Raman scattering study of tetragonal magnetic phase in Sr${}_{1-x}$Na${}_x$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$: structural symmetry and electronic gap

Abstract

We use inelastic light scattering to study Sr${}_{1-x}$Na${}_x$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$ ($x\approx 0.34$), which exhibits a robust tetragonal magnetic phase that restores the four-fold rotation symmetry inside the orthorhombic magnetic phase. With cooling, we observe splitting and recombination of an $E_g$ phonon peak upon entering the orthorhombic and tetragonal magnetic phases, respectively, consistent with the reentrant phase behavior. Our electronic Raman data reveal a pronounced feature that is clearly associated with the tetragonal magnetic phase, suggesting the opening of an electronic gap. No phonon back-folding behavior can be detected above the noise level, which implies that any lattice translation symmetry breaking in the tetragonal magnetic phase must be very weak.

4 pages, 4 figures