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Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Measuring Magnetically-Tuned Ferroelectric Polarization in Liquid Crystals
Published on: August 15, 2018
Charge-induced nematicity in FeSe.
Pierre Massat1, Donato Farina1, Indranil Paul1
1Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques, CNRS UMR7162, Université Paris Diderot, Paris Cedex 13, France;
Researchers discovered critical charge nematic fluctuations in iron-based superconductors (Fe SC) using electronic Raman scattering. These fluctuations indicate a Pomeranchuk instability driving the structural distortion and nematicity in FeSe.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Materials science
- Superconductivity
Background:
- Nematicity, a state breaking rotation but not translation symmetry, is a key property of iron-based superconductors (Fe SC).
- Identifying the electronic drivers of nematicity is challenging due to limited accessibility of susceptibilities via conventional methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the critical electronic modes underlying nematicity in iron-based superconductors.
- To use FeSe as a model system to probe nematic fluctuations near the transition temperature.
Main Methods:
- Symmetry-resolved electronic Raman scattering was employed as a sensitive probe.
- Analysis focused on identifying critical charge nematic fluctuations near the structural/nematic transition.
Main Results:
- Critical charge nematic fluctuations were observed near 90 K in FeSe.
- The diverging nematic susceptibility suggests a d-wave Pomeranchuk instability of the Fermi surface.
- Observed nematic susceptibility scaled well with elastic modulus data, confirming the link to structural distortion.
Conclusions:
- The structural distortion in FeSe is driven by a d-wave Pomeranchuk transition.
- The findings strongly support the theory of charge-induced nematicity in iron-based superconductors.
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