Coevolution of superconductivity and Hall coefficient with anisotropic lattice shrinkage in compressed KCa_(2)Fe_(4)As_(24F_(2)

The stability of superconductivity in superconductors is widely recognized to be determined by various factors,including charge,spin,orbit,lattice,and other related degrees of freedom.Here,we report our findings on the pressure-induced coevolution of superconductivity and Hall coefficient in KCa_(2)Fe_(4)As_(24F_(2),an iron-based superconductor possessing a hybrid crystal structure combining KFe_(2)As_(2) and CaFeAsF.Our investigation,involving high-pressure resistance,Hall effect and x-ray diffraction(XRD) measurements,allows us to observe the connection of the superconductivity and Hall coefficient with the anisotropic lattice shrinkage.We find that its ambient-pressure tetragonal(T) phase presents a collapse starting at around 18 GPa,where the sign of the Hall coefficient(R_(H)) changes from positive to negative.Upon further compression,both superconducting transition temperature(T_(c)) and R_(H) exhibit a monotonous decrease.At around 41 GPa,the superconductivity is completely suppressed(T_(c)=0),where the parameter a begins to decline again and the Hall coefficient remains nearly unchanged.Our experiment results clearly demonstrate that the pressure-induced anisotropic lattice collapse plays a crucial role in tuning the interplay among multiple degrees of freedom in the superconducting system and,correspondingly,the stability of the superconductivity.

Anomalous magnetoresistance in detwinned EuFe2As2

The in-plane magnetotransport of detwinned EuFe2As2 single crystal has been investigated.In the antiferromagnetic phase of Eu^2+spins,very different magnetoresistance results are observed upon the change of the external magnetic field direction and the current direction.This could be attributed to the tunable orientation of the Eu^2+spins under magnetic field.Electron scattering by spin fluctuation,superzone boundary effect,and cyclotron motion of charge carriers are used to interpret the observed anomalous magnetoresistance which is measured by using a current along a direction.The remarkable features of magnetoresistance suggest that itinerant electrons strongly couple with the spin configuration of Eu^2+,which has a huge influence on the transport properties of EuFe2As2.

Quenched Fe moment in the collapsed tetragonal phase of Ca_(1-x)Pr_x Fe_2As_2

We report 7SAs NMR studies on single crystals of rare-earth doped iron pnictide superconductor Ca1-xPrxFe2As2. In both cases of x = 0.075, 0.15, a large increase of Vq upon cooling is consistent with the tetragonal-collapsed tetragonal structure transition. A sharp drop of the Knight shift is also seen just below the structure transition, which suggests the quenching of Fe local magnetism, and therefore offers important understanding of the collapsed tetragonal phase. At even low temperatures, the 1/75 T1 is enhanced and forms a peak at T ≈ 25 K, which may be caused by the magnetic ordering of the Pr3＋ moments or soin dynamics of mobile domain walls.

Effect of residual stress on nematic domains in BaFe2-xNixAs2 studied by angular magnetoresistance

We have studied the angular magnetoresistance of iron pnictides BaFe_（2-x）Ni_xAs_2, which shows clear 180 degree periodicity as fitted by a cosine function. In the x = 0.065 sample, the phase of the two-fold symmetry changes 90 degrees above the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition temperature Ts. Since the phase at low temperature is associated with the rotation of orthorhombic domains by magnetic field, we show that even vacuum grease can push the presence of orthorhombic domains at temperatures much higher than Ts. Our results suggest that residual stress may have significant effects in studying the nematic orders and its fluctuations in iron pnictides.

Influence of the Fluoride Atoms Doping on the FeSe Superconductor

It is reported the influence of the interstitial atoms doping on the FeSe superconductor. Polycrystalline samples with FeSeFx and FeSeBx nominal compositions were prepared by solid state reaction. An enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature was observed in the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity curve to the FeSeF0.015 sample. R(T) data display superconducting behavior close to 12 K. The Tc increased with F doping by up to 50%. In contrast, boron doping no change the superconducting properties of the FeSe compound. As the FeSeFx and FeSeBx system the fluoride doping introduce a negative chemical pressure in the FeSe superconductor. This fact suggests that fluoride doping have changed the electronic properties of the FeSe phase.

Electronic Band Structure and Heat Capacity Calculation of Some TlX (X = Sb, Bi) Compounds

The tight binding linear muffin-tin-orbital (TB-LMTO) method within the local density approximation (LDA) has been used to calculate structural and electronic properties of thallium pnictides TlX (X = Sb, Bi). As a function of volume, the total energy is evaluated. Apart from this, equilibrium lattice parameter, bulk modulus, first order derivative, electronic and lattice heat co-efficient, Debye temperature and Grüneisen constants, band structure and density of states are calculated. From energy band diagram, we observed metallic behaviour in TlSb and TlBi compounds. The equilibrium lattice constants agreed well with the available data.

Interplay of iron and rare-earth magnetic order in rare-earth iron pnictide superconductors under magnetic field

The magnetic properties of iron pnictide superconductors with magnetic rare-earth ions under strong magnetic field are investigated based on the cluster self-consistent field method. Starting from an effective Heisenberg model, we present the evolution of magnetic structures on magnetic field in RFeAsO（R = Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, and Tb） and RFe_2As_2（R =Eu） compounds. It is found that spin-flop transition occurs in both rare-earth and iron layers under magnetic field, in good agreement with the experimental results. The interplay between rare-earth and iron spins plays a key role in the magneticfield-driven magnetic phase transition, which suggests that the rare-earth layers can modulate the magnetic behaviors of iron layers. In addition, the factors that affect the critical magnetic field for spin-flop transition are also discussed.

Intrinsic V vacancy and large magnetoresistance in V_(1-δ)Sb_(2)single crystal

The binary pnictide semimetals have attracted considerable attention due to their fantastic physical properties that include topological effects, negative magnetoresistance, Weyl fermions, and large non-saturation magnetoresistance. In this paper, we have successfully grown the high-quality V_(1-δ)Sb_(2) single crystals by Sb flux method and investigated their electronic transport properties. A large positive magnetoresistance that reaches 477% under a magnetic field of 12 T at T = 1.8 K was observed. Notably, the magnetoresistance showed a cusp-like feature at the low magnetic fields and such feature weakened gradually as the temperature increased, which indicated the presence of a weak antilocalization effect(WAL). In addition, based upon the experimental and theoretical band structure calculations, V_(1-δ)Sb_(2) is a research candidate for a flat band.

Magnetoresistivity and filamentary superconductivity in nickel-doped BaFe_2As_2

We present magnetotransport studies on a series of BaFe2_xNixAs2 （0.03 〈 x 〈 0.10） single crystals. In the un- derdoped （x = 0.03） non-superconducting sample, the temperature-dependent resistivity exhibits a peak at 22 K, which is associated with the onset of filamentary superconductivity （FLSC）. FLSC is suppressed by an external magnetic field in a manner similar to the suppression of bulk superconductivity in an optimally-doped （x = 0.10） compound, suggesting the same possible origin as the bulk superconductivity. Our magnetoresistivity measurements reveal that FLSC persists up to the optimal doping and disappears in the overdoped regime where the long-range antiferromagnetic order is completely suppressed, pointing to a close relation between FLSC and the magnetic order.

Interplay of superconductivity and d-f correlation in CeFeAs_(1-x)P_xO_(1-y)F_y

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based pnictides （chalcogenides） not only trig- gers tremendous enthusiasm in searching for new superconducting materials, but also opens a new avenue to the study of the Kondo physics. CeFeAsO is a parent compound of the 1111-type iron-based superconductors. It shows 3d- antiferromagnetic （AFM） ordering below 139 K and 4f-AFM ordering below 4 K. On the other hand, the phosphide CeFePO is a ferromagnetically corelated heavy-fermion （HF） metal with Kondo scale TK 10 K. These properties set up a new platform for research of the interplay among magnetism, Kondo effect, and superconductivity （SC）. In this review, we present the recent progress in the study of chemical pressure effect in CeFeAsOl_yFy （y = 0 and 0.05）. This P/As-doping in CeFeAsO serves as an effective controlling parameter which leads to two magnetic critical points, Xcl -- 0.4 and Xc2 - 0.92, associated with suppression of 3d and 4f magnetism, respectively. We also observe a turning point of AFM-FM ordering of Ce3＋ moment at Xc3 - 0.37. The SC is absent in the phase diagram, which is attributed to the destruction to Cooper pair by Ce-FM fluctuations in the vicinity of Xcl. We continue to investigate CeFeAsl-xPxO0.95Fo.os. With the separation of xcl and xc3, this chemical pressure results in a broad SC region 0〈 x 〈 0.53, while the original HF behavior is driven away by 5% F- doping. Different roles of P and F dopings are addressed, and the interplay between SC and Ce-4f magnetism is also discussed.

Synthesis,Crystal and Band Structures,and Optical Properties of Mercury Pnictide Halide Hg_(19)As_(10)Br_(18)

A mercury pnictide halide semiconductor Hg19As10Br18（1） has been prepared by the solid-state reaction and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.Compound 1 crystallizes in triclinic,space group P with a = 11.262（4）,b = 11.352（4）,c = 12.309（5） ,α = 105.724（2）,β = 105.788（4）,γ = 109.0780（10）° and V = 1314.3（8） 3.The structure of 1 is composed of parallel perovskite-like layers bridged by the linearly coordinated Br atoms to form a three-dimensional framework.The optical properties were investigated in terms of the diffuse reflectance spectrum.The electronic band structure along with density of states（DOS） calculated by DFT method indicates that compound 1 is a semiconductor with an indirect band gap,and that the optical absorption is mainly originated from the charge transitions from Br-4p and As-4p to the Hg-6s states.

