Quantum criticality in quasi-binary compounds of iron-based superconductors

In this work, we present the studies of structural phase transitions in Fe(Se,Te) crystals in the range of about 30% selenium substitution by tellurium. We found a significant change in the properties of the ordered state of these compositions compared to the case of pure FeSe. The resistivity at low temperatures for the studied Fe(Se,Te) is proportional to the square of the temperature while for pure FeSe below the structural transition it depends almost linearly on temperature. The NMR data show a noticeable line broadening below the structural transition and an anomaly in the temperature dependence of the relaxation rate in the tellurium-substituted compounds, which was not observed in the pure FeSe. This reveals in quasi-binary compounds of iron-based superconductors a region of quantum criticality similar to that which exists when the nematicity of FeSe is suppressed under pressure and which precedes the emergence of high-temperature superconductivity in FeSe under hydrostatic pressure.