Nematic fluctuations mediated superconductivity revealed by anisotropic strain in Ba(Fe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$)${}_2$As${}_2$

Abstract

Anisotropic strain is an external field capable of selectively addressing the role of nematic fluctuations in promoting superconductivity. We demonstrate this using polarization-resolved elasto-Raman scattering to probe the evolution of nematic fluctuations under strain in the normal and superconducting states of the paradigmatic iron-based superconductor Ba(Fe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$)${}_2$As${}_2$. In the non-superconducting parent compound BaFe${}_2$As${}_2$ we observe a strain-induced suppression of the nematic susceptibility which follows the expected behavior of an Ising order parameter under a symmetry breaking field. For the superconducting compound, the suppression of the nematic susceptibility correlates with the decrease of the superconducting critical temperature $T_c$. Our results indicate a significant contribution of nematic fluctuations to electron pairing and validate theoretical scenarios of enhanced $T_c$ near a nematic quantum critical point.

5 pages, 3 figures + SM