Thermodynamic properties of excess-oxygen-doped La2CuO4.11 near a simultaneous transition to superconductivity and long-range magnetic order

We have measured the specific heat and magnetization {\it versus} temperature in a single crystal sample of superconducting La$_{2}$CuO$_{4.11}$ and in a sample of the same material after removing the excess oxygen, in magnetic fields up to 15 T. Using the deoxygenated sample to subtract the phonon contribution, we find a broad peak in the specific heat, centered at 50 K. This excess specific heat is attributed to fluctuations of the Cu spins possibly enhanced by an interplay with the charge degrees of freedom, and appears to be independent of magnetic field, up to 15 T. Near the superconducting transition $T_{c}$($H$=0)= 43 K, we find a sharp feature that is strongly suppressed when the magnetic field is applied parallel to the crystallographic c-axis. A model for 3D vortex fluctuations is used to scale magnetization measured at several magnetic fields. When the magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the c-axis, the only observed effect is a slight shift in the superconducting transition temperature.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Momentum dependent dxz/yz band splitting in LaFeAsO

The nematic phase in iron based superconductors (IBSs) has attracted attention with a notion that it may provide important clue to the superconductivity. A series of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies were performed to understand the origin of the nematic phase. However, there is lack of ARPES study on LaFeAsO nematic phase. Here, we report the results of ARPES studies of the nematic phase in LaFeAsO. Degeneracy breaking between the dxz and dyz hole bands near the Γ and M point is observed in the nematic phase. Different temperature dependent band splitting behaviors are observed at the Γ and M points. The energy of the band splitting near the M point decreases as the temperature decreases while it has little temperature dependence near the Γ point. The nematic nature of the band shift near the M point is confirmed through a detwin experiment using a piezo device. Since a momentum dependent splitting behavior has been observed in other iron based superconductors, our observation confirms that the behavior is a universal one among iron based superconductors

Momentum dependent dxz/yz band splitting in LaFeAsO

The nematic phase in iron based superconductors (IBSs) has attracted attention with a notion that it may provide important clue to the superconductivity. A series of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies were performed to understand the origin of the nematic phase. However, there is lack of ARPES study on LaFeAsO nematic phase. Here, we report the results of ARPES studies of the nematic phase in LaFeAsO. Degeneracy breaking between the dxz and dyz hole bands near the Gamma and M point is observed in the nematic phase. Different temperature dependent band splitting behaviors are observed at the Gamma and M points. The energy of the band splitting near the M point decreases as the temperature decreases while it has little temperature dependence near the Gamma point. The nematic nature of the band shift near the M point is confirmed through a detwin experiment using a piezo device. Since a momentum dependent splitting behavior has been observed in other iron based superconductors, our observation confirms that the behavior is a universal one among iron based superconductors.11Nsciescopu

Glass transition under confinement-what can be learned from calorimetry

Calorimetry is an effective analytical tool to characterize the glass transition and phase transitions under confinement. Calorimetry offers a broad dynamic range regarding heating and cooling rates, including isothermal and temperature modulated operation. Today 12 orders of magnitude in scanning rate can be covered by combining different types of calorimeters. The broad dynamic range, comparable to dielectric spectroscopy, is especially of interest for the study of kinetically controlled processes like crystallization or glass transition. Accuracy of calorimetric measurements is not very high. Commonly it does not reach 0.1% and often accuracy is only a few percent. Nevertheless, calorimetry can reach high sensitivity and reproducibility. Both are of particular interest for the study of confined systems. Low addenda heat capacity chip calorimeters are capable to measure the step in heat capacity at the glass transition in nanometer thin films. The good reproducibility is used for the study of glass forming materials confined by nanometer sized structures, like porous glasses, semicrystalline structures, nanocomposites, phase separated block copolymers, etc. Calorimetry allows also for the frequency dependent measurement of complex heat capacity in a frequency range covering several orders of magnitude. Here I exclusively consider calorimetry and its application to glass transition in confined materials. In most cases calorimetry reveals only a weak dependence of the glass transition temperature on confinement as long as the confining dimensions are above 10 nm. Why these findings contradict many other studies applying other techniques to similar systems is still an unsolved problem of glass transition in confinement