Hedgehog spin-vortex crystal stabilized in a hole-doped iron-based superconductor
- Ames Lab. and Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States) and Dept. of Physics and Astronomy;
- Goethe Univ., Frankfurt (Germany). Inst. of Theoretical Physics
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Quantum Condensed Matter Division and Shull-Wollan Center
- Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). School of Physics and Astronomy
- Ames Lab. and Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)
Magnetism is widely considered to be a key ingredient of unconventional superconductivity. In contrast to cuprate high-temperature superconductors, antiferromagnetism in most Fe-based superconductors (FeSCs) is characterized by a pair of magnetic propagation vectors, (π,0) and (0,π). Consequently, three different types of magnetic order are possible. Of these, only stripe-type spin-density wave (SSDW) and spin-charge-density wave (SCDW) orders have been observed. A realization of the proposed spin-vortex crystal (SVC) order is noticeably absent. We report a magnetic phase consistent with the hedgehog variation of SVC order in Ni-doped and Co-doped CaKFe4As4 based on thermodynamic, transport, structural and local magnetic probes combined with symmetry analysis. The exotic SVC phase is stabilized by the reduced symmetry of the CaKFe4As4 structure. Thus, our results suggest that the possible magnetic ground states in FeSCs have very similar energies, providing an enlarged configuration space for magnetic fluctuations to promote high-temperature superconductivity.
- Research Organization:
- Ames Laboratory (AMES), Ames, IA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; German Research Foundation (DFG); Iowa State University Research Foundation
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11358; GBMF4411; AC02-06CH11357; SFB/TRR49; SC0012336
- OSTI ID:
- 1422755
- Report Number(s):
- IS-J-9515; PII: 76
- Journal Information:
- npj Quantum Materials, Vol. 3, Issue 1; ISSN 2397-4648
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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