Pressure Suppression of Electron Correlation in the Collapsed Tetragonal Phase of $CaFe_2As_2$ : A DFT-DMFT Investigation

Abstract

Recent studies reveal a pressure induced transition from a paramagnetic tetragonal phase (T) to a collapsed tetragonal phase (CT) in $CaFe_2As_2$, which was found to be superconducting with non-hydrostatic pressure at low temperature. We have investigated the effects of electron correlation and local fluctuating moment in both tetragonal and collapsed tetragonal phases of the paramagnetic $CaFe_2As_2$ using self consistent DFT+DMFT with continuous time quantum Monte Carlo as the impurity solver. From the computed optical conductivity, we find a gain in the optical kinetic energy due to the loss in Hund's rule coupling energy in the CT. We find that the transition from T to CT turns $CaFe_2As_2$ from a bad metal into a good metal. Computed mass enhancement and local moments also show significant decrease in the CT, which confirms the suppression of the electron correlation in the CT phase of $CaFe_2As_2$.