We consider the iron pnictides in terms of a proximity to a Mott insulator. The superexchange interactions contain competing nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor components. In the undoped parent compound, these frustrated interactions lead to a two-sublattice collinear antiferromagnet (each sublattice forming a Neel ordering), with a reduced magnitude for the ordered moment. Electron or hole doping, together with the frustration effect, suppresses the magnetic ordering and allows a superconducting state. The exchange interactions favor a d-wave superconducting order parameter; in the notation appropriate for the Fe square lattice, its orbital symmetry is dxy. A number of existing and future experiments are discussed in light of the theoretical considerations.
@article{arxiv.0804.2480,
title = {Strong Correlations and Magnetic Frustration in the High Tc Iron Pnictides},
author = {Qimiao Si and Elihu Abrahams},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0804.2480},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
(v2) 4+ pages, 4 figures, discussions on several points expanded; references added. To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett