Designing the stripe-ordered cuprate phase diagram through uniaxial-stress.

The ability to efficiently control charge and spin in the cuprate high-temperature superconductors is crucial for fundamental research and underpins technological development. Here, we explore the tunability of magnetism, superconductivity, and crystal structure in the stripe phase of the cuprate La[Formula: see text]Ba[Formula: see text]CuO[Formula: see text], with [Formula: see text] = 0.115 and 0.135, by employing temperature-dependent (down to 400 mK) muon-spin rotation and AC susceptibility, as well as X-ray scattering experiments under compressive uniaxial stress in the CuO[Formula: see text] plane. A sixfold increase of the three-dimensional (3D) superconducting critical temperature [Formula: see text] and a full recovery of the 3D phase coherence is observed in both samples with the application of extremely low uniaxial stress of [Formula: see text]0.1 GPa. This finding demonstrates the removal of the well-known 1/8-anomaly of cuprates by uniaxial stress. On the other hand, the spin-stripe order temperature as well as the magnetic fraction at 400 mK show only a modest decrease under stress. Moreover, the onset temperatures of 3D superconductivity and spin-stripe order are very similar in the large stress regime. However, strain produces an inhomogeneous suppression of the spin-stripe order at elevated temperatures. Namely, a substantial decrease of the magnetic volume fraction and a full suppression of the low-temperature tetragonal structure is found under stress, which is a necessary condition for the development of the 3D superconducting phase with optimal [Formula: see text]. Our results evidence a remarkable cooperation between the long-range static spin-stripe order and the underlying crystalline order with the three-dimensional fully coherent superconductivity. Overall, these results suggest that the stripe- and the SC order may have a common physical mechanism.

Anomalous Hall effect in Weyl semimetal half-Heusler compounds RPtBi (R = Gd and Nd).

Topological materials ranging from topological insulators to Weyl and Dirac semimetals form one of the most exciting current fields in condensed-matter research. Many half-Heusler compounds, RPtBi (R = rare earth), have been theoretically predicted to be topological semimetals. Among various topological attributes envisaged in RPtBi, topological surface states, chiral anomaly, and planar Hall effect have been observed experimentally. Here, we report an unusual intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in the antiferromagnetic Heusler Weyl semimetal compounds GdPtBi and NdPtBi that is observed over a wide temperature range. In particular, GdPtBi exhibits an anomalous Hall conductivity of up to 60 Ω-1⋅cm-1 and an anomalous Hall angle as large as 23%. Muon spin-resonance (µSR) studies of GdPtBi indicate a sharp antiferromagnetic transition (TN) at 9 K without any noticeable magnetic correlations above TN Our studies indicate that Weyl points in these half-Heuslers are induced by a magnetic field via exchange splitting of the electronic bands at or near the Fermi energy, which is the source of the chiral anomaly and the AHE.

Using Uniaxial Stress to Probe the Relationship between Competing Superconducting States in a Cuprate with Spin-stripe Order.

We report muon spin rotation and magnetic susceptibility experiments on in-plane stress effects on the static spin-stripe order and superconductivity in the cuprate system La_{2-x}Ba_{x}CuO_{4} with x=0.115. An extremely low uniaxial stress of ∼0.1 GPa induces a substantial decrease in the magnetic volume fraction and a dramatic rise in the onset of 3D superconductivity, from ∼10 to 32 K; however, the onset of at-least-2D superconductivity is much less sensitive to stress. These results show not only that large-volume-fraction spin-stripe order is anticorrelated with 3D superconducting coherence but also that these states are energetically very finely balanced. Moreover, the onset temperatures of 3D superconductivity and spin-stripe order are very similar in the large stress regime. These results strongly suggest a similar pairing mechanism for spin-stripe order and the spatially modulated 2D and uniform 3D superconducting orders, imposing an important constraint on theoretical models.

Extended Magnetic Dome Induced by Low Pressures in Superconducting FeSe_{1-x}S_{x}.

We report muon spin rotation and magnetization measurements under pressure on Fe_{1+δ}Se_{1-x}S_{x} with x≈0.11. Above p≈0.6 GPa we find a microscopic coexistence of superconductivity with an extended dome of long range magnetic order that spans a pressure range between previously reported separated magnetic phases. The magnetism initially competes on an atomic scale with the coexisting superconductivity leading to a local maximum and minimum of the superconducting T_{c}(p). The maximum of T_{c} corresponds to the onset of magnetism while the minimum coincides with the pressure of strongest competition. A shift of the maximum of T_{c}(p) for a series of single crystals with x up to 0.14 roughly extrapolates to a putative magnetic and superconducting state at ambient pressure for x≥0.2.

