arXiv subjects

W. -L. Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to W. -L. Zhang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Multipole polaron in the devil's staircase of CeSb

Rare-earth intermetallic compounds exhibit rich phenomena induced by the interplay between localized $f$ orbitals and conduction electrons. However, since the energy scale of the crystal-electric-field splitting is only a few millielectronvolts, the nature of the mobile electrons accompanied by collective crystal-electric-field excitations has not been unveiled. Here, we examine the low-energy electronic structures of CeSb through the anomalous magnetostructural transitions below the N$é$el temperature, $\sim$17 K, termed the 'devil's staircase', using laser angle-resolved photoemission, Raman and neutron scattering spectroscopies. We report another type of electron-boson coupling between mobile electrons and quadrupole crystal-electric-field excitations of the 4$f$ orbitals, which renormalizes the Sb 5$p$ band prominently, yielding a kink at a very low energy ($\sim$7 meV). This coupling strength is strong and exhibits anomalous step-like enhancement during the devil's staircase transition, unveiling a new type of quasiparticle, named the 'multipole polaron', comprising a mobile electron dressed with a cloud of the quadrupole crystal-electric-field polarization.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Quadrupolar charge dynamics in the nonmagnetic FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$ superconductors

We use polarization-resolved electronic Raman spectroscopy to study charge dynamics in non-magnetic FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$ superconductor. We observe two features of the $XY$ quadrupole symmetry: a low-energy quasi-elastic peak (QEP) and an electronic continuum. The QEP exhibits critical enhancement upon cooling towards the structural transition at $T_S(x)$. Below $T_S(x)$, the QEP diminishes gradually, and a gap with temperature evolution reminiscent of a mean-field order parameter opens in the continuum. The intensity of the QEP develops with increasing sulfur doping $x$ and maximizes at $x\approx$ 0.15, while the gap magnitude decreases with the suppression of $T_S(x)$. We interpret the development of the gap in the quadrupole scattering channel as the formation of a stripe quadrupole order: a wave of quadrupole moment without charge or spin modulation.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Raman scattering study of NaFe$_{0.53}$Cu$_{0.47}$As

We use polarization-resolved Raman scattering to study lattice dynamics in NaFe$_{0.53}$Cu$_{0.47}$As single crystals. We identify 4 $A_{1g}$ phonon modes at 125, 172, 183 and 197 cm$^{-1}$, and 4 $B_{3g}$ phonon modes at 101, 138, 173, 226 cm$^{-1}$. The phonon spectra are consistent with the $Ibam$ group, which confirms that the Cu and Fe atoms form a stripe order. The temperature dependence of the phonon spectra suggests weak electron-phonon and magneto-elastic interactions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

High Tc superconductivity in CaKFe$_4$As$_4$ in absence of nematic fluctuations

We employ polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy to study multi-band stoichiometric superconductor CaKFe$_4$As$_4$. The B$_{2g}$ symmetry Raman response shows no signatures of Pomeranchuk-like electronic nematic fluctuations which is observed for many other Fe-based superconductors. In the superconducting state, we identify three pair-breaking peaks at 13.8, 16.9 and 21 meV and full spectral weight suppression at low energies. The pair-breaking peak energies in Raman response are about 20% lower than twice the gap energies as measured by single-particle spectroscopy, implying a sub-dominant $d$-wave symmetry interaction. We analyze the superconductivity induced phonon self-energy effects and give an estimation of weak electron-phonon coupling constant $λ^Γ$=0.0015.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

On the origin of critical nematic fluctuations in pnictide superconductors

We employ polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy to study critical nematic fluctuations in Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Au$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ superconductors above and across well separated tetragonal to orthorhombic phase transition at temperature $T_S(x)$ and the Néel transition at $T_N(x)$. The static Raman susceptibility in $XY$ symmetry channel increases upon cooling from room temperature following the Curie-Weiss law, with Weiss temperature $T_θ(x)$ several tens of degrees lower than $T_S(x)$. Data reveals a hidden nematic quantum critical point at $x_{c} = 0.031$ when the system becomes superconducting, indicating a direct connection between quantum critical nematic fluctuations and unconventional superconductivity. We attribute the origin of the nematicity to charge quadrupole fluctuations due to electron transfer between the nearly degenerate $d_{xz}/d_{yz}$ orbitals.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Anomalous magneto-elastic coupling in Au-doped BaFe2As2

We used polarization-resolved Raman scattering to study magneto-elastic coupling in Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Au$_{x}$)$_2$As$_2$ crystals as a function of light Au-doping, materials for which temperatures of the structural transition ($T_S$) and of the magnetic ordering transition ($T_N$) split. We study the appearance of the $A_g$(As)phonon intensity in the $XY$ scattering geometry that is very weak just below $T_S$, but for which the intensity is significantly enhanced below $T_N$. In addition, the $A_g$(As) phonon shows an asymmetric line shape below $T_N$ and an anomalous linewidth broadening upon Au-doping in the magnetic phase. We demonstrate that the anomalous behavior of the $A_g$(As) phonon mode in the $XY$ scattering geometry can be consistently described by a Fano model involving the $A_g$(As) phonon mode interacting with the $B_{2g}$ symmetry-like magnetic continuum in which the magneto-elastic coupling constant is proportional to the magnetic order parameter.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Magneto-elastic coupling in Fe-based superconductors

