Fit-Free Optical Determination of Electronic Thermalization Time in Nematic Iron-Based Superconductors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a fit-free optical method using a nematic response function model to directly measure electronic thermalization times in nematic iron-based superconductors, avoiding complex data fitting.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel nematic response function model combined with the two-temperature model for direct, fit-free extraction of electronic thermalization times in nematic materials.

Findings

Electronic thermalization times are 110--230 fs in studied materials.

The method reveals anisotropy in electronic thermalization times.

The approach is applicable to any nematic material, simplifying relaxation time measurements.

Abstract

We present a nematic response function model (NRFM) for fit-free direct extraction of the characteristic time of ultrafast electronic thermalization in iron-based superconductors, materials with electronic nematicity. By combining the NRFM for polarization-dependent pump--probe measurements of electronic nematic response with the two-temperature model (TTM) for sub-picosecond quasiparticle relaxation, we quantify the electronic thermalization timescales and their anisotropy. The nematic response function is modeled as the difference of normalized reflectivity signals, revealing a pronounced sub-picosecond extremum in signal evolution that directly yields the characteristic electronic thermalization time. This method demonstrates that the NRFM is consistent with TTM fits of transient optical response, yielding electronic thermalization time constants on the order of 110--230~fs for the FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$ and Ba(Fe$_{0.92}$Co$_{0.08}$)$_2$As$_2$ thin films. The proposed approach can be applied to any material that exhibits electronic nematicity, providing a powerful tool for direct mapping of the relaxation time in nematic materials, avoiding complex experimental data-fitting procedures.