Measurements of nematic susceptibility with phase sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance in pulsed strain fields

Abstract

We present nuclear magnetic resonance data in BaFe$_2$As$_2$ in the presence of pulsed strain fields that are interleaved in time with the radiofrequency excitation pulses. In this approach, the precessing nuclear magnetization acquires a phase shift that is proportional to the strain and pulse time. The sensitivity in this approach is limited by the homogeneous decoherence time, $T_2$, rather than the inhomogeneous linewidth. We measure the nematic susceptibility as a function of temperature, and demonstrate three orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity. This approach will enable studies of the strain response in a broad range of materials that previously were inaccessible due to inhomogeneous broadening.