Solitonic Spin-Liquid State Due to the Violation of the Lifshitz Condition in Fe(1+y)Te.

A combination of phenomenological analysis and Mössbauer spectroscopy experiments on the tetragonal Fe(1+y)Te system indicates that the magnetic ordering transition in compounds with higher Fe excess, y≥0.11, is unconventional. Experimentally, a liquidlike magnetic precursor with quasistatic spin order is found from significantly broadened Mössbauer spectra at temperatures above the antiferromagnetic transition. The incommensurate spin-density wave order in Fe(1+y)Te is described by a magnetic free energy that violates the weak Lifshitz condition in the Landau theory of second-order transitions. The presence of multiple Lifshitz invariants provides the mechanism to create multidimensional, twisted, and modulated solitonic phases.

Avoided ferromagnetic quantum critical point: unusual short-range ordered state in CeFePO.

Cerium 4f electronic spin dynamics in single crystals of the heavy-fermion system CeFePO is studied by means of ac susceptibility, specific heat, and muon-spin relaxation (µSR). Short-range static magnetism occurs below the freezing temperature T(g) ≈ 0.7 K, which prevents the system from accessing a putative ferromagnetic quantum critical point. In the µSR, the sample-averaged muon asymmetry function is dominated by strongly inhomogeneous spin fluctuations below 10 K and exhibits a characteristic time-field scaling relation expected from glassy spin dynamics, strongly evidencing cooperative and critical spin fluctuations. The overall behavior can be ascribed neither to canonical spin glasses nor other disorder-driven mechanisms.

Room-temperature synthesis, hydrothermal recrystallization, and properties of metastable stoichiometric FeSe.

Room-temperature precipitation from aqueous solutions yields the hitherto unknown metastable stoichiometric iron selenide (ms-FeSe) with tetragonal anti-PbO type structure. Samples with improved crystallinity are obtained by diffusion-controlled precipitation or hydrothermal recrystallization. The relations of ms-FeSe to superconducting ß-FeSe(1-x) and other neighbor phases of the iron-selenium system are established by high-temperature X-ray diffraction, DSC/TG/MS (differential scanning calorimetry/thermogravimetry/mass spectroscopy), (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, magnetization measurements, and transmission electron microscopy. Above 300 °C, ms-FeSe decomposes irreversibly to ß-FeSe(1-x) and Fe(7)Se(8). The structural parameters of ms-FeSe (P4/nmm, a = 377.90(1) pm, c = 551.11(3) pm, Z = 2), obtained by Rietveld refinement, differ significantly from literature data for ß-FeSe(1-x). The Mössbauer spectrum rules out interstitial iron atoms or additional phases. Magnetization data suggest canted antiferromagnetism below T(N) = 50 K. Stoichiometric non-superconducting ms-FeSe can be regarded as the true "parent" compound for the "11" iron-chalcogenide superconductors and may serve as starting point for new chemical modifications.

The electronic phase diagram of the LaO(1-x)F(x)FeAs superconductor.

The competition of magnetic order and superconductivity is a key element in the physics of all unconventional superconductors, for example in high-transition-temperature cuprates, heavy fermions and organic superconductors. Here superconductivity is often found close to a quantum critical point where long-range antiferromagnetic order is gradually suppressed as a function of a control parameter, for example charge-carrier doping or pressure. It is believed that dynamic spin fluctuations associated with this quantum critical behaviour are crucial for the mechanism of superconductivity. Recently, high-temperature superconductivity has been discovered in iron pnictides, providing a new class of unconventional superconductors. Similar to other unconventional superconductors, the parent compounds of the pnictides show a magnetic ground state and superconductivity is induced on charge-carrier doping. In this Letter the structural and electronic phase diagram is investigated by means of X-ray scattering, muon spin relaxation and Mössbauer spectroscopy on the series LaO(1-x)F(x)FeAs. We find a discontinuous first-order-like change of the Néel temperature, the superconducting transition temperature and the respective order parameters. Our results strongly question the relevance of quantum critical behaviour in iron pnictides and prove a strong coupling of the structural orthorhombic distortion and the magnetic order both disappearing at the phase boundary to the superconducting state.

Pressure induced static magnetic order in superconducting FeSe1-x.

We report on a detailed investigation of the electronic phase diagram of FeSe1-x under pressures up to 1.4 GPa by means of ac magnetization and muon-spin rotation. At a pressure approximately 0.8 GPa the nonmagnetic and superconducting FeSe1-x enters a region where static magnetic order is realized above T{c} and bulk superconductivity coexists and competes on short length scales with the magnetic order below T{c}. For even higher pressures an enhancement of both the magnetic and the superconducting transition temperatures as well as of the corresponding order parameters is observed. These exceptional properties make FeSe1-x to be one of the most interesting superconducting systems investigated extensively at present.

Evolution of two-gap behavior of the superconductor FeSe1-x.

The superfluid density, rho{s}, of the iron chalcogenide superconductor, FeSe1-x, was studied as a function of pressure by means of muon-spin rotation. The analysis of rho{s}(T) within the two-gap scheme reveals that the effect on both, the transition temperature T{c} and rho{s}(0), is entirely determined by the band(s) where the large superconducting gap develops, while the band(s) with the small gap become practically unaffected.

Field-induced coupled superconductivity and spin density wave order in the heavy fermion compound CeCoIn5.

The high-field superconducting state in CeCoIn(5) has been studied by transverse field muon spin rotation measurements with an applied field parallel to the crystallographic c axis close to the upper critical field mu(0)H(c2) = 4.97 T. At magnetic fields mu(0)H > or = 4.8 T the muon Knight shift is enhanced and the superconducting transition changes from second order towards first order as predicted for Pauli-limited superconductors. The field and temperature dependence of the transverse muon spin relaxation rate sigma reveal paramagnetic spin fluctuations in the field regime from 2 T < or = mu(0)H < 4.8 T. In the normal state close to H(c2) correlated spin fluctuations as described by the self-consistent renormalization theory are observed. The results support the formation of a mode-coupled superconducting and antiferromagnetically ordered phase in CeCoIn(5) for H directed parallel to the c axis.

A clamp-type pressure cell for high energy x-ray diffraction.

We present a clamp-type pressure cell for high energy x-ray diffraction. The pressure cell was specifically designed for studies of weak superstructure reflections at low temperatures in transition metal oxides, resulting from, e.g., charge density modulations. Using a photon energy of E=100 keV, the bulk properties of single crystals with a volume of typically 2-5 mm3 can be studied in transmission geometry. To demonstrate the performance of the pressure cell, we present data on the charge stripe order in the high-temperature superconductor La1.875Ba0.125CuO4.

Macroscopic phase separation of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in Sr0.5Ce0.5FBiS2-x Se x revealed by µSR.

The compound Sr0.5Ce0.5FBiS2 belongs to the intensively studied family of layered BiS2 superconductors. It attracts special attention because superconductivity at T sc = 2.8 K was found to coexist with local-moment ferromagnetic order with a Curie temperature T C = 7.5 K. Recently it was reported that upon replacing S by Se T C drops and ferromagnetism becomes of an itinerant nature. At the same time T sc increases and it was argued superconductivity coexists with itinerant ferromagnetism. Here we report a muon spin rotation and relaxation study (µSR) conducted to investigate the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetic order in Sr0.5Ce0.5FBiS2-x Se x with x = 0.5 and 1.0. By inspecting the muon asymmetry function we find that both phases do not coexist on the microscopic scale, but occupy different sample volumes. For x = 0.5 and x = 1.0 we find a ferromagnetic volume fraction of ~8 % and ~30 % at T = 0.25 K, well below T C = 3.4 K and T C = 3.3 K, respectively. For x = 1.0 (T sc = 2.9 K) the superconducting phase occupies most (~64 %) of the remaining sample volume, as shown by transverse field experiments that probe the Gaussian damping due to the vortex lattice. We conclude ferromagnetism and superconductivity are macroscopically phase separated.

Structural and magnetic phase transitions in triclinic Ca10(FeAs)10(Pt3As8).

We report the structural and magnetic phase transitions of triclinic Ca10(FeAs)10(Pt3As8), which is the parent compound of the 1038-type iron-arsenide superconductors. High-resolution x-ray diffraction reveals splitting of the in-plane (a,b) lattice parameters at T(s) ≈ 120 K. Platinum-doping weakens the distortion and shifts the transition temperature to 80 K in Ca10(Fe(1-x)Pt(x)As)10(Pt3As8) with x = 0.03. µSR experiments show the onset of magnetic order near T and a broad magnetic phase transition. The structural transition involves no reduction of the space group symmetry in contrast to the other parent compounds of iron-arsenide superconductors; nevertheless the local fourfold symmetry of the FeAs-layers in Ca10(FeAs)10(Pt3As8) is broken.

