Strong pairing at iron $3d_{xz,yz}$ orbitals in hole-doped BaFe$_2$As$_2$

TL;DR

This study uses advanced ARPES techniques to show that in hole-doped BaFe2As2, superconductivity correlates strongly with the orbital character of electrons, especially the 3dxz,yz orbitals, rather than Fermi surface nesting or dimensionality.

Contribution

It provides direct experimental evidence linking orbital character to superconducting pairing in iron-based superconductors, challenging previous emphasis on Fermi surface nesting.

Findings

Superconducting gap maximizes at 10.5 meV for 3dxz,yz orbitals.

Fermi surface nesting and dimensionality are not directly related to pairing.

Electronic response to superconducting and magnetic transitions shows similarities.

Abstract

Among numerous hypotheses, recently proposed to explain superconductivity in iron-based superconductors [1-9], many consider Fermi surface (FS) nesting [2, 4, 8, 10] and dimensionality [4, 9] as important contributors. Precise determination of the electronic spectrum and its modification by superconductivity, crucial for further theoretical advance, were hindered by a rich structure of the FS [11-17]. Here, using the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) with resolution of all three components of electron momentum and electronic states symmetry, we disentangle the electronic structure of hole-doped BaFe2As2, and show that nesting and dimensionality of FS sheets have no immediate relation to the superconducting pairing. Alternatively a clear correlation between the orbital character of the electronic states and their propensity to superconductivity is observed: the magnitude of the superconducting gap maximizes at 10.5 meV exclusively for iron 3dxz;yz orbitals, while for others drops to 3.5 meV. Presented results reveal similarities of electronic response to superconducting and magneto-structural transitions [18, 19], implying that relation between these two phases is more intimate than just competition for FS, and demonstrate importance of orbital physics in iron superconductors.