Abstract
The possible existence of a sign-changing gap symmetry in BaFe 2 As 2 -derived superconductors (SC) has been an exciting topic of research in the last few years. To further investigate this subject we combine Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and pressure-dependent transport measurements to investigate magnetic pair-breaking effects on BaFe 1.9 M 0.1 As 2 (M = Mn, Co, Cu, and Ni) single crystals. An ESR signal, indicative of the presence of localized magnetic moments, is observed only for M = Cu and Mn compounds, which display very low SC transition temperature (T c) and no SC, respectively. From the ESR analysis assuming the absence of bottleneck effects, the microscopic parameters are extracted to show that this reduction of T c cannot be accounted by the Abrikosov-Gorkov pair-breaking expression for a sign-preserving gap function. Our results reveal an unconventional spin- and pressure-dependent pair-breaking effect and impose strong constraints on the pairing symmetry of these materials.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 6252 |
Journal | Scientific reports |
Volume | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by FAPESP-SP, AFOSR MURI, CNPq and FINEP-Brazil. RMF acknowledges the financial support of the APS-SBF Brazil-US Professorship/Lectureship Program.