Why MgFeGe is not a superconductor

Abstract

The recently synthesized MgFeGe compound is isostructural and isoelectronic with superconducting LiFeAs. Both materials are paramagnetic metals at room temperature. Inspection of their electronic structures without spin polarization reveals hardly any difference between the two. This fact was interpreted as evidence against popular theories relating superconductivity in Fe-based materials with spin fluctuations. We show that in the magnetic domain the two compounds are dramatically different, and the fact that MgFeGe does not superconduct, is, on the contrary, a strong argument in favor of theories based on spin fluctuations.