Avoided Quantum Criticality and Magnetoelastic Coupling in BaFe2xNixAs2

Xingye Lu, H. Gretarsson, Rui Zhang, Xuerong Liu, Huiqian Luo, Wei Tian, Mark Laver, Z. Yamani, Young-June Kim, A. H. Nevidomskyy, Qimiao Si, and Pengcheng Dai
Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 257001 – Published 18 June 2013
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Abstract

We study the structural and magnetic orders in electron-doped BaFe2xNixAs2 by high-resolution synchrotron x-ray and neutron scatterings. Upon Ni doping x, the nearly simultaneous tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural (Ts) and antiferromagnetic (TN) phase transitions in BaFe2As2 are gradually suppressed and separated, resulting in Ts>TN with increasing x, as was previously observed. However, the temperature separation between Ts and TN decreases with increasing x for x0.065, tending toward a quantum bicritical point near optimal superconductivity at x0.1. The zero-temperature transition is preempted by the formation of a secondary incommensurate magnetic phase in the region 0.088x0.104, resulting in a finite value of TNTc+10K above the superconducting dome around x0.1. Our results imply an avoided quantum critical point, which is expected to strongly influence the properties of both the normal and superconducting states.

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  • Received 29 March 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.257001

© 2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Xingye Lu1,2, H. Gretarsson3, Rui Zhang1, Xuerong Liu1,4, Huiqian Luo1, Wei Tian5, Mark Laver6,7, Z. Yamani8, Young-June Kim3, A. H. Nevidomskyy9, Qimiao Si9, and Pengcheng Dai2,1,*

  • 1Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1200, USA
  • 3Department of Physics, University of Toronto, 60 Saint George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A7, Canada
  • 4Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
  • 5Quantum Condensed Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
  • 6Laboratory for Neutron Scattering, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland
  • 7Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
  • 8Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, National Research Council, Chalk River, Ontario K0J 1P0, Canada
  • 9Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA

  • *pdai@utk.edu

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Vol. 110, Iss. 25 — 21 June 2013

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