Abstract
Nature Communications 6, 8863 (2015) Identifying the superconducting (SC) gap structure of the iron-based
high-temperature superconductors (Fe-HTS's) remains a key issue for the
understanding of superconductivity in these materials. In contrast to other
unconventional superconductors, in the Fe-HTS's both $d$-wave and extended
s-wave pairing symmetries are close in energy, with the latter believed to be
generally favored over the former. Probing the proximity between these very
different SC states and identifying experimental parameters that can tune them,
are of central interest. Here we report high-pressure muon spin rotation
experiments on the temperature-dependent magnetic penetration depth (lambda) in
the optimally doped Fe-HTS Ba_0.65Rb_0.35Fe_2As_2. At ambient pressure this
material is known to be a nodeless s-wave superconductor. Upon pressure a
strong decrease of (lambda) is observed, while the SC transition temperature
remains nearly constant. More importantly, the low-temperature behavior of
(1/lambda^{2}) changes from exponential saturation at zero pressure to a
power-law with increasing pressure, providing unambiguous evidence that
hydrostatic pressure promotes nodal SC gaps. Comparison to microscopic models
favors a d-wave over a nodal s^{+-}-wave pairing as the origin of the nodes.
Our results provide a new route of understanding the complex topology of the SC
gap in Fe-HTS's.