Resonant Ultrasound Studies on the Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking Superconductor Candidate UTe<sub>2</sub>

ORAL

Abstract

UTe2 is a promising candidate for a time-reversal symmetry (TRS) breaking superconductor. Since the recent discovery of its superconducting state below 1.6 K, several studies have established its spin-triplet character (e.g. a high upper critical field, and a negligible change in the Knight shift across Tc). A field trainable Kerr rotation even indicated TRS breaking of the superconducting order parameter. Because TRS-breaking superconductivity requires a two-component order parameter, and because UTe2 is orthorhombic, two separate superconducting transitions are expected. Two transitions have indeed been observed in heat capacity measurements. However, these findings are heavily debated. We investigate the possibility of two superconducting transitions with resonant ultrasound spectroscopy and look into what this can tell us about two-component order parameters.

*Supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the United States Department of Energy under award no. DE-SC0020143.

–

Presenters

  • Florian Theuss

    • Cornell University

Authors

  • Florian Theuss

    • Cornell University

  • Gael Grissonnanche

    • Institut Quantique, Département de physique & RQMP, Université de Sherbrooke
    • Universite de Sherbrooke (Canada)
    • Universite de Sherbrooke
    • Cornell University

  • Sheng Ran

    • National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park
    • Quantum Materials Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland College Park
    • Physics, Washington University in St. Louis
    • Maryland Quantum Materials Center and Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park
    • Washington University
    • Physics Department, Washington University in St. Louis
    • NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • Washington University in St. Louis
    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego
    • University of Maryland, College Park

  • Johnpierre Paglione

    • University of Maryland, College Park
    • Maryland Quantum Materials Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland
    • Quantum Materials Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland College Park
    • Quantum Materials Center, University of Maryland, College Park
    • Maryland Quantum Materials Center and Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park
    • University of Maryland

  • Nicholas Butch

    • National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • NCNR, National Institute for Standard and Technology
    • NIST/University of Maryland
    • Center of Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST
    • Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • NIST Center for Neutro Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • University of Maryland

  • Brad Ramshaw

    • Cornell University
    • Physics, Cornell University