Anisotropic Phase Diagram and Superconducting Fluctuations in SmFeAsO0.85F0.15

Abstract

We report on the specific heat determination of the anisotropic phase diagram of single crystals of optimally doped SmFeAsO1-xFx. In zero-field, the optimally doped compound displays a clear cusp-like anomaly in C/T with ΔC/Tc = 24 mJ/molK2 at Tc = 49.5 K. In magnetic fields applied along the c-axis, we find pronounced superconducting fluctuations induced broadening and suppression of the specific heat anomaly which can be described using three-dimensional lowest-Landau-level scaling with an upper critical field slope of -3.5 T/K and an anisotropy of Γ = 8. The small value of ΔC/Tc yields a Sommerfeld coefficient γ ~ 8 mJ/molK2 indicating that SmFeAsO1-xFx is characterized by a modest density of states and strong coupling.

13 pages, 4 Figures, Subm. Phys. Rev. B