Theoretical Study on the Effect of Multiband Structure on Critical Temperature and Electronic Specific Heat in SmOFeAs Iron Pnictide Superconductor

In the present theoretical work, superconducting order parameter (∆) and electronic specific heat (Ces) of SmOFeAs iron pnictide (IP) superconductor has been studied using multiband (MB) model of IP superconductors. Attempt has been made to use the MB structure of IP superconductors and expressions for critical temperature (Tc) and Ces are obtained, calculations being made for one, two and three bands of SmOFeAs. It has been found that MB results are close to the experimental value of Tc for this compound. Ces calculations show jump of 1.5 × 10-5 eV/atom K, 4 × 10-5 eV/atom K and 4 × 10-5 eV/atom K for one, two and three band models respectively. The study brings out the importance of MB structure in IPs, highlighting the fact that increasing the number of bands, increases Tc. The specific heat jump (∆C) does not correspond to the BCS value, thereby proving that IPs are unconventional in nature.

Superconductivity in potassium and ammonia co-intercalated FeSe_(1-x)Te_x

The origin of the ～40 and ～30 K superconducting phases in the metal-intercalated FeSe superconductors is still unclear. We report the synthesis of K_(0.3)(NH_3)_y(FeSe_(1-x)Te_x)_2 and K_(0.6)(NH_3)_y(FeSe_(1-x)Te_x)_2 with x=0-0.6 by using the liquid ammonia method at room temperature. The superconducting transition temperature Tcof the former remains about 43 K for all the nominal Te content less than 0.3, while that of the latter is about 30 K and obviously decreases with Te doping. Superconductivity disappears for x ≥0.4 in both systems. Except for the different chemical pressure induced by substitution of Te for Se in both systems, we also observed distinct external pressure effect on superconductivity for both systems, with much more efficiency of suppressing Tcby external pressure in the former system. These dramatic differences of both chemical and external pressure effects on Tc between the ～30 and ～40 K superconducting phases revealed that the existence of the two superconducting phases can be ascribed to the moderate and negligible coupling between FeSe layers, respectively.

Numerical analysis of LaBi at high temperature and pressure

In this paper we focused on the structural,elastic and thermodynamic properties of the B1 phase of LaBi by using the modified TBP model,including the role of temperature.We successfully obtained the phase transition pressure and volume change at different temperatures.In addition,elastic constants and bulk modulus of B1 phase of LaBi at different temperatures were discussed.Our results were comparable with the previous ones at high temperatures and pressures.The thermodynamical properties of the B1 phase of LaBi were also predicted.

Observation of a bi-critical point between antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases in pressurized single crystal Ca0.73La0.27FeAs2

One of the most strikingly universal features of the high-temperature superconductors is that the super- conducting phase emerges in the close proximity of the antiferromagnetic phase, and the interplay between these two phases poses a long-standing challenge. It is commonly believed that, as the antifer- romagnetic transition temperature is continuously suppressed to zero, there appears a quantum critical point, around which the existence of antiferromagnetic fluctuation is responsible for the development of the superconductivity. In contrast to this scenario, we report the observation of a bi-critical point identified at 2,88 GPa and 26.02 K in the pressurized high-quality single crystal Cao.73Lao.27FeAs2 by com- plementary in-situ high pressure measurements. At the critical pressure, we find that the antiferromag- netism suddenly disappears and superconductivity simultaneously emerges at almost the same temperature, and that the external magnetic field suppresses the superconducting transition temperature but hardly affects the antiferromagnetic transition temperature.

Thermally activated flux flow,vortex-glass phase transition and the mixed-state Hall effect in 112-type iron pnictide superconductors

The transport properties in the mixed state of high-quality Ca_(0.8)La_(0.2)Fe_(0.98)Co_(0.02)As_2single crystal,a newly discovered 112-type iron pnictide superconductor,are comprehensively studied by magneto-resistivity measurement.The field-dependent activation energy,U_0,is derived in the framework of thermally activated flux flow(TAFF)theory,yielding a power law dependence U_0～H~αwith a crossover at a magnetic field around 2 T in both H⊥ab and H//ab,which is ascribed to the different pinning mechanisms.Moreover,we have clearly observed the vortex phase transition from vortex-glass to vortex-liquid according to the vortex-glass model,and vortex phase diagrams are constructed for both H⊥ab and H//ab.Finally,the results of mixed-state Hall effect show that no sign reversal of transverse resistivityρ_(xy)(H)is detected,indicating that the Hall component arising from the vortex flow is in theories or experiments previously reported on some high-T_ccuprates.