We used polarization-resolved Raman scattering to study the magneto-elastic coupling in the parent compounds of several families of Fe-based superconductors (BaFe2As2, EuFe2As2, NaFeAs, LiFeAs, FeSe and LaFeAsO). We observe an emergent Ag-symmetry As phonon mode in the XY scattering geometry whose intensity is significantly enhanced below the magneto-structural transition only for compounds showing magnetic ordering. We conclude that the small lattice anisotropy is insufficient to induce the in-plane electronic polarizability anisotropy necessary for the observed phonon intensity enhancement, and interpret this enhancement below the Neel temperature in terms of the anisotropy of the magnetic moment and magneto-elastic coupling. We evidence a Fano line- shape in the XY scattering geometry resulting from a strong coupling between the Ag (As) phonon mode and the B2g symmetry-like electronic continuum. Strong electron-phonon coupling may be relevant to superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Robustness of topological states to lattice instability in non-symmorphic topological insulator KHgSb

We report a polarized Raman scattering study of non-symmorphic topological insulator KHgSb with hourglass-like electronic dispersion. Supported by theoretical calculations, we show that the lattice of the previously assigned space group $P6_3/mmc$ (No. 194) is unstable in KHgSb. While we observe one of two calculated Raman active E$_{2g}$ phonons of space group $P6_3/mmc$ at room temperature, an additional A$_{1g}$ peak appears at 99.5 ~cm$^{-1}$ upon cooling below $T^*$ = 150 K, which suggests a lattice distortion. Several weak peaks associated with two-phonon excitations emerge with this lattice instability. We also show that the sample is very sensitive to high temperature and high laser power, conditions under which it quickly decomposes, leading to the formation of Sb. Our first-principles calculations indicate that space group $P6_3mc$ (No. 186), corresponding to a vertical displacement of the Sb atoms with respect to the Hg atoms that breaks the inversion symmetry, is lower in energy than the presumed $P6_3/mmc$ structure and preserves the glide plane symmetry necessary to the formation of hourglass fermions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

ARPES observation of Mn-pnictide hybridization and negligible band structure renormalization in BaMn$_2$As$_2$ and BaMn$_2$Sb$_2$

We performed an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of BaMn$_2$As$_2$ and BaMn$_2$Sb$_2$, which are isostructural to the parent compound BaFe$_2$As$_2$ of the 122 family of ferropnictide superconductors. We show the existence of a strongly $k_z$-dependent band gap with a minimum at the Brillouin zone center, in agreement with their semiconducting properties. Despite the half-filling of the electronic 3$d$ shell, we show that the band structure in these materials is almost not renormalized from the Kohn-Sham bands of density functional theory. Our photon energy dependent study provides evidence for Mn-pnictide hybridization, which may play a role in tuning the electronic correlations in these compounds.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Collective excitations of dynamic Fermi surface deformations in BaFe$_2$(As$_{0.5}$P$_{0.5}$)$_2$

We use electronic Raman scattering to study the low-energy excitations in BaFe$_2$(As$_{0.5}$P$_{0.5}$)$_2$ ($T_c \approx 16$ K) samples. In addition to a superconducting pair breaking peak (2$Δ=6.7$ meV) in the A$_{1g}$ channel with a linear tail towards zero energy, suggesting a nodal gap structure, we detect spectral features associated to Pomeranchuk oscillations in the A$_{1g}$, B$_{1g}$ and B$_{2g}$ channels. We argue that the small Fermi energy of the system is an essential condition for these Pomeranchuk oscillations to be underdamped. The Pomeranchuk oscillations have the same frequencies in the B$_{1g}$ and B$_{2g}$ channels, which we explain by the mixing of these symmetries resulting from the removal of the $σ_v$ and $σ_v$ symmetry planes due to a large As/P disorder. Interestingly, we show that the temperature at which the peaks corresponding to the Pomeranchuk oscillations get underdamped is consistent with the non-Fermi liquid to Femi liquid crossover determined by transport, suggesting that the Pomeranchuk instability plays an important role in the low-energy physics of the Fe-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Stress-induced nematicity in EuFe2As2 studied by phononic Raman spectroscopy

We use polarized Raman scattering to study the structural phase transition in EuFe2As2, the parent compound of the 122-ferropnictide superconductors. The in-plane lattice anisotropy is characterized by measurements of the side surface with different strains induced using different preparation methods. We show that while a fine surface polishing leaves the samples free of residual internal strain, in which case the onset of the C4 symmetry breaking is observed at the nominal structural phase transition temperature Ts, cutting the side surface induces a permanent four-fold rotational symmetry C4 breaking spanning tens of degrees above Ts.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Raman scattering study of spin-density-wave-induced anisotropic electronic properties in AFe2As2 (A=Ca,Eu)

