1. Short-Range Nematic Fluctuations in Sr1-xNaxFe2As2 Superconductors
- Author
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Wu, Shan, Song, Yu, He, Yu, Frano, Alex, Yi, Ming, Chen, Xiang, Uchiyama, Hiroshi, Alatas, Ahmet, Said, Ayman H, Wang, Liran, Wolf, Thomas, Meingast, Christoph, and Birgeneau, Robert J
- Subjects
cond-mat.supr-con ,cond-mat.str-el ,Mathematical Sciences ,Physical Sciences ,Engineering ,General Physics - Abstract
Interactions between nematic fluctuations, magnetic order and superconductivity are central to the physics of iron-based superconductors. Here we report on in-plane transverse acoustic phonons in hole-doped Sr1−xNaxFe2As2 measured via inelastic x-ray scattering, and extract both the nematic susceptibility and the nematic correlation length. By a self-contained method of analysis, for the underdoped (x=0.36) sample, which harbors a magnetically ordered tetragonal phase, we find it hosts a short nematic correlation length ξ∼10 Å and a large nematic susceptibility χnem. The optimal-doped (x=0.55) sample exhibits weaker phonon softening effects, indicative of both reduced ξ and χnem. Our results suggest short-range nematic fluctuations may favor superconductivity, placing emphasis on the nematic correlation length for understanding the iron-based superconductors.
- Published
- 2021