An ARPES view on the high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript>c</Subscript> problem: Phonons <Emphasis Type="Italic">vs.</Emphasis> spin-fluctuations

We review the search for a mediator of high-T _c superconductivity focusing on ARPES experiment. In case of HTSC cuprates, we summarize and discuss a consistent view of electronic interactions that provides natural explanation of both the origin of the pseudogap state and the mechanism for high temperature superconductivity. Within this scenario, the spin-fluctuations play a decisive role in formation of the fermionic excitation spectrum in the normal state and are sufficient to explain the high transition temperatures to the superconducting state while the pseudogap phenomenon is a consequence of a Peierls-type intrinsic instability of electronic system to formation of an incommensurate density wave. On the other hand, a similar analysis being applied to the iron pnictides reveals especially strong electron-phonon coupling that suggests important role of phonons for high-T _c superconductivity in pnictides.     

LDA’+DMFT investigation of electronic structure of K1 − x Fe2 − y Se2 superconductor

We investigate electronic structure of the new iron chalcogenide high temperature superconductor K_1?x Fe_2?y Se₂ (hole doped case with x = 0.24, y = 0.28) in the normal phase using the novel LDA’+DMFT computational approach. We show that this iron chalcogenide is more correlated in a sense of bandwidth renormalization (energy scale compression by factor about 5 in the interval ±1.5 eV), than typical iron pnictides (compression factor about 2), though the Coulomb interaction strength is almost the same in both families. Our results for spectral densities are in general agreement with recent ARPES data on this system. It is found that all Fe-3d(t _2g ) bands crossing the Fermi level have equal renormalization, in contrast to some previous interpretations. Electronic states at the Fermi level are of predominantly xy symmetry. Also we show that LDA’+DMFT results are in better agreement with experimental spectral function maps, than the results of conventional LDA+DMFT. Finally we make predictions for photoemission spectra lineshape for K_0.76Fe_1.72Se₂.     

Electron-doping versus hole-doping in the 2D t-t' Hubbard model

We compare the one-loop renormalization group flow to strong coupling of the electronic interactions in the two-dimensional t-t'-Hubbard model with t' = - 0.3t for band fillings smaller and larger than half-filling. Using a numerical N-patch scheme ( N = 32, ..., 96) we show that in the electron-doped case with decreasing electron density there is a rapid transition from a d _{x2 - y2}-wave superconducting regime with small characteristic energy scale to an approximate nesting regime with strong antiferromagnetic tendencies and higher energy scales. This contrasts with the hole-doped side discussed recently which exhibits a broad parameter region where the renormalization group flow suggests a truncation of the Fermi surface at the saddle points. We compare the quasiparticle scattering rates obtained from the renormalization group calculation which further emphasize the differences between the two cases. Received 19 December 2000 and Received in final form 28 February 2001     

Materials and mechanisms of hole superconductivity

The theory of hole superconductivity proposes that there is a single mechanism of superconductivity that applies to all superconducting materials. This paper discusses several material families where superconductivity occurs and how they can be understood within this theory. Materials discussed include the elements, transition metal alloys, high T_c cuprates both hole-doped and electron-doped, MgB₂, iron pnictides and iron chalcogenides, doped semiconductors, and elements under high pressure.     

Theoretical analysis of coherent electron transport in structures containing multiband superconductors with different types of superconducting pairing

Coherent electron transport in structures with multiband superconductors described by models of intraorbital (the s _± model) and interorbital superconducting pairing has been theoretically considered. Conductivities of junctions of a single-band normal metal with superconducting pnictides for these pairing models have been calculated. Temperature and phase dependences of the Josephson current through junctions containing a conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductor and a superconducting pnictide have been calculated within the considered pairing models taking into account temperature dependences of superconducting order parameters.     

