Orbital Order and Spin Nematicity in the Tetragonal Phase of Electron-doped Iron-Pnictides NaFe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$As

Abstract

In copper-oxide and iron-based high temperature (high-$T_{\mathrm{c}}$) superconductors, many physical properties exhibit in-plane anisotropy, which is believed to be caused by a rotational symmetry-breaking nematic order, whose origin and its relationship to superconductivity remain elusive. In many iron-pnictides, a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition temperature $T_{\mathrm{s}}$ coincides with the magnetic transition temperature $T_{\mathrm{N}}$, making the orbital and spin degrees of freedom highly entangled. NaFeAs is a system where $T_{\mathrm{s}}$ = 54 K is well separated from $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ = 42 K, which helps simplify the experimental situation. Here we report nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements on NaFe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$As (0 $\le x\le$ 0.042) that revealed orbital and spin nematicity occurring at a temperature $T^{\ast }$ far above $T_{\mathrm{s}}$ in the tetragonal phase. We show that the NMR spectra splitting and its evolution can be explained by an incommensurate orbital order that sets in below $T^{\ast }$ and becomes commensurate below $T_{\mathrm{s}}$, which brings about the observed spin nematicity.

14 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys.Rev.B (Rapid Commun.)

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Cited by in corpus (25)

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• Electron Mass Enhancement near a Nematic Quantum Critical Point in NaFe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$As
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• Local orthorhombic lattice distortions in the paramagnetic tetragonal phase of superconducting NaFe${}_{1-x}$Ni${}_x$As
• Spin-Orbital-Intertwined Nematic State in FeSe
• Discovery of mesoscopic nematicity wave in iron-based superconductors
• Singular magnetic anisotropy in the nematic phase of FeSe
• Charge and nematic orders in AFe${}_2$As${}_2$ (A= Rb,Cs) superconductors
• Hidden antiferro-nematic order in Fe-based superconductor BaFe${}_2$As${}_2$ and NaFeAs above $T_S$
• Reemergeing electronic nematicity in heavily hole-doped Fe-based superconductors
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• Effect of proton irradiation on the normal state low-energy excitations of Ba(Fe${}_{1-x}$Rh${}_x$)${}_2$As${}_2$ superconductors
• Nematicity and magnetism in LaFeAsO single crystals probed by ${}^{75}$As nuclear magnetic resonance
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• Persistence of slow fluctuations in the overdoped regime of Ba(Fe1-xRhx)2As2 superconductors
• Microscopic evidence for the intra-unit-cell electronic nematicity inside the pseudogap phase in YBa${}_2$Cu${}_4$O${}_8$
• A unified phase diagram of F-doped LaFeAsO by means of NMR and NQR parameters
• Tuning the interplay between nematicity and spin fluctuations in Na${}_{1-x}$Li${}_x$FeAs superconductors
• Disorder-Induced Electronic Nematicity
• Structural Phase Transition, Antiferromagnetism and Two Superconducting Domes in LaFeAsO${}_{1-x}$F${}_x$ (0 $<x\le$ 0.75)
• Diverse Exotic Orders and Fermiology in Fe-based Superconductors: A Unified Mechanism for $B_{1g}/B_{2g}$ Nematicity in FeSe/(Cs,Rb)Fe${}_2$As${}_2$ and Smectic Order in BaFe${}_2$As${}_2$
• Mapping out the spin fluctuations in Co-doped LaFeAsO single crystals by NMR
• Dynamics of orbital degrees of freedom probed via isotope ${}^{121,123}$ Sb nuclear quadrupole moments in Sb-substituted iron-pnictide superconductors
• Edwards-Anderson parameter and local Ising-nematicity in FeSe revealed via NMR spectral broadening