Nodes in the Order Parameter of Superconducting Iron Pnictides Observed by Infrared Spectroscopy

The temperature and frequency dependences of the conductivity are derived from optical reflection and transmission measurements of electron doped BaFe$_2$As$_2$ crystals and films. The data is consistent with gap nodes or possibly a very small gap in the crossover region between these two possibilities. This can arise when one of the several pockets known to exist in these systems has extended s-wave gap symmetry with an anisotropic piece canceling or nearly so the isotropic part in some momentum direction. Alternatively, a node can be lifted by impurity scattering which reduces anisotropy. We find that the smaller gap on the hole pocket at the $Γ$ point in the Brillouin zone is isotropic s-wave while the electron pocket at the $M$ point has a larger gap which is anisotropic and falls in the crossover region.

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