Short-range nematic fluctuations in Sr1-xNaxFe2As2 superconductors

Abstract

Interactions between nematic fluctuations, magnetic order and superconductivity are central to the physics of iron-based superconductors. Here we report on in-plane transverse acoustic phonons in hole-doped Sr${}_{1-x}$Na${}_x$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$ measured via inelastic X-ray scattering, and extract both the nematic susceptibility and the nematic correlation length. By a self-contained method of analysis, for the underdoped ($x=0.36$) sample, which harbors a magnetically-ordered tetragonal phase, we find it hosts a short nematic correlation length $\xi$ ~ 10 $\mathring{A}$ and a large nematic susceptibility ${\chi }_{\mathrm{nem}}$. The optimal-doped ($x=0.55$) sample exhibits weaker phonon softening effects, indicative of both reduced $\xi$ and ${\chi }_{\mathrm{nem}}$. Our results suggest short-range nematic fluctuations may favor superconductivity, placing emphasis on the nematic correlation length for understanding the iron-based superconductors.

References in corpus (18)

• Evidence for an electron nematic phase transition in underdoped iron pnictide superconductors
• Nearly Isotropic superconductivity in (Ba,K)Fe2As2
• Nematic and meta-nematic transitions in the iron pnictides
• Enhancement of superconductivity near a nematic quantum critical point
• Determination of anisotropic Hc2 up to 60 T in (Ba0.55K0.45)Fe2As2 single crystals
• Manifestations of nematic degrees of freedom in the magnetic, elastic, and superconducting properties of the iron pnictides
• Spin reorientation in Na-doped BaFe${}_2$As${}_2$ studied by neutron diffraction
• Strong Correlations, Strong Coupling and s-wave Superconductivity in Hole-doped BaFe2As2 Single Crystals
• Dynamic competition between spin density wave order and superconductivity in underdoped $B{a}_{1-x}{K}_{x}F{e}_{2}A{s}_2$
• Local orthorhombicity in the magnetic $C_4$ phase of the hole-doped iron-arsenide superconductor Sr${}_{1-x}$Na${}_x$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$
• Superconductivity and electronic fluctuations in Ba${}_{1-x}$K${}_x$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$ studied by Raman scattering
• Close correlation between magnetic properties and the soft phonon mode of the structural transition in BaFe${}_2$As${}_2$ and SrFe${}_2$As${}_2$
• Spin anisotropy due to spin-orbit coupling in optimally hole-doped Ba${}_{0.67}$K${}_{0.33}$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$
• Local nematic susceptibility in stressed BaFe${}_2$As${}_2$ from NMR electric field gradient measurements
• Soft elastic constants from phonon spectroscopy in hole-doped Ba${}_{1-x}$(K,Na)${}_x$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$ and Sr${}_{1-x}Na$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$
• Optical and photoemission investigation of structural and magnetic transitions in the iron-based superconductor Sr${}_{0.67}$Na${}_{0.33}$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$
• Isostructural spin-density-wave and superconducting gap anisotropies in iron-arsenide superconductors
• Emergent phases in iron pnictides: Double-Q antiferromagnetism, charge order and enhanced nematic correlations

Cited by in corpus (3)

• An Electronic Nematic Liquid in BaNi${}_2$As${}_2$
• Microscopic origin of the nemato-elastic coupling and dynamics of hybridized collective nematic-phonon excitations
• Edwards-Anderson parameter and local Ising-nematicity in FeSe revealed via NMR spectral broadening