Physics – Condensed Matter – Superconductivity
Scientific paper
2008-08-04
PNAS 106, 4118-4121 (2009)
Physics
Condensed Matter
Superconductivity
(v3) New abstract, more explanatory material, accepted for PNAS
Scientific paper
10.1073/pnas.0900886106
Two major themes in the physics of condensed matter are quantum critical phenomena and unconventional superconductivity. These usually occur in the context of competing interactions in systems of strongly-correlated electrons. All this interesting physics comes together in the behavior of the recently discovered iron pnictide compounds that have generated enormous interest because of their moderately high-temperature superconductivity. The ubiquity of antiferromagnetic ordering in their phase diagrams naturally raises the question of the relevance of magnetic quantum criticality, but the answer remains uncertain both theoretically and experimentally. Here we show that the undoped iron pnictides feature a novel type of magnetic quantum critical point, which results from a competition between electronic localization and itinerancy. Our theory provides a mechanism to understand the experimentally-observed variation of the ordered moment among the undoped iron pnictides. We suggest P substitution for As in the undoped iron pnictides as a means to access this new example of magnetic quantum criticality in an unmasked fashion. Our findings point to the iron pnictides as a much-needed new setting for quantum criticality, one that offers a new set of control parameters.
Abrahams Elihu
Dai Jianhui
Si Qimiao
Zhu Jian-Xin
No associations
LandOfFree
Iron pnictides as a new setting for quantum criticality does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Iron pnictides as a new setting for quantum criticality, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Iron pnictides as a new setting for quantum criticality will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-383884