Probing putative orbital differentiation effects via Eu2+ spin dynamics in Sr1-xEuxFe2As2

Abstract

In this work, we report x-ray powder diffraction, elemental analysis, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and electron spin resonance (ESR) in single crystals of Sr1-xEuxFe2As2. We observed a breakdown of the previously reported scaling between the Eu2+ Korringa relaxation rate obtained from ESR and the spin density wave temperature evolution for Sr-rich samples. This result suggests a distinct evolution of the orbital differentiation of the Fe 3d bands along the Sr-based series when compared to the Ba counterpart. We argue that this difference is related to a larger splitting between the structural (tetragonal-to-orthorhombic) and the Fe-driven spin density wave transitions induced by Eu doping in this series. In fact, our results indicate that the two transitions follow an opposite x-Eu dependence for Sr-concentrated samples. Our work shows that Sr1-xEuxFe2As2 series and the comparison with their Ba-based counterparts are exciting platforms to be explored for understanding the interplay among orbital differentiation, magnetism, and structural distortions in the iron pnictides.