Coexisting Itinerant and Localized Electrons in Iron-Based Superconductors

TL;DR

This paper proposes a phenomenological theory for iron-based superconductors that accounts for the coexistence of itinerant and localized electrons, aiming to unify understanding of their magnetic and superconducting phases.

Contribution

It introduces a unified phenomenological framework to describe the low-energy physics of iron-based superconductors, integrating itinerant and localized electron behaviors.

Findings

Provides a theoretical basis for coexistence of itinerant and localized electrons

Unifies magnetic, superconducting, and normal phases in a single framework

Suggests directions for microscopic justification and experimental testing

Abstract

The surprising discovery of high-$T_c$ superconductivity in iron-based compounds has prompted an intensive investigation on the role of interaction and magnetism in the these materials. Based on the general features of multi-bands and intermediate coupling strengths, a phenomenological theory of coexisting itinerant and localized electrons has been proposed to describe the low-energy physics in iron-based superconductors. It provides a unified framework to understand magnetic, superconducting, and normal phases, subject to further microscopic justification and experimental verification.