Non-exponential London penetration depth in Ba$_{1-}$K$_{x}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ single crystals

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic penetration depths in hole-doped Ba$_{1-x}$K$_{x}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ superconductors, revealing non-exponential behavior and anisotropy trends that suggest unconventional superconductivity.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurements of in- and out-of-plane penetration depths in Ba$_{1-x}$K$_{x}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$, showing universal unconventional features in both hole- and electron-doped 122 systems.

Findings

In-plane penetration depth shows power-law temperature dependence with n≈2.

Penetration depth anisotropy increases upon cooling.

Results suggest unconventional superconductivity in hole-doped 122 systems.

Abstract

We have studied the in- and out-of-plane magnetic penetration depths in the hole- doped iron based superconductor Ba$_{1-x}$K$_{x}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ ($T_{c}\approx$ 30K). The study was performed on single crystals grown from different fluxes and we find that the results are nearly the same. The in-plane London penetration depth $\lambda_{ab}$ does not show exponential saturation at low temperature, as would be expected from a fully gapped superconductor. Instead, $\lambda_{ab}(T)$ shows a power-law behavior, $\lambda\propto T^{n}$ ($n\approx 2$), down to $T\approx 0.02 T_{c}$, similar to the electron doped Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$. The penetration depth anisotropy $\gamma_{\lambda}=\lambda_{c}(T)/\lambda_{ab}(T)$ increases upon cooling, opposite to the trend observed in the anisotropy of the upper critical field, $\gamma_{\xi}=H_{c2}^{\perp c}(0)/H_{c2}^{\parallel c}(0)$. These are universal characteristics of both the electron and hole doped 122 systems, suggesting unconventional superconductivity. The behavior of the in-plane superfluid density $\rho_{ab}(T)$ is discussed in light of existing theoretical models proposed for the iron pnictides superconductors.