Abstract
We present measurements of the thermal expansion coefficient of polycrystalline . The magnetic and structural transitions of the samples with give rise to large anomalies in while the onset of superconductivity in the crystals with is not resolved. Above the structural transition, the thermal expansion coefficient of LaFeAsO is significantly enhanced. This is attributed to fluctuations, which also affect the electrical transport properties of the compound. The complete absence of these fluctuations in the superconducting samples even for is taken as evidence for an abrupt first-order type of suppression of the structural and magnetic transitions upon F doping.
- Received 6 March 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.80.094512
©2009 American Physical Society