Anomalous spectral weight transfer in the nematic state of iron-selenide superconductor

TL;DR

This study reveals that in the nematic phase of iron-selenide superconductor FeSe$_{0.9}$S$_{0.1}$, spectral weight transfer occurs between electron pockets, providing new insights into electronic state reconstruction and nematicity.

Contribution

It is the first detailed investigation of spectral weight transfer in the nematic phase of iron-selenide superconductors using ARPES and in-situ detwinning.

Findings

One electron pocket loses spectral weight and fades.

The other electron pocket gains spectral weight and becomes more pronounced.

Spectral weight transfer is band-selective and linked to nematic symmetry breaking.

Abstract

Nematic phase intertwines closely with high-Tc superconductivity in iron-based superconductors. Its mechanism, which is closely related to the pairing mechanism of superconductivity, still remains controversial. Comprehensive characterization of how the electronic state reconstructs in the nematic phase is thus crucial. However, most experiments focus only on the reconstruction of band dispersions. Another important characteristic of electronic state, the spectral weight, has not been studied in details so far. Here, we studied the spectral weight transfer in the nematic phase of FeSe$_{0.9}$S$_{0.1}$ using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and in-situ detwinning technique. There are two elliptical electron pockets overlapping with each other orthogonally at the Brillouin zone corner. We found that, upon cooling, one electron pocket loses spectral weight and fades away, while the other electron pocket gains spectral weight and becomes pronounced. Our results show that the symmetry breaking of electronic state is manifested by not only the anisotropic band dispersion but also the band-selective modulation of spectral weight. Our observation completes our understanding of the nematic electronic state, and put strong constraints on the theoretical models. It further provide crucial clues to understand the gap anisotropy and orbital-selective pairing in iron-selenide superconductors.