Direct observation of the influence of the FeAs4 tetrahedron on superconductivity and antiferromagnetic correlations in Sr2VO3FeAs

We measure the pressure dependence of the electrical resistivity and the crystal structure of iron superconductor Sr2VO3FeAs. Below similar to 10GPa the structure compresses but remains undeformed, with regular FeAs4 tetrahedrons, and a constant T-c. Beyond 10GPa, the tetrahedron strongly distorts, while T-c goes gradually to zero. Band structure calculations of the undistorted structure show multiple-nesting features that hinder the development of an antiferromagnetic (AF) ground state, allowing the appearance of superconductivity. The deformation of the tetrahedra that breaks band degeneracy degrades multiple nesting, thus favouring one particular AF state at the expense of T-c. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2011