c-axis pressure-induced antiferromagnetic order in optimally P-doped BaFe2(As0.70P0.30)2 superconductor

Superconductivity in BaFe2(As1−xPx)2 iron pnictides emerges when its in-plane two-dimensional (2D) orthorhombic lattice distortion associated with nematic phase at Ts and three-dimensional (3D) collinear antiferromagnetic order at TN (Ts = TN) are gradually suppressed with increasing x, reaching optimal superconductivity around x = 0.30 with Tc ≈ 30 K. Here we show that a moderate uniaxial pressure along the c-axis in BaFe2(As0.70P0.30)2 spontaneously induces a 3D collinear antiferromagnetic order with TN = Ts > 30 K, while only slightly suppresses Tc. Although a ~ 400 MPa pressure compresses the c-axis lattice while expanding the in-plane lattice and increasing the nearest-neighbor Fe–Fe distance, it barely changes the average iron-pnictogen height in BaFe2(As0.70P0.30)2. Therefore, the pressure-induced antiferromagnetic order must arise from a strong in-plane magnetoelastic coupling, suggesting that the 2D nematic phase is a competing state with superconductivity.

Type

Journal article

Citation

Hu, Ding, Wang, Weiyi, Zhang, Wenliang, et al.. "c-axis pressure-induced antiferromagnetic order in optimally P-doped BaFe2(As0.70P0.30)2 superconductor." npj Quantum Materials, 3, (2018) Springer Nature: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-018-0122-3.

Published Version

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-018-0122-3

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