Towards a quantitative description of tunneling conductance of superconductors: application to LiFeAs

Abstract

Since the discovery of iron-based superconductors, a number of theories have been put forward to explain the qualitative origin of pairing, but there have been few attempts to make quantitative, material-specific comparisons to experimental results. The spin-fluctuation theory of electronic pairing, based on first-principles electronic structure calculations, makes predictions for the superconducting gap. Within the same framework, the surface wave functions may also be calculated, allowing, e.g., for detailed comparisons between theoretical results and measured scanning tunneling topographs and spectra. Here we present such a comparison between theory and experiment on the Fe-based superconductor LiFeAs. Results for the homogeneous surface as well as impurity states are presented as a benchmark test of the theory. For the homogeneous system, we argue that the maxima of topographic image intensity may be located at positions above either the As or Li atoms, depending on tip height and the setpoint current of the measurement. We further report the experimental observation of transitions between As and Li-registered lattices as functions of both tip height and setpoint bias, in agreement with this prediction. Next, we give a detailed comparison between the simulated scanning tunneling microscopy images of transition-metal defects with experiment. Finally, we discuss possible extensions of the current framework to obtain a theory with true predictive power for scanning tunneling microscopy in Fe-based systems.

14 pages, 15 figures, published version

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• Quasiparticle Interference of the van-Hove singularity in Sr${}_2$RuO${}_4$
• Quantum phase transition of correlated iron-based superconductivity in LiFe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$As
• Tunable vortex Majorana modes controlled by strain in homogeneous LiFeAs
• Electronic Theory for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Spectra in Infinite-Layer Nickelate Superconductors
• Interplay of Hidden Orbital Order and Superconductivity in CeCoIn5
• Superconducting gap symmetry from Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference analysis on {Sr}${}_2${RuO}${}_4$
• calcQPI: A versatile tool to simulate quasiparticle interference
• How orbitals and oxidation states determine apparent topographies in scanning tunneling microscopy: the case of fluorine on silver surfaces
• Image of helical local moment magnetic order in the STM spectrum
• Orbitally resolved superconductivity in real space: FeSe