English

Nodal gap structure in Fe-based superconductors due to the competition between orbital and spin fluctuations

Superconductivity 2013-07-16 v2 Strongly Correlated Electrons

Abstract

To understand the origin of the nodal gap structure realized in BaFe2_2(As,P)2_2, we study the three-dimensional gap structure based on the three-dimensional ten-orbital Hubbard model with quadrupole interaction. In this model, strong spin and orbital fluctuations develop by using the random-phase-approximation. By solving the Eliashberg gap equation, we obtain the fully-gapped s-wave state with (without) sign reversal between hole-like and electron-like Fermi surfaces due to strong spin (orbital) fluctuations, so called the s±s_\pm-wave (s++s_{++}-wave) state. When both spin and orbital fluctuations strongly develop, which will be realized near the orthorhombic phase, we obtain the nodal s-wave state in the crossover region between s++s_{++}-wave and s±s_\pm-wave states. The obtained nodal s-wave state possesses the loop-shape nodes on electron-like Fermi surfaces, due to the competition between attractive and repulsive interactions in k-space. In contrast, the SC gaps on the hole-like Fermi surfaces are fully-gapped due to orbital fluctuations. The present study explains the main characters of the anisotropic gap structure in BaFe2_2(As,P)2_2 observed experimentally.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1303.2871,
  title  = {Nodal gap structure in Fe-based superconductors due to the competition between orbital and spin fluctuations},
  author = {Tetsuro Saito and Seiichiro Onari and Hiroshi Kontani},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1303.2871},
  year   = {2013}
}

Comments

12 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in PRB. An appendix has been added