Van Hove singularity as a possible origin of the bandwidth renormalization in layered superconductors

We use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study bandwidth renormalization in layered superconductor 2H-NbSe₂. Renormalization of the conduction band in comparison with the very similar 2H-TaSe₂ is of the factor of two. We discuss the possibility that the Van Hove singularity could be responsible for this effect not only in dichalcogenides but also in pnictides.     

Charge transfer effects on the Fermi surface of Ba0.5K0.5Fe2As2

Ab‐initio calculations within density functional theory are performed to obtain a more systematic understanding of the electronic structure of iron pnictides. As a prototypical compound we study Ba_0.5K_0.5Fe₂As₂ and analyze the changes of its electronic structure when the interaction between the Fe₂As₂ layers and their surrounding is modified. We find strong effects on the density of states near the Fermi energy as well as the Fermi surface. The role of the electron donor atoms in iron pnictides thus cannot be understood in a rigid band picture. Instead, the bonding within the Fe₂As₂ layers reacts to a modified charge transfer from the donor atoms by adapting the intra‐layer Fe‐As hybridization and charge transfer in order to maintain an As^3‐ valence state.     

Andreev spectroscopy of FeSe: Evidence for two-gap superconductivity

Current-voltage characteristics (CVCs) of Andreev superconductor-constriction-superconductor (ScS) contacts in polycrystalline samples of FeSe with the critical temperature T _C = (12 ± 1) K have been measured using the break-junction technique. In Sharvin-type nanocontacts, two sets of subharmonic gap structures were detected due to multiple Andreev reflections, indicating the existence of two nodeless superconducting gaps Δ _L = (2.75 ± 0.3) meV and Δ _S = (0.8 ± 0.2) meV. Well-shaped CVCs for stacks of Andreev contacts with up to five contacts were observed due to the layered structure of FeSe (the intrinsic multiple Andreev reflections effect). An additional fine structure in the CVCs of Andreev ScS nanocontacts is attributed to the existence of a Leggett mode. A linear relation between the superconducting gap Δ _L and the magnetic resonance energy E _magres ≈ 2Δ _L is found to be valid for layered iron pnictides.     

Similarity renormalization group evolution of chiral effective nucleon–nucleon potentials in the subtracted kernel method approach

Methods based on Wilson’s renormalization group have been successfully applied in the context of nuclear physics to analyze the scale dependence of effective nucleon–nucleon (NN) potentials, as well as to consistently integrate out the high-momentum components of phenomenological high-precision NN potentials in order to derive phase-shift equivalent softer forms, the so called V_low-k potentials. An alternative renormalization group approach that has been applied in this context is the similarity renormalization group (SRG), which is based on a series of continuous unitary transformations that evolve hamiltonians with a cutoff on energy differences. In this work we study the SRG evolution of a leading order (LO) chiral effective NN potential in the ¹S₀ channel derived within the framework of the subtracted kernel method (SKM), a renormalization scheme based on a subtracted scattering equation.     

Strong correlations and magnetic frustration in the high Tc iron pnictides

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 Néel 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.     

Textured Sr1−xKxFe2As2 superconducting tapes with high critical current density

A critical issue in depressing critical current density in polycrystalline iron pnictides is intrinsic weak-link behavior. Using well established, industrial scalable, deformation processes, we have achieved c-axis aligned grains in powder-in-tube Sr_0.6K_0.4Fe₂As₂ tapes. This is followed by a short high-temperature annealing to enhance the connectivity. The resultant Sr_1?xK_xFe₂As₂ superconducting tapes have transport critical current densities exceeding 5000 A/cm² at 4.2 K in self field. This advance open up possibilities for fabricating iron-based superconducting tapes capable of carrying high currents.     