Low temperature ballistic spin transport in the S = 1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain compound SrCuO2.

We report zero and longitudinal magnetic field muon spin relaxation (µSR) measurements of the spin S = 1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain material SrCuO2. We find that in a weak applied magnetic field B0 the spin-lattice relaxation rate λ follows a power law λ is proportional to B(0)(-n) with n = 0.9(3). This result is temperature independent for 5 K ≤ T ≤ 300 K. Within conformal field theory and using the Müller ansatz we conclude ballistic spin transport in SrCuO2.

Superconductivity and field-induced magnetism in SrFe_{1.75}Co_{0.25}As_{2}.

Using muon-spin rotation, we studied the in-plane (lambda_{ab}) and the out of plane (lambda_{c}) magnetic field penetration depth in SrFe_{1.75}Co_{0.25}As_{2} (T_{c} approximately 13.3 K). The penetration depth anisotropy gamma_{lambda} = lambda_{c}/lambda_{ab} increases from gamma_{lambda} approximately 2.1 at T_{c} to 2.7 at 1.6 K. The mean internal field in the superconducting state increases with decreasing temperature, just opposite to the diamagnetic response seen in magnetization experiments. This unusual behavior suggests that the external field induces a magnetic order which is maintained throughout the whole sample volume.

Two-gap superconductivity in Ba1-xKxFe2As2: a complementary study of the magnetic penetration depth by muon-spin rotation and angle-resolved photoemission.

We investigate the magnetic penetration depth lambda in superconducting Ba1-xKxFe2As2 (Tc approximately 32 K) with muon-spin rotation (microSR) and angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES). Using microSR, we find the penetration-depth anisotropy gamma lambda=lambda c/lambda ab and the second-critical-field anisotropy gammaHc2 to show an opposite T evolution below Tc. This dichotomy resembles the situation in the two-gap superconductor MgB2. A two-gap scenario is also suggested by an inflection point in the in-plane penetration depth lambda ab around 7 K. The complementarity of microSR and ARPES allows us to pinpoint the values of the two gaps and to arrive to a remarkable agreement between the two techniques concerning the full T evolution of lambdaab. This provides further support for the described scenario and establishes ARPES as a tool to assess macroscopic properties of the superconducting condensate.

Microscopic evidence of spin state order and spin state phase separation in layered cobaltites RBaCo2O5.5 with R=Y, Tb, Dy, and Ho.

We report muon-spin relaxation measurements on the magnetic structures of RBaCo2O(5.5) with R=Y, Tb, Dy, and Ho. Three different phases, one ferrimagnetic and two antiferromagnetic, are identified below 300 K. They consist of different ordered spin state arrangements of high-, intermediate-, and low-spin Co3+ of CoO6 octahedra. Phase separation into well separated regions with different spin state order is observed in the antiferromagnetic phases. The unusual strongly anisotropic magnetoresistance and its onset at the FM-AFM phase boundary is explained.

Field and temperature dependence of the superfluid density in LaFeAsO1-xFx superconductors: a muon spin relaxation study.

We present zero field and transverse field muon spin relaxation experiments on the recently discovered Fe-based superconductor LaFeAsO1-xFx (x=0.075 and x=0.1). The temperature dependence of the deduced superfluid density is consistent with a BCS s-wave or a dirty d-wave gap function, while the field dependence strongly evidences unconventional superconductivity. We obtain the in-plane penetration depth of lambda ab(0)=254(2) nm for x=0.1 and lambda ab(0)=364(8) nm for x=0.075. Further evidence for unconventional superconductivity is provided by the ratio of Tc versus the superfluid density, which is close to the Uemura line of high-Tc cuprates.

Commensurate spin density wave in LaFeAsO: a local probe study.

We present a detailed study on the magnetic order in the undoped mother compound LaFeAsO of the recently discovered Fe-based superconductor LaFeAsO1-xFx. In particular, we present local probe measurements of the magnetic properties of LaFeAsO by means of 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and muon-spin relaxation in zero external field along with magnetization and resistivity studies. These experiments prove a commensurate static magnetic order with a strongly reduced ordered moment of 0.25(5)muB at the iron site below T(N)=138 K, well separated from a structural phase transition at T(S)=156 K. The temperature dependence of the sublattice magnetization is determined and compared to theory. Using a four-band spin density wave model both, the size of the order parameter and the quick saturation below T(N) are reproduced.