Charge order driven by multiple-Q spin fluctuations in heavily electron-doped iron selenide superconductors

Ziyuan Chen, Dong Li, Zouyouwei Lu, Yue Liu, Jiakang Zhang, Yuanji Li, Ruotong Yin, Mingzhe Li, Tong Zhang, Xiaoli Dong, Ya-Jun Yan () and Dong-Lai Feng ()
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Ziyuan Chen: University of Science and Technology of China
Dong Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zouyouwei Lu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yue Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jiakang Zhang: University of Science and Technology of China
Yuanji Li: University of Science and Technology of China
Ruotong Yin: University of Science and Technology of China
Mingzhe Li: University of Science and Technology of China
Tong Zhang: Fudan University
Xiaoli Dong: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ya-Jun Yan: University of Science and Technology of China
Dong-Lai Feng: University of Science and Technology of China

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Intertwined spin and charge orders have been widely studied in high-temperature superconductors, since their fluctuations may facilitate electron pairing; however, they are rarely identified in heavily electron-doped iron selenides. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy, we show that when the superconductivity of (Li0.84Fe0.16OH)Fe1-xSe is suppressed by introducing Fe-site defects, a short-ranged checkerboard charge order emerges, propagating along the Fe-Fe directions with an approximately 2aFe period. It persists throughout the whole phase space tuned by Fe-site defect density, from a defect-pinned local pattern in optimally doped samples to an extended order in samples with lower Tc or non-superconducting. Intriguingly, our simulations indicate that the charge order is likely driven by multiple-Q spin density waves originating from the spin fluctuations observed by inelastic neutron scattering. Our study proves the presence of a competing order in heavily electron-doped iron selenides, and demonstrates the potential of charge order as a tool to detect spin fluctuations.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37792-3

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