Unconventional anisotropic s-Wave superconducting gaps of the LiFeAs Iron-Pnictide superconductor

K. Umezawa, Y. Li, H. Miao, K. Nakayama, Z. H. Liu, P. Richard, T. Sato, J. B. He, D. M. Wang, G. F. Chen, H. Ding, T. Takahashi, S. C. Wang

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157 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on Fe-based superconductor LiFeAs (T c=18K). We reveal multiple nodeless superconducting (SC) gaps with 2Δ/k BT c ratios varying from 2.8 to 6.4, depending on the Fermi surface (FS). We also succeeded in directly observing a gap anisotropy along the FS with magnitude up to ∼30%. The anisotropy is fourfold symmetric with an antiphase between the hole and electron FSs, suggesting complex anisotropic interactions for the SC pairing. The observed momentum dependence of the SC gap offers an excellent opportunity to investigate the underlying pairing mechanism.

Original languageEnglish
Article number037002
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume108
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 20 2012
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science21340088

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