Intertwined Spin and Orbital Density Waves in MnP Uncovered by Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering

B. Y. Pan; H. Jang; J. S. Lee; R. Sutarto; F. He; J. F. Zeng; Y. Liu; X. W. Zhang; Y. Feng; Y. Q. Hao; J. Zhao; H. C. Xu; Z. H. Chen; J. P. Hu; D. L. Feng

doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.9.021055

Intertwined Spin and Orbital Density Waves in MnP Uncovered by Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering

B. Y. Pan
, H. Jang
, J. S. Lee
, R. Sutarto
, F. He
, J. F. Zeng
, Y. Liu
, X. W. Zhang
, Y. Feng
, Y. Q. Hao
, J. Zhao
, H. C. Xu
, Z. H. Chen
, J. P. Hu
, D. L. Feng

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Unconventional superconductors are often characterized by numerous competing and even intertwined orders in their phase diagrams. The fluctuations associated with these orders may provide the exotic pairing glue that underlies their high-temperature superconductivity. Helimagnet MnP, the first Mn-based superconductor under pressure, lacks high rotational symmetry. However, our resonant soft x-ray scattering experiment discovers novel helical orbital density wave (ODW) orders in MnP and reveals intertwined ordering phenomena. In particular, an ODW forms with half the period of the spin order and fully develops slightly above the spin ordering temperature, which resembles the behaviors of the nematic phase of the iron-based superconductors. Moreover, we find that their domains develop simultaneously, yet the spin order domains are larger than those of the ODW; and they cooperatively produce another ODW with 1/3 the period of the spin order. These observations provide a comprehensive picture of the intertwined orders in this three-dimensional, low-symmetry system and shed light on the understanding of its superconducting mechanism.

Original language	English
Article number	021055
Journal	Physical Review X
Volume	9
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.021055
State	Published - Jun 19 2019
Externally published	Yes

Funding

We acknowledge fruitful discussions with Professor J. L. Luo. This work is supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grants No. 2016YFA0300200 and No. 2017YFA0303104), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11804137), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant No. 15ZR1402900), and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No. ZR2018BA026). The experiments were conducted at beam line 13-3 of Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL); SSRL is operated by the U.S. DOE Office of Basic Energy Science. Part of the research described in this paper was performed at the REIXS beam line of the Canadian Light Source (CLS) under Proposal No. 24-7906; CLS is supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the University of Saskatchewan, the Government of Saskatchewan, Western Economic Diversification Canada, the National Research Council Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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10.1103/PhysRevX.9.021055

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title = "Intertwined Spin and Orbital Density Waves in MnP Uncovered by Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering",

abstract = "Unconventional superconductors are often characterized by numerous competing and even intertwined orders in their phase diagrams. The fluctuations associated with these orders may provide the exotic pairing glue that underlies their high-temperature superconductivity. Helimagnet MnP, the first Mn-based superconductor under pressure, lacks high rotational symmetry. However, our resonant soft x-ray scattering experiment discovers novel helical orbital density wave (ODW) orders in MnP and reveals intertwined ordering phenomena. In particular, an ODW forms with half the period of the spin order and fully develops slightly above the spin ordering temperature, which resembles the behaviors of the nematic phase of the iron-based superconductors. Moreover, we find that their domains develop simultaneously, yet the spin order domains are larger than those of the ODW; and they cooperatively produce another ODW with 1/3 the period of the spin order. These observations provide a comprehensive picture of the intertwined orders in this three-dimensional, low-symmetry system and shed light on the understanding of its superconducting mechanism.",

author = "Pan, \{B. Y.\} and H. Jang and Lee, \{J. S.\} and R. Sutarto and F. He and Zeng, \{J. F.\} and Y. Liu and Zhang, \{X. W.\} and Y. Feng and Hao, \{Y. Q.\} and J. Zhao and Xu, \{H. C.\} and Chen, \{Z. H.\} and Hu, \{J. P.\} and Feng, \{D. L.\}",

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AU - Pan, B. Y.

AU - Jang, H.

AU - Lee, J. S.

AU - Sutarto, R.

AU - He, F.

AU - Zeng, J. F.

AU - Liu, Y.

AU - Zhang, X. W.

AU - Feng, Y.

AU - Hao, Y. Q.

AU - Zhao, J.

AU - Xu, H. C.

AU - Chen, Z. H.

AU - Hu, J. P.

AU - Feng, D. L.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the »https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/» Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

PY - 2019/6/19

Y1 - 2019/6/19

N2 - Unconventional superconductors are often characterized by numerous competing and even intertwined orders in their phase diagrams. The fluctuations associated with these orders may provide the exotic pairing glue that underlies their high-temperature superconductivity. Helimagnet MnP, the first Mn-based superconductor under pressure, lacks high rotational symmetry. However, our resonant soft x-ray scattering experiment discovers novel helical orbital density wave (ODW) orders in MnP and reveals intertwined ordering phenomena. In particular, an ODW forms with half the period of the spin order and fully develops slightly above the spin ordering temperature, which resembles the behaviors of the nematic phase of the iron-based superconductors. Moreover, we find that their domains develop simultaneously, yet the spin order domains are larger than those of the ODW; and they cooperatively produce another ODW with 1/3 the period of the spin order. These observations provide a comprehensive picture of the intertwined orders in this three-dimensional, low-symmetry system and shed light on the understanding of its superconducting mechanism.

AB - Unconventional superconductors are often characterized by numerous competing and even intertwined orders in their phase diagrams. The fluctuations associated with these orders may provide the exotic pairing glue that underlies their high-temperature superconductivity. Helimagnet MnP, the first Mn-based superconductor under pressure, lacks high rotational symmetry. However, our resonant soft x-ray scattering experiment discovers novel helical orbital density wave (ODW) orders in MnP and reveals intertwined ordering phenomena. In particular, an ODW forms with half the period of the spin order and fully develops slightly above the spin ordering temperature, which resembles the behaviors of the nematic phase of the iron-based superconductors. Moreover, we find that their domains develop simultaneously, yet the spin order domains are larger than those of the ODW; and they cooperatively produce another ODW with 1/3 the period of the spin order. These observations provide a comprehensive picture of the intertwined orders in this three-dimensional, low-symmetry system and shed light on the understanding of its superconducting mechanism.

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Intertwined Spin and Orbital Density Waves in MnP Uncovered by Resonant Soft X-Ray Scattering

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