Collapse of Metallicity and High-$T_c$ Superconductivity in the High-Pressure phase of FeSe$_{0.89}$S$_{0.11}$

TL;DR

This study explores the high-pressure phase of FeSe$_{0.89}$S$_{0.11}$, revealing a collapse of metallicity and superconductivity, with evidence of a quantum critical point and phase separation affecting superconducting properties.

Contribution

It provides detailed pressure-temperature phase diagrams and identifies the fragility of high-pressure superconducting phases due to electronic and structural instabilities.

Findings

Superconducting T_c reaches a minimum then increases above 4 GPa.

Signatures of non-Fermi liquid behavior suggest a quantum critical point.

High-pressure phase shows non-metallic resistivity and broadening of superconducting transition.

Abstract

We investigate the high-pressure phase of the iron-based superconductor FeSe$_{0.89}$S$_{0.11}$ using transport and tunnel diode oscillator studies. We construct detailed pressure-temperature phase diagrams that indicate that outside of the nematic phase, the superconducting critical temperature reaches a minimum before it is quickly enhanced towards 40 K above 4 GPa. The resistivity data reveal signatures of a fan-like structure of non-Fermi liquid behaviour which could indicate the existence of a putative quantum critical point buried underneath the superconducting dome around 4.3 GPa. Further increasing the pressure, the zero-field electrical resistivity develops a non-metallic temperature dependence and the superconducting transition broadens significantly. Eventually, the system fails to reach a fully zero-resistance state despite a continuous finite superconducting transition temperature, and any remaining resistance at low temperatures becomes strongly current-dependent. Our results suggest that the high-pressure, high-$T_c$ phase of iron chalcogenides is very fragile and sensitive to uniaxial effects of the pressure medium, cell design and sample thickness which can trigger a first-order transition. These high-pressure regions could be understood assuming a real-space phase separation caused by concomitant electronic and structural instabilities.