Enhanced triplet superconductivity in next-generation ultraclean UTe <sub>2</sub>
The unconventional superconductor UTe[Formula: see text] exhibits numerous signatures of spin-triplet superconductivity-a rare state of matter which could enable quantum computation protected against decoherence. UTe[Formula: see text] possesses a complex phase landscape comprising two magnetic field-induced superconducting phases, a metamagnetic transition to a field-polarized state, along with pair- and charge-density wave orders. However, contradictory reports between studies performed on UTe[Formula: see text] specimens of varying quality have severely impeded theoretical efforts to understand the microscopic origins of the exotic superconductivity. Here, we report a comprehensive suite of high magnetic field measurements on a generation of pristine quality UTe[Formula: see text] crystals. Our experiments reveal a significantly revised high magnetic field superconducting phase diagram in the ultraclean limit, showing a pronounced sensitivity of field-induced superconductivity to the presence of crystalline disorder. We employ a Ginzburg-Landau model that excellently captures this acute dependence on sample quality. Our results suggest that in close proximity to a field-induced metamagnetic transition the enhanced role of magnetic fluctuations-that are strongly suppressed by disorder-is likely responsible for tuning UTe[Formula: see text] between two distinct spin-triplet superconducting phases.
Authors
- V. Sechovský (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1298-2120)
- Gaël Bastien (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4663-3642)
- A. Cabala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3432-9560)
- Alexander G. Eaton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6669-0807)
- Michal Vališka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6332-8009)
- Ján Prokleška (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3246-5112)
- Shermane M. Benjamin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0594-7490)
- Tetiana Haidamak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7718-5686)
- Jiří Pospíšil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6642-5317)
- Y. Skourski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4100-6420)
- Dmitry V. Chichinadze (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8713-4500)
- F. M. Grosche (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3912-9819)
- Jiasheng Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5348-6716)
- G. G. Lonzarich
- Theodore I. Weinberger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7769-7593)
- Z. Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3839-5611)
- David E Graf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6195-0462)
- A. J. Hickey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6736-8833)
- M. J. Mancera-Ugarte
- Daniel J. Shaffer
Institutions
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Emory University (US)
- Charles University (CZ)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (DE)
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2024-09-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2403067121
- Citations
- 28
- Primary Topic
- Rare-earth and actinide compounds
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.70
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Univerzita Karlova v Praze
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
- Henry Royce Institute
- European Commission
- Grantová Agentura České Republiky
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
- Materials Growth and Measurement Laboratory
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Division of Materials Research
- Office of International Science and Engineering
- High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council