Nematic crossover in BaFe${}_2$As${}_2$ under uniaxial stress

Raman scattering can detect spontaneous point-group symmetry breaking without resorting to single-domain samples. Here we use this technique to study $\mathrm{B}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_2\mathrm{A}{\mathrm{s}}_2$, the parent compound of the “122” Fe-based superconductors. We show that an applied compression along the Fe-Fe direction, which is commonly used to produce untwinned orthorhombic samples, changes the structural phase transition at temperature $T_{\mathrm{s}}$ into a crossover that spans a considerable temperature range above $T_{\mathrm{s}}$. Even in crystals that are not subject to any applied force, a distribution of substantial residual stress remains, which may explain phenomena that are seemingly indicative of symmetry breaking above $T_{\mathrm{s}}$. Our results are consistent with an onset of spontaneous nematicity only below $T_{\mathrm{s}}$.