The short distance behavior of (φ 4)3

We consider the ₃ ⁴ quantum field theory on a torus and study the short distance behavior. We reproduce the standard result that the singularities can be removed by a simple mass renormalization. For the resulting model we give anL _p bound on the short distance regularity of the correlation functions. To obtain these results we develop a systematic treatment of the generating functional for correlations using a renormalization group method incorporating background fields.Research supported by NSF Grant DMS 9102564Research supported by NSF Grant PHY9200278.Research supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Chiral criticality and glue dynamics

The chiral order-parameter σ field and its higher-order cumulants of fluctuations are calculated within the functional renormalization group approach by adopting the local potential approximation in this study. The influence of glue dynamics on fluctuations of the σ field is investigated, and we find that they are weakly affected. This is in sharp contrast to the baryon number fluctuations, which are sensitive to the glue dynamics and involve information on the color confinement. The implications of our calculated results are discussed from the viewpoint of the theoretical and experimental efforts in the search for the QCD critical end point.     

Nonmagnetic impurity effects and neutron scattering spectrum in iron pnictides

We study the effect of local impurity and the neutron scattering spectrum based on the five-orbital model obtained by the first principle calculation for iron pnictides. We find that the interband impurity scattering is induced by the complex multiorbital structure. This fact means that the fully-gapped sign-reversing s-wave state, which is predicted by spin-fluctuation theories, is very fragile against impurities. The result suggests a reasonable possibility that the fully-gapped s-wave state without sign reversal (s₊₊-wave) would be realized in dirty iron pnictides. We also find that broad peak structure observed in the neutron scattering measurements can be explained by the s₊₊-wave state.     

Renormalization theory in four-dimensional scalar fields (I)

We present a renormalization group approach to the renormalization theory of ₄ ⁴ , using techniques that have been introduced and used in previous papers and that lead to very simple methods to bound the coefficients of the effective potential and of the Schwinger functions. The main aim of this paper is to show how one can in this way obtain then!-bounds.     

Importance of itinerancy and quantum fluctuations for the magnetism in ironpnictides

By applying density functional theory, we find strong evidence for an itinerant nature of magnetism in two families of iron pnictides. Furthermore, by employing dynamical mean field theory with continuous time quantum Monte Carlo as an impurity solver, we observe that the antiferromagnetic metal with small magnetic moment naturally arises out of coupling between unfrustrated and frustrated bands. Our results point to a possible scenario for magnetism in iron pnictides where magnetism originates from a strong instability at the momentum vector (π,π,π) while it is reduced by quantum fluctuations due to the coupling between weakly and strongly frustrated bands.     

Disordered d-wave superconductors with interactions

We study the localization properties of disordered d-wave superconductors by means of the fermionic replica trick method. We derive the effective non-linear σ-model describing the diffusive modes related to spin transport which we analyze by the Wilson–Polyakov renormalization group. A lot of different symmetry classes are considered within the same framework. According to the presence or the absence of certain symmetries, we provide a detailed classification for the behavior of some physical quantities, like the density of states, the spin and the quasiparticle charge conductivities. Following the original Finkel'stein approach, we finally extend the effective functional method to include residual quasiparticle interactions, at all orders in the scattering amplitudes. We consider both the superconducting and the normal phase, with and without chiral symmetry, which occurs in the so-called two-sublattice models.     

Influence of electronic correlations on orbital polarizations in the parent and doped iron pnictides

Orbital polarization and electronic correlation are two essential aspects in understanding the normal-state and superconducting properties of multi-orbital FeAs-based superconductors. In this paper, we present a systematic study on the orbital polarization of iron pnictides from weak to strong Coulomb correlations within the Kotliar-Ruckenstein slave boson approach. The magnetic phase diagram of the two-orbital model for LaFeAsO clearly shows that a striped antiferromagnetic metallic phase with orbital polarization exists over a wide doping range, in addition to the Slater-type insulator, Mott insulator and paramagnetic phases. A reversal of the orbital polarization occurs in the intermediate correlation regime in the absence of the crystal field splitting; however, a small crystal field splitting considerably enhances the orbital polarization, and stabilizes the xz-type orbital order. We argue that the ferro-orbital polarization is characteristic of a density wave, and leads to a pseudogap-like behavior in the density of states.