed optical spectroscopy measurement on single crystal of CeTe$_3$, a rare-earth element tri-telluride charge density wave (CDW) compound. The optical spectra are found to display very strong temperature dependence. Besides a large and pronounced CDW energy gap being present already at room temperature as observed in earlier studies, the present measurement revealed the formation of another energy gap at smaller energy scale at low temperature. The second CDW gap removes the electrons near E$_F$ which undergo stronger scattering. The study yields evidence for the presence of multiple CDW orders or strong fluctuations in the light rare-earth element tri-telluride.

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arXiv2010

Three dimensionality of band structure and a large residual quasiparticle population in Ba$_{0.67}$K$_{0.33}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ as revealed by the c-axis polarized optical measurement

We report on a c-axis polarized optical measurement on a Ba$_{0.67}$K$_{0.33}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ single crystal. We find that the c-axis optical response is significantly different from that of high-T$_c$ cuprates. The experiments reveal an anisotropic three-dimensional optical response with the absence of the Josephson plasma edge in R($ω$) in the superconducting state. Furthermore, different from the ab-plane optical response, a large residual quasiparticle population down to $T\sim\frac{1}{5}T_c$ was observed in the c-axis polarized reflectance measurement. We elaborate that there exist nodes for the superconducting gap in regions of the 3D Fermi surface that contribute dominantly to the c-axis optical conductivity.

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arXiv2010

Formation of partial energy gap below the structural phase transition and the rare-earth element substitution effect on infrared phonons in ReFeAsO (Re=La, Nd, and Sm)

Single crystals of LaFeAsO, NdFeAsO, and SmFeAsO have been prepared by means of a NaAs flux growth technique and studied by optical spectroscopy measurements. We show that the spectral features corresponding to the partial energy gaps in the spin-density-wave (SDW) state are present below the structural phase transition. This indicates that the electronic state below the structural phase transition is already very close to that in the SDW state. We also show that in-plane infrared phonon modes display systematic shifts towards high frequency upon rare-earth element substitutions for La, suggesting a strong enhancement of the bonding strength. Furthermore, an asymmetric line-shape of the in-plane phonon mode is observed, implying the presence of an electron-phonon coupling effect in Fe-pnictides.

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arXiv2010

Measurement of the c-axis optical reflectance of AFe$_2$As$_2$ (A=Ba, Sr) single crystals: Evidence of different mechanisms for the formation of two energy gaps

We present the c-axis optical reflectance measurement on single crystals of BaFe$_2$As$_2$ and SrFe$_2$As$_2$, the parent compounds of FeAs based superconductors. Different from the ab-plane optical response where two distinct energy gaps were observed in the SDW state, only the smaller energy gap could be seen clearly for \textbf{E}$\parallel$c-axis. The very pronounced energy gap structure seen at a higher energy scale for \textbf{E}$\parallel$ab-plane is almost invisible. We propose a novel picture for the band structure evolution across the SDW transition and suggest different driving mechanisms for the formation of the two energy gaps.

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arXiv2010

Band-dependent Quasiparticle Dynamics in Single Crystals of the Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ Superconductor Revealed by Pump-Probe Spectroscopy

We report on band-dependent quasiparticle dynamics in Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ ($T_c = 37 K$) measured using ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. In the superconducting state, we observe two distinct relaxation processes: a fast component whose decay rate increases linearly with excitation density and a slow component with an excitation density independent decay rate. We argue that these two components reflect the recombination of quasiparticles in the two hole bands through intraband and interband processes. We also find that the thermal recombination rate of quasiparticles increases quadratically with temperature. The temperature and excitation density dependence of the decays indicates fully gapped hole bands and nodal or very anisotropic electron bands.

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