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Resonance from antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations for superconductivity in UTe2

Author

Listed:
  • Chunruo Duan

    (Rice University)

  • R. E. Baumbach

    (Florida State University
    Florida State University)

  • Andrey Podlesnyak

    (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

  • Yuhang Deng

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • Camilla Moir

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • Alexander J. Breindel

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • M. Brian Maple

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • E. M. Nica

    (Arizona State University)

  • Qimiao Si

    (Rice University)

  • Pengcheng Dai

    (Rice University)

Abstract

Superconductivity originates from the formation of bound (Cooper) pairs of electrons that can move through the lattice without resistance below the superconducting transition temperature Tc (ref. 1). Electron Cooper pairs in most superconductors form anti-parallel spin singlets with total spin S = 0 (ref. 2), although they can also form parallel spin-triplet Cooper pairs with S = 1 and an odd parity wavefunction3. Spin-triplet pairing is important because it can host topological states and Majorana fermions relevant for quantum computation4,5. Because spin-triplet pairing is usually mediated by ferromagnetic (FM) spin fluctuations3, uranium-based materials near an FM instability are considered to be ideal candidates for realizing spin-triplet superconductivity6. Indeed, UTe2, which has a Tc ≈ 1.6 K (refs. 7,8), has been identified as a candidate for a chiral spin-triplet topological superconductor near an FM instability7–14, although it also has antiferromagnetic (AF) spin fluctuations15,16. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to show that superconductivity in UTe2 is coupled to a sharp magnetic excitation, termed resonance17–23, at the Brillouin zone boundary near AF order. Because the resonance has only been found in spin-singlet unconventional superconductors near an AF instability17–23, its observation in UTe2 suggests that AF spin fluctuations may also induce spin-triplet pairing24 or that electron pairing in UTe2 has a spin-singlet component.

Suggested Citation

  • Chunruo Duan & R. E. Baumbach & Andrey Podlesnyak & Yuhang Deng & Camilla Moir & Alexander J. Breindel & M. Brian Maple & E. M. Nica & Qimiao Si & Pengcheng Dai, 2021. "Resonance from antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations for superconductivity in UTe2," Nature, Nature, vol. 600(7890), pages 636-640, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:600:y:2021:i:7890:d:10.1038_s41586-021-04151-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04151-5
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    Cited by:

    1. C. S. Kengle & J. Vonka & S. Francoual & J. Chang & P. Abbamonte & M. Janoschek & P. F. S. Rosa & W. Simeth, 2024. "Absence of bulk charge density wave order in the normal state of UTe2," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-7, December.
    2. Alexander LaFleur & Hong Li & Corey E. Frank & Muxian Xu & Siyu Cheng & Ziqiang Wang & Nicholas P. Butch & Ilija Zeljkovic, 2024. "Inhomogeneous high temperature melting and decoupling of charge density waves in spin-triplet superconductor UTe2," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.

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