Strong electron-boson coupling in the iron-based superconductor BaFe1.9Pt0.1As2 revealed by infrared spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study uses infrared spectroscopy to reveal strong electron-boson coupling in the iron-based superconductor BaFe1.9Pt0.1As2, indicating a non-phononic bosonic mode's role in its superconductivity.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed infrared spectroscopic evidence of strong electron-boson coupling in BaFe1.9Pt0.1As2, modeled with Eliashberg theory to identify a non-phononic bosonic mode.

Findings

Observation of fully gapped Fermi surfaces.

Detection of strong-coupling features in infrared spectra.

Evidence for a non-phononic bosonic mode involved in pairing.

Abstract

Understanding the formation of Cooper pairs in iron-based superconductors is one of the most important topics in condensed matter physics. In conventional superconductors, the electron-phonon interaction leads to the formation of Cooper pairs. In conventional strong-coupling superconductors like lead (Pb), the features due to electron-phonon interaction are evident in the infrared absorption spectra. Here we investigate the infrared absorption spectra of the iron arsenide superconductor BaFe1.9Pt0.1As2. We find that this superconductor has fully gapped (nodeless) Fermi surfaces, and we observe the strong-coupling electron-boson interaction features in the infrared absorption spectra. Through modeling with the Eliashberg function based on Eliashberg theory, we obtain a good quantitative description of the energy gaps and the strong-coupling features. The full Eliashberg equations are solved to check the self-consistency of the electron-boson coupling spectrum, the largest energy gap, and the transition temperature (Tc). Our experimental data and analysis provide compelling evidence that superconductivity in BaFe1.9Pt0.1As2 is induced by the coupling of electrons to a low-energy bosonic mode that does not originate solely from phonons.