Crystallographic, electronic, thermal, and magnetic properties of single-crystal SrCo2As2
Journal Article
·
· Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
- Ames Lab. and Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
- Ames Lab. and Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States). Missouri Research Reactor
- State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Plattsburgh, NY (United States)
- Russian Academy of Sciences, Urals Div., Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation). Inst. of Metal Physics
In tetragonal SrCo2As2 single crystals, inelastic neutron scattering measurements demonstrated that strong stripe-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) correlations occur at a temperature T = 5 K [W. Jayasekara et al., arXiv:1306.5174] that are the same as in the isostructural AFe2As2 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) parent compounds of high-Tc superconductors. This surprising discovery suggests that SrCo2As2 may also be a good parent compound for high-Tc superconductivity. Here, structural and thermal expansion, electrical resistivity ρ, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), heat capacity Cp, magnetic susceptibility χ, 75As NMR and neutron diffraction measurements of SrCo2As2 crystals are reported together with LDA band structure calculations that shed further light on this fascinating material. The c-axis thermal expansion coefficient αc is negative from 7 to 300 K, whereas αa is positive over this T range. The ρ(T) shows metallic character. The ARPES measurements and band theory confirm the metallic character and in addition show the presence of a flat band near the Fermi energy EF. The band calculations exhibit an extremely sharp peak in the density of states D(EF) arising from a flat dx2-y2 band. A comparison of the Sommerfeld coefficient of the electronic specific heat with χ(T → 0) suggests the presence of strong ferromagnetic itinerant spin correlations which on the basis of the Stoner criterion predicts that SrCo2As2 should be an itinerant ferromagnet, in conflict with the magnetization data. The χ(T) does have a large magnitude, but also exhibits a broad maximum at 115 K suggestive of dynamic short-range AFM spin correlations, in agreement with the neutron scattering data. The measurements show no evidence for any type of phase transition between 1.3 and 300 K and we propose that metallic SrCo2As2 has a gapless quantum spin-liquid ground state.
- Research Organization:
- Ames Laboratory (AMES), Ames, IA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11358
- OSTI ID:
- 1127239
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1109758
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Journal Name: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 88; ISSN 1098-0121; ISSN PRBMDO
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Coexistence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic spin correlations in SrCo2As2 revealed by 59Co and 75As NMR
Stripe Antiferromagnetic Spin Fluctuations in SrCo2As2
$A$-type antiferromagnetic order and magnetic phase diagram of the trigonal Eu spin-$\frac{7}{2}$ triangular-lattice compound $\mathrm{EuSn_2As_2}$
Journal Article
·
Sun Jun 14 20:00:00 EDT 2015
· Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
·
OSTI ID:1227376
Stripe Antiferromagnetic Spin Fluctuations in SrCo2As2
Journal Article
·
Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013
· Physical Review Letters
·
OSTI ID:1127461
$A$-type antiferromagnetic order and magnetic phase diagram of the trigonal Eu spin-$\frac{7}{2}$ triangular-lattice compound $\mathrm{EuSn_2As_2}$
Journal Article
·
Thu Nov 18 19:00:00 EST 2021
· Physical Review B
·
OSTI ID:1833536