Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

arXiv, 2022

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2207.13725

Nature Research, Communications Physics, 1(6), 2023

DOI: 10.1038/s42005-023-01146-8

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Ubiquitous spin freezing in the superconducting state of UTe2

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Question mark in circle
Preprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Postprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Published version: policy unknown

Abstract

AbstractIn most superconductors electrons form Cooper pairs in a spin-singlet state mediated by either phonons or by long-range interactions such as spin fluctuations. The superconductor UTe2 is a rare material wherein electrons are believed to form pairs in a unique spin-triplet state with potential topological properties. While spin-triplet pairing may be mediated by ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic fluctuations, experimentally, the magnetic properties of UTe2 are unclear. By way of muon spin rotation/relaxation (μSR) measurements on independently grown UTe2 single crystals we demonstrate the existence of magnetic clusters that gradually freeze into a disordered spin frozen state at low temperatures. Our findings suggest that inhomogeneous freezing of magnetic clusters is linked to the ubiquitous residual linear term in the temperature dependence of the specific heat (C) and the low-temperature upturn in C/T versus T. The omnipresent magnetic inhomogeneity has potential implications for experiments aimed at establishing the intrinsic low-temperature properties of UTe2.