Effects of transition metal substitutions on the incommensurability and spin fluctuations in BaFe2As2 by elastic and inelastic neutron scattering

TL;DR

This study compares spin fluctuation spectra in BaFe2As2 with different transition metal substitutions, revealing that impurity effects, not just electron count, influence magnetism and superconductivity.

Contribution

It demonstrates that impurity effects in the Fe plane significantly impact magnetic order and superconductivity, challenging simple electron counting models.

Findings

Spin fluctuation spectra are similar in Cu- and Co-substituted samples.

Incommensurate order appears in Co and Ni substitutions but not in Cu.

Impurity effects, not just electron doping, control magnetic and superconducting properties.

Abstract

The spin fluctuation spectra from nonsuperconducting Cu-substituted, and superconducting Co-substituted, BaFe2As2 are compared quantitatively by inelastic neutron scattering measurements and are found to be indis- tinguishable. Whereas diffraction studies show the appearance of incommensurate spin-density wave order in Co and Ni substituted samples, the magnetic phase diagram for Cu substitution does not display incommensu- rate order, demonstrating that simple electron counting based on rigid-band concepts is invalid. These results, supported by theoretical calculations, suggest that substitutional impurity effects in the Fe plane play a signifi- cant role in controlling magnetism and the appearance of superconductivity, with Cu distinguished by enhanced impurity scattering and split-band behavior.