Existence of Orbital Order and its Fluctuation in Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ Revealed by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study uses temperature-dependent X-ray absorption spectroscopy to confirm the presence of orbital order and its fluctuations in Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$, revealing orbital occupation differences and fluctuations above the transition temperature.

Contribution

First experimental verification of orbital ordering and its fluctuations in Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ using X-ray linear dichroism, supporting theoretical predictions.

Findings

Detected orbital order with different $d_{yz}$ and $d_{zx}$ occupations.

Observed orbital order signals persisting above the transition temperature.

Separated orbital order effects from structural contributions in XLD spectra.

Abstract

We performed temperature dependent X-ray linear dichroism (XLD) experiments on an iron pnictide system, Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ with $x$=0.00 and 0.05, to experimentally verify existence of orbital ordering (OO). We observed clear XLD in polarization dependent X-ray absorption spectra of Fe $L$ edges. By exploiting the difference in the temperature dependent behaviors, we were able to separate OO and structure contributions to XLD. The observed OO signal indicates different occupation numbers for $d_{yz}$ and $d_{zx}$ orbitals and supports existence of a ferro-OO. The results are also consistent with the theoretical prediction. Moreover, we find substantial OO signal above the transition temperature, which suggests that OO fluctuation exists well above the transition temperature.