Probing pairing symmetry in UTe<sub>2</sub> using phase-sensitive measurements

Newly discovered heavy fermion superconductor UTe₂ featuring an exceedingly large upper critical field has attracted a great deal of attention. Even though it is widely believed that UTe₂ possesses an odd-parity, spin-triplet pairing symmetry, direct evidence for it is lacking, especially at zero or low magnetic fields. We prepared planar tunnel junctions of In (an s-wave superconductor) and UTe₂ and measured orientation-dependent Josephson coupling between them. We found a finite Josephson coupling in junctions prepared on (001) but not in those prepared on (1-10) surface, a selection rule in the Josephson effect. The size of the Josephson current is consistent with that of the first-order coupling. Our observations suggest that, among all point-group-symmetry-allowed pairing states, the odd-parity, spin-triplet state of B_1u is adopted in UTe₂. We also observed features in the single-particle tunneling spectra on (1-10) surface attributable to the formation of Andreev surface bound states.

*The work done at Penn State was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant No. DMR 2312899 as well as Pennsylvania State University. Research at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, under Grant No. DE FG02-04-ER45105 and sponsored in part by the UC San Diego Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (UCSD MRSEC) supported by the NSF (Grant DMR-2011924). R.E.B acