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Resonance from antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations for spin-triplet superconductivity in UTe$_2$
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that superconductivity in UTe2 is coupled with a sharp magnetic excitation at the Brillouin zone (BZ) boundary near AF order, analogous to the resonance seen in high-Tc copper oxide, iron-based, and heavy-fermion superconductors.
Abstract: Superconductivity has its universal origin in the formation of bound (Cooper) pairs of electrons that can move through the lattice without resistance below the superconducting transition temperature Tc[1]. While electron Cooper pairs in most superconductors form anti-parallel spin-singlets with total spin S=0 [2,3], they can also form parallel spin-triplet Cooper pairs with S=1 and an odd parity wavefunction[4-6], analogous to the equal spin pairing state in the superfluid 3He[7]. Spin-triplet pairing is important because it can host topological states and Majorana fermions relevant for fault tolerant quantum computation[8-11]. However, spin-triplet pairing is rare and has not been unambiguously identified in any solid state systems. Since spin-triplet pairing is usually mediated by ferromagnetic (FM) spin fluctuations[4-6], uranium based heavy-fermion materials near a FM instability are considered ideal candidates for realizing spin-triplet superconductivity[12-14]. Indeed, UTe2, which has a Tc=1.6K [15,16], has been identified as a strong candidate for chiral spin-triplet topological superconductor near a FM instability[15-22], although the system also exhibits antiferromagnetic (AF) spin fluctuations[23,24]. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to show that superconductivity in UTe2 is coupled with a sharp magnetic excitation at the Brillouin zone (BZ) boundary near AF order, analogous to the resonance seen in high-Tc copper oxide[25-27], iron-based[28,29], and heavy-fermion superconductors[30-32]. We find that the resonance in UTe2 occurs below Tc at an energy Er=7.9kBTc (kB is Boltzmann's constant) and at the expense of low-energy spin fluctuations. Since the resonance has only been found in spin-singlet superconductors near an AF instability[25-32], its discovery in UTe2 suggests that AF spin fluctuations can also induce spin-triplet pairing for superconductivity[33].
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TL;DR: The spin-triplet superconductor candidate UTe2 was discovered only recently at the end of 2018 and attracted enormous attention as mentioned in this paper, and key experimental and theoretical progress which has been achieved in different laboratories.
Abstract: The novel spin-triplet superconductor candidate UTe2 was discovered only recently at the end of 2018 and attracted enormous attention. We review key experimental and theoretical progress which has been achieved in different laboratories. UTe2 is a heavy-fermion paramagnet, but right after the discovery of superconductivity it has been expected to be close to a ferromagnetic instability showing many similarities to the U-based ferromagnetic superconductors, URhGe and UCoGe. The competition between different types of magnetic interactions and the duality between the local and itinerant character of the 5f Uranium electrons, as well as the shift of the U valence appear as key parameters in the rich phase diagrams discovered recently under extreme conditions like low temperature, high magnetic field, and pressure. We discuss macroscopic and microscopic experiments at low temperature to clarify the normal phase properties at ambient pressure. Special attention will be given to the occurrence of a metamagnetic transition at Hm = 35 T for a magnetic field applied along the hard magnetic axis b. Adding external pressure leads to strong changes in the magnetic and electronic properties with a direct feedback on superconductivity. Attention will be given on the possible evolution of the Fermi surface as a function of magnetic field and pressure. Superconductivity in UTe2 is extremely rich exhibiting various unconventional behaviors which will be highlighted. It shows an exceptionally huge superconducting upper critical field with a re-entrant behavior under magnetic field and the occurrence of multiple superconducting phases in the temperature field, pressure phase diagram. There is evidence for spin-triplet pairing. The different theoretical approaches will be described. Notably we discuss that UTe2 is a possible example for the realization of a fascinating topological superconductor.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the spin dynamics in the superconducting phase of UTe$(2) by triple-axis inelastic neutron scattering on a single crystal sample.
Abstract: We investigate the spin dynamics in the superconducting phase of UTe$_{2}$ by triple-axis inelastic neutron scattering on a single crystal sample. At the wave-vector $\bf{k_1}$=(0, 0.57, 0), where the normal state antiferromagnetic correlations are peaked, a modification of the excitation spectrum is evidenced, on crossing the superconducting transition, with a reduction of the relaxation rate together with the development of an inelastic peak at $\Omega$ $\approx$ 1 meV. The low dimensional nature and the the $a$-axis polarization of the fluctuations, that characterise the normal state, are essentially maintained below $T_{sc}$. The high ratio $\Omega/k_{B}T_{sc}$ $\approx$ 7.2 contrasts with the most common behaviour in heavy fermion superconductors.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that UTe$_2$ exhibits two detectable transitions only in some samples, and the size of the thermal expansion jump at each transition varies when the measurement is performed in different regions of the sample.
Abstract: Newly-discovered superconductor UTe$_2$ is a strong contender for a topological spin-triplet state wherein a multi-component order parameter arises from two nearly-degenerate superconducting states. A key issue is whether both of these states intrinsically exist at ambient pressure. Through thermal expansion and calorimetry, we show that UTe$_2$ at ambient conditions exhibits two detectable transitions only in some samples, and the size of the thermal expansion jump at each transition varies when the measurement is performed in different regions of the sample. This result indicates that the two transitions arise from two spatially separated regions that are inhomogeneously mixed throughout the volume of the sample, each with a discrete superconducting transition temperature (T$_c$). Notably, samples with higher T$_c$ only show a single transition at ambient pressure. Above 0.3 GPa, however, two transitions are invariably observed in ac calorimetry. Our results not only point to a nearly vertical line in the pressure-temperature phase diagram but also provide a unified scenario for the sample dependence of UTe$_{2}$.
