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Microscopic evidence for chiral superconductivity in a heavy fermion superconductor UTe<sub>2</sub>

ORAL

Abstract

Spin-triplet superconductivity is a condensate of electron pairs with spin-1 and an odd parity pair wavefunction. A particularly interesting manifestation of triplet pairing is a chiral p-wave state which is topologically non-trivial and a natural platform for realizing Majorana edge modes. Triplet pairing is however rare in solid state systems and so far, no unambiguous identification has been made in any bulk compound. Since pairing is most naturally mediated by ferromagnetic spin fluctuations, uranium based heavy fermion systems containing f-electron elements that can harbor both strong correlations and magnetism are considered ideal candidate spin-triplet superconductors. In this talk I will present scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of the newly discovered heavy fermion superconductor, UTe2 with a TSC of 1.6 K. We find signatures of coexisting Kondo effect and superconductivity which show competing spatial modulations within one unit-cell. Most strikingly, STM spectroscopy at step edges show signatures of chiral edge states, indicating UTe2 is a 3D chiral superconductor.

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Presenters

  • Lin Jiao

    Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Physics and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Authors

  • Lin Jiao

    Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Physics and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • Sean Howard

    Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Physics and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  • Sheng Ran

    NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Physics Department, University of Maryland, University of Maryland, University of Maryland, College Park & NIST, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, NIST Center for Neutron Research

  • Zhenyu Wang

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, UIUC, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Physics and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  • Jorge Olivares Rodriguez

    Department of Physics and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • Manfred W Sigrist

    Theoretical Physics, ETH-Zurich, Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zurich

  • Ziqiang Wang

    Boston College, Department of Physics, Boston College, Physics, Boston College

  • Nicholas Butch

    NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center of Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Center for Neutron Research, NIST center for neutron research, NIST, NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology,, University of Maryland, College Park & NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research

  • Vidya Madhavan

    Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Physics and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign