Anisotropic field-induced changes in the superconducting order parameter of UTe2

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lee, Sangyun, Woods, Andrew J., Rosa, P. F. S., Thomas, S. M., Bauer, E. D., Lin, Shi-Zeng, Movshovich, R.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866910984347582464
author Lee, Sangyun
Woods, Andrew J.
Rosa, P. F. S.
Thomas, S. M.
Bauer, E. D.
Lin, Shi-Zeng
Movshovich, R.
author_facet Lee, Sangyun
Woods, Andrew J.
Rosa, P. F. S.
Thomas, S. M.
Bauer, E. D.
Lin, Shi-Zeng
Movshovich, R.
contents UTe2 is a newly discovered unconventional superconductor, where electron Cooper pairs combine into a spin-triplet ground state. Here we report the specific heat C(H,T) of a high-quality single crystal of UTe2 with a single specific heat anomaly at the superconducting transition temperature T_c {\approx} 2 K and a small zero-field residual Sommerfeld coefficient γ_0 = C/T (T=0) = 10 mJ/mol-K^2. We applied magnetic field up to 12 T along the three principal crystallographic axes of UTe2 to probe the nature of the superconducting state. The evolution of the residual Sommerfeld coefficient as a function of magnetic field, γ_0 (H), is highly anisotropic and reveals distinct regions. In magnetic field up to 4 T applied along a, b, and c axes, we find γ_0{\approx}α_i {\square}H, with i=a,b,c, as expected for an unconventional superconductor with nodes (zeros) of the superconducting order parameter on the Fermi surface. A pronounced kink in γ_0(H), however, is observed at roughly 4 T for field applied along both a and b axes, whereas a smooth change from square-root to linear behaviour is observed at 4 T for H//c. These results strongly indicate that a zero-field ground state is stable up to 4 T and undergoes a field-induced evolution above 4 T. {α_c} > {α_a} > {α_b}, indicating that the nodes in the low-field state are predominantly located in the vicinity of the a-b plane. The modification of the order parameter is strongest when field is applied in the a-b plane, which causes nodes to move away from the direction of the applied field. Both d_(B_2u)+id_(B_1u) and d_(B_2u)+id_(A_u) two-component order parameters can account for our observations, with d_(B_2u)+id_(B_1u) a more likely candidate. In either scenario, our measurements indicate that B_2u is the primary superconducting order parameter in UTe2.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_04938
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Anisotropic field-induced changes in the superconducting order parameter of UTe2
Lee, Sangyun
Woods, Andrew J.
Rosa, P. F. S.
Thomas, S. M.
Bauer, E. D.
Lin, Shi-Zeng
Movshovich, R.
Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
UTe2 is a newly discovered unconventional superconductor, where electron Cooper pairs combine into a spin-triplet ground state. Here we report the specific heat C(H,T) of a high-quality single crystal of UTe2 with a single specific heat anomaly at the superconducting transition temperature T_c {\approx} 2 K and a small zero-field residual Sommerfeld coefficient γ_0 = C/T (T=0) = 10 mJ/mol-K^2. We applied magnetic field up to 12 T along the three principal crystallographic axes of UTe2 to probe the nature of the superconducting state. The evolution of the residual Sommerfeld coefficient as a function of magnetic field, γ_0 (H), is highly anisotropic and reveals distinct regions. In magnetic field up to 4 T applied along a, b, and c axes, we find γ_0{\approx}α_i {\square}H, with i=a,b,c, as expected for an unconventional superconductor with nodes (zeros) of the superconducting order parameter on the Fermi surface. A pronounced kink in γ_0(H), however, is observed at roughly 4 T for field applied along both a and b axes, whereas a smooth change from square-root to linear behaviour is observed at 4 T for H//c. These results strongly indicate that a zero-field ground state is stable up to 4 T and undergoes a field-induced evolution above 4 T. {α_c} > {α_a} > {α_b}, indicating that the nodes in the low-field state are predominantly located in the vicinity of the a-b plane. The modification of the order parameter is strongest when field is applied in the a-b plane, which causes nodes to move away from the direction of the applied field. Both d_(B_2u)+id_(B_1u) and d_(B_2u)+id_(A_u) two-component order parameters can account for our observations, with d_(B_2u)+id_(B_1u) a more likely candidate. In either scenario, our measurements indicate that B_2u is the primary superconducting order parameter in UTe2.
title Anisotropic field-induced changes in the superconducting order parameter of UTe2
topic Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.04938