Uniaxial Compression-Induced Anisotropy and Electronic Dimensionality in the Iron-Based Superconductor FeSe

TL;DR

This study explores how uniaxial compression affects superconductivity and electronic structure in FeSe, revealing directional dependence and a transition to more three-dimensional electronic behavior.

Contribution

It demonstrates that uniaxial compression induces anisotropic effects on $T_c$ and electronic dimensionality, supported by first-principles calculations showing band shifts and Fermi surface changes.

Findings

$T_c$ increases under compression up to 0.6 GPa

Out-of-plane compression enhances $T_c$, in-plane suppresses superconductivity

Electronic structure becomes more three-dimensional with band crossing changes

Abstract

The evolution of the superconducting transition temperature ($T_c$) in FeSe was investigated under in-plane, out-of-plane, and hydrostatic compression. For pressures up to 0.6 GPa, $T_c$ increases regardless of the compression mode, consistent with the suppression of nematic ordering. However, once nematicity is suppressed, $T_c$ exhibits a striking directional dependence: out-of-plane compression shows behavior similar to the hydrostatic case, with a sharp increase in $T_c$, whereas in-plane compression suppresses superconductivity. First-principles calculations suggest that in-plane compression shifts a hybridized band of Se $p_z$ and Fe $d_{x^2-y^2}$ character so that it crosses the Fermi level along the $\Gamma$-Z direction, leading to the emergence of an additional metallic band. This leads to an increased three-dimensionality of the electronic structure and may be interpreted as a possible Lifshitz-type change in the Fermi surface.