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TL;DR: In this article, a condition for boundary Majorana fermions is expressed as a condition on the bulk electron spectrum, which is satisfied in the presence of an arbitrary small energy gap induced by proximity of a 3D p-wave superconductor.
Abstract: Certain one-dimensional Fermi systems have an energy gap in the bulk spectrum while boundary states are described by one Majorana operator per boundary point. A finite system of length L possesses two ground states with an energy difference proportional to exp(-L/l0) and different fermionic parities. Such systems can be used as qubits since they are intrinsically immune to decoherence. The property of a system to have boundary Majorana fermions is expressed as a condition on the bulk electron spectrum. The condition is satisfied in the presence of an arbitrary small energy gap induced by proximity of a three-dimensional p-wave superconductor, provided that the normal spectrum has an odd number of Fermi points in each half of the Brillouin zone (each spin component counts separately).
3,234 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors considered the pairing of fermions in two dimensions for fully gapped cases with broken parity (P) and time reversal (T), especially cases in which the gap function is an orbital angular momentum (l) eigenstate.
Abstract: We analyze pairing of fermions in two dimensions for fully gapped cases with broken parity (P) and time reversal (T), especially cases in which the gap function is an orbital angular momentum (l) eigenstate, in particular $l=\ensuremath{-}1$ (p wave, spinless, or spin triplet) and $l=\ensuremath{-}2$ (d wave, spin singlet). For $l\ensuremath{
e}0,$ these fall into two phases, weak and strong pairing, which may be distinguished topologically. In the cases with conserved spin, we derive explicitly the Hall conductivity for spin as the corresponding topological invariant. For the spinless p-wave case, the weak-pairing phase has a pair wave function that is asympototically the same as that in the Moore-Read (Pfaffian) quantum Hall state, and we argue that its other properties (edge states, quasihole, and toroidal ground states) are also the same, indicating that nonabelian statistics is a generic property of such a paired phase. The strong-pairing phase is an abelian state, and the transition between the two phases involves a bulk Majorana fermion, the mass of which changes sign at the transition. For the d-wave case, we argue that the Haldane-Rezayi state is not the generic behavior of a phase but describes the asymptotics at the critical point between weak and strong pairing, and has gapless fermion excitations in the bulk. In this case the weak-pairing phase is an abelian phase, which has been considered previously. In the p-wave case with an unbroken $U(1)$ symmetry, which can be applied to the double layer quantum Hall problem, the weak-pairing phase has the properties of the 331 state, and with nonzero tunneling there is a transition to the Moore-Read phase. The effects of disorder on noninteracting quasiparticles are considered. The gapped phases survive, but there is an intermediate thermally conducting phase in the spinless p-wave case, in which the quasiparticles are extended.
2,241 citations
TL;DR: The discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in the copper oxides in 1986 triggered a huge amount of innovative scientific inquiry but unresolved issues include the astonishing complexity of the phase diagram, the unprecedented prominence of various forms of collective fluctuations, and the simplicity and insensitivity to material details of the ‘normal’ state at elevated temperatures.
Abstract: The discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in the copper oxides in 1986 triggered a huge amount of innovative scientific inquiry. In the almost three decades since, much has been learned about the novel forms of quantum matter that are exhibited in these strongly correlated electron systems. A qualitative understanding of the nature of the superconducting state itself has been achieved. However, unresolved issues include the astonishing complexity of the phase diagram, the unprecedented prominence of various forms of collective fluctuations, and the simplicity and insensitivity to material details of the 'normal' state at elevated temperatures.
1,859 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparison was made between four low-temperature properties of LaCu2Si2 and CeCu2 Si2 and it was shown that superconductivity can exist in a metal in which many-body interactions, probably magnetic in origin, have strongly renormalized the properties of the conduction-elec-tron gas.
Abstract: A comparison was made between four low-temperature properties of LaCu2Si2and CeCu2Si2. Whereas LaCu2Si2behaves like a normal metal, CeCu2Si2shows (i) low-temperature anomalies typical of “unstable 4f shell” behavior and (ii) a transition into a superconducting state atT c ≃ 0.5 K. Our experiments demonstrate for the first time that superconductivity can exist in a metal in which many-body interactions, probably magnetic in origin, have strongly renormalized the properties of the conduction-elec-tron gas.
1,626 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a summary and evaluation of the experimental properties of spin-triplet superconductivity in a quasi-two-dimensional Fermi liquid is presented. But the authors do not consider the effect of symmetry-breaking magnetic fields on the phase diagram.
Abstract: This review presents a summary and evaluation of the experimental properties of unconventional superconductivity in ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{RuO}}_{4}$ as they were known in the spring of 2002. At the same time, the paper is intended to be useful as an introduction to the physics of spin-triplet superconductivity. First, the authors show how the normal-state properties of ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{RuO}}_{4}$ are quantitatively described in terms of a quasi-two-dimensional Fermi liquid. Then they summarize its phenomenological superconducting parameters in the framework of the Ginzburg-Landau model, and discuss the existing evidence for spin-triplet pairing. After a brief introduction to the vector order parameter, they examine the most likely symmetry of the triplet state. The structure of the superconducting energy gap is discussed, as is the effect of symmetry-breaking magnetic fields on the phase diagram. The article concludes with a discussion of some outstanding issues and desirable future work. Appendixes on additional details of the normal state, difficulty in observing the bulk Fermi surface by angle-resolved photoemission, and the enhancement of superconducting transition temperature in a two-phase ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{RuO}}_{4}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{Ru}$ system are included.
1,573 citations