In-plane magnetic field effect on the neutron spin resonance in optimally doped FeSe$_{0.4}$Te$_{0.6}$ and BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_{2}$ superconductors

TL;DR

This study investigates how an in-plane magnetic field affects the magnetic resonance in two optimally doped iron-based superconductors, revealing suppression of superconductivity but no Zeeman splitting of the resonance.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence on the magnetic field's impact on neutron spin resonance in iron-based superconductors, questioning the resonance's nature as a singlet-triplet excitation.

Findings

Magnetic field suppresses $T_c$ and resonance intensity.

No observed Zeeman splitting of the resonance.

Resonance energy remains unchanged under magnetic field.

Abstract

We use inelastic neutron scattering to study the effect of an in-plane magnetic field on the magnetic resonance in optimally doped superconductors FeSe$_{0.4}$Te$_{0.6}$ ($T_c=14$ K) and BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_{2}$ ($T_c=20$ K). While the magnetic field up to 14.5 Tesla does not change the energy of the resonance, it particially suppresses $T_c$ and the corresponding superconductivity-induced intensity gain of the mode. However, we find no direct evidence for the field-induced spin-1 Zeeman splitting of the resonance. Therefore, it is still unclear if the resonance is the long-sought singlet-triplet excitation directly coupled to the superconducting electron Cooper pairs.