Nematic transition and nanoscale suppression of superconductivity in Fe(Te,Se)
Abstract
The interplay of different electronic phases underlies the physics of unconventional superconductors. One of the most intriguing examples is a high-temperature superconductor, FeTe1 – xSex. This superconductor undergoes both a topological transition, linked to the electronic band inversion, and an electronic nematic phase transition, associated with rotation symmetry breaking, around the same Se composition where the superconducting transition temperature peaks. In this regime, nematic fluctuations and symmetry-breaking strain could be important, but this is yet to be fully explored. Using spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunnelling microscopy, we study the electronic nematic transition in FeTe1 – xSex as a function of composition. Near the critical Se composition, we find electronic nematicity in nanoscale regions. The superconducting coherence peaks are suppressed in areas where static nematic order is the strongest. By analysing atomic displacement in scanning tunnelling microscopy topographs, we find that small anisotropic strain can give rise to these strongly nematic localized regions. Furthermore, our experiments reveal a tendency of FeTe1 – xSex, near x ≈ 0.45, to form puddles hosting static nematic order, suggestive of nematic fluctuations pinned by structural inhomogeneity, and demonstrate the effect of anisotropic strain on superconductivity in this regime.
- Authors:
-
[3];
[4];
[2];
[1]
- Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
- Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou (China)
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); US Army Research Office (ARO); National Key Research and Development Program of China; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1805269
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-221734-2021-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 1745-2473; TRN: US2212734
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0012704; NSF-DMR-1654041; W911NF-17-1-0399; DMR-1720256; FG02-99ER45747; 2016YFA0300402; NSFC-12074335; 11974095
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nature Physics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 7; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 1745-2473
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group (NPG)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Phase transitions and critical phenomena; Superconducting properties and materials
Citation Formats
Zhao, He, Li, Hong, Dong, Lianyang, Xu, Binjie, Schneeloch, John, Zhong, Ruidan, Fang, Minghu, Gu, Genda, Harter, John, Wilson, Stephen D., Wang, Ziqiang, and Zeljkovic, Ilija. Nematic transition and nanoscale suppression of superconductivity in Fe(Te,Se). United States: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41567-021-01254-8.
Zhao, He, Li, Hong, Dong, Lianyang, Xu, Binjie, Schneeloch, John, Zhong, Ruidan, Fang, Minghu, Gu, Genda, Harter, John, Wilson, Stephen D., Wang, Ziqiang, & Zeljkovic, Ilija. Nematic transition and nanoscale suppression of superconductivity in Fe(Te,Se). United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01254-8
Zhao, He, Li, Hong, Dong, Lianyang, Xu, Binjie, Schneeloch, John, Zhong, Ruidan, Fang, Minghu, Gu, Genda, Harter, John, Wilson, Stephen D., Wang, Ziqiang, and Zeljkovic, Ilija. Thu .
"Nematic transition and nanoscale suppression of superconductivity in Fe(Te,Se)". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01254-8. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1805269.
@article{osti_1805269,
title = {Nematic transition and nanoscale suppression of superconductivity in Fe(Te,Se)},
author = {Zhao, He and Li, Hong and Dong, Lianyang and Xu, Binjie and Schneeloch, John and Zhong, Ruidan and Fang, Minghu and Gu, Genda and Harter, John and Wilson, Stephen D. and Wang, Ziqiang and Zeljkovic, Ilija},
abstractNote = {The interplay of different electronic phases underlies the physics of unconventional superconductors. One of the most intriguing examples is a high-temperature superconductor, FeTe1 – xSex. This superconductor undergoes both a topological transition, linked to the electronic band inversion, and an electronic nematic phase transition, associated with rotation symmetry breaking, around the same Se composition where the superconducting transition temperature peaks. In this regime, nematic fluctuations and symmetry-breaking strain could be important, but this is yet to be fully explored. Using spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunnelling microscopy, we study the electronic nematic transition in FeTe1 – xSex as a function of composition. Near the critical Se composition, we find electronic nematicity in nanoscale regions. The superconducting coherence peaks are suppressed in areas where static nematic order is the strongest. By analysing atomic displacement in scanning tunnelling microscopy topographs, we find that small anisotropic strain can give rise to these strongly nematic localized regions. Furthermore, our experiments reveal a tendency of FeTe1 – xSex, near x ≈ 0.45, to form puddles hosting static nematic order, suggestive of nematic fluctuations pinned by structural inhomogeneity, and demonstrate the effect of anisotropic strain on superconductivity in this regime.},
doi = {10.1038/s41567-021-01254-8},
journal = {Nature Physics},
number = 8,
volume = 7,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Thu Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}
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