We present a polarization-resolved and temperature-dependent Raman scattering study of AFe2As2 (A = Ca, Eu). In the spin-density-wave (SDW) phase, spectral weight redistribution is observed in the fully symmetric and non-symmetric scattering channels at different energies. An anisotropic Raman response is observed in the fully symmetric channel in spontaneously detwinned CaFe2As2 samples. We calculate the orbital-resolved electronic structures using a combination of density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory (DFT+DMFT). We identify the electronic transitions corresponding to these two spectral features and find that the anisotropic Raman response originates from the lifted degeneracy of the dxz/yz orbitals in the broken symmetry phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

New phase transition in Na$_{2}$Ti$_{2}$As$_{2}$O revealed by Raman scattering

We performed a Raman scattering study of Na$_2$Ti$_2$As$_2$O. We identified a symmetry breaking structural transition at around $T_s = 150$ K, which matches a large bump in the electrical resistivity. Several new peaks are detected below that transition. Combined with first-principles calculations, our polarization-dependent measurements suggest a charge instability driven lattice distortion along one of the Ti-O bonds that breaks the 4-fold symmetry and more than doubles the unit cell.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Observation of Raman active phonon with Fano lineshape in quasi-one-dimensional superconductor K$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$

We performed a polarized Raman scattering study of quasi-one-dimensional superconductor K$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$. We detect two A$_1^\prime$ phonons and three E$^\prime$ phonons. One of the A$_1^\prime$ modes exhibits a nearly temperature-independent Fano lineshape. Based on our first-principles calculations, we ascribe this mode to the in-phase vibrations of Cr atoms within one layer. This observation strongly suggests that the magnetic fluctuations in K$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$ are coupled to the electronic structure \emph{via} the lattice.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Raman scattering investigation of quasi-one-dimensional superconductor Ta$_{4}$Pd$_{3}$Te$_{16}$

We have performed polarized Raman scattering measurements on the newly discovered superconductor Ta$_{4}$Pd$_{3}$Te$_{16}$ ($T_c = 4.6$ K). We observe twenty-eight out of thirty-three Raman active modes, with frequencies in good accordance with first-principles calculations. Although most of the phonons observed vary only slightly with temperature and do not exhibit any asymmetric profile that would suggest strong electron-phonon coupling, the linewidth of the A$_{g}$ phonon mode at 89.9 cm$^{-1}$ shows an unconventional increase with temperature decreasing, which is possibly due to a charge-density-wave transition or the emergence of charge-density-wave fluctuations below a temperature estimated to fall in the 140-200 K range.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

On the origin of the electronic anisotropy in iron pnicitde superconductors

We use polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy to study the anisotropy of the electronic characteristics of the iron-pnictide parent compounds $A$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ ($A$~=~Eu, Sr). We demonstrate that above the structural phase transition at Ts the dynamical anisotropic properties of the 122 compounds are governed by the emergence of $xy$-symmetry critical collective mode foretelling a condensation into a state with spontaneously broken four-fold symmetry at a temperature $T^{*}$. However, the mode's critical slowing down is intervened by a structural transition at Ts, about 80~K above $T^{*}$, resulting in an anisotropic density wave state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Chirality density wave of the 'hidden order' phase in URu$_2$Si$_2$

A second-order phase transition is associated with emergence of an "order parameter" and a spontaneous symmetry breaking. For the heavy fermion superconductor URu$_2$Si$_2$, the symmetry of the order parameter associated with its ordered phase below 17.5 K has remained ambiguous despite 30 years of research, and hence is called "hidden order" (HO). Here we use polarization resolved Raman spectroscopy to specify the symmetry of the low energy excitations above and below the HO transition. These excitations involve transitions between interacting heavy uranium 5f orbitals, responsible for the broken symmetry in the HO phase. From the symmetry analysis of the collective mode, we determine that the HO parameter breaks local vertical and diagonal reflection symmetries at the uranium sites, resulting in crystal field states with distinct chiral properties, which order to a commensurate chirality density wave ground state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Raman scattering investigation of superconducting Ba$_{2}$Ti$_{2}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{4}$O

We have performed polarized Raman scattering measurements on the newly discovered superconductor Ba$_{2}$Ti$_{2}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{4}$O$_{2}$ ($T_c = 21$ K). We observe seven out of eight Raman active modes, with frequencies in good accordance with first-principle calculations. The phonon spectra suggest neither strong electron-phonon nor spin-phonon coupling and vary only slightly with temperature, except for one E$_g$ mode associated with large displacements of As atoms near the Ti$_2$O planes. We also identify a small anomaly around 125 K in the linewidth of a A$_{1g}$ mode involving the same As atoms. Our results suggest that the transition at 125 K is most likely driven by electronic interactions taking place in the Ti$_2$O planes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