Probing p-wave superconductivity in UTe2 via point-contact junctions
Uranium ditelluride (UTe<sub>2</sub>) is the strongest contender to date for a <i>p</i>-wave superconductor in bulk form. Here we perform a spectroscopic study of the ambient pressure superconducting phase of UTe<sub>2</sub>, measuring conductance through point-contact junctions formed by metallic contacts on different crystalline facets down to 250 mK and up to 18 T. Fitting a range of qualitatively varying spectra with a Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) model for <i>p</i>-wave pairing, we can extract gap amplitude and interface barrier strength for each junction. We find good agreement with the data for a dominant <i>p</i> <sub><i>y</i></sub> -wave gap function with amplitude 0.26 ± 0.06 meV. Our work provides spectroscopic evidence for a gap structure consistent with the proposed spin-triplet pairing in the superconducting state of UTe<sub>2</sub>.
Authors
- Yun Suk Eo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8715-8649)
- P. M. R. Brydon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8854-0623)
- Ichiro Takeuchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2625-0553)
- Johnpierre Paglione (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7257-014X)
- Ji Hun Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8336-7227)
- Jarryd A. Horn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1675-475X)
- Hyeok Yoon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6553-5493)
- Shanta Ranjan Saha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3706-8338)
- Ian Hayes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8696-6791)
- Ryan G. Dorman
Institutions
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CA)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- University of Otago (NZ)
- MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology (NZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Quantum Materials
- Published
- 2024-11-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-024-00700-z
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Rare-earth and actinide compounds
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.80
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Royal Society Te Apārangi
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Marsden Fund
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research