Unconventional London penetration depth in single-crystal Ba(Fe0.93Co0.07)2As2 superconductors

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Mar 27;102(12):127004. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.127004. Epub 2009 Mar 26.

Abstract

The London penetration depth lambda(T) has been measured in single crystals of Ba(Fe0.93Co0.07)2As2. The observed low-temperature variation of lambda(T) follows a power law, Deltalambda(T) approximately T(n) with n approximately 2.4+/-0.1, indicating the existence of normal quasiparticles down to at least 0.02T(c). This is in contrast with previous penetration depth measurements on single crystals of NdFeAsO1-xFx and SmFeAsO1-xFx, which indicate an anisotropic but nodeless gap. We discuss possible explanations of the observed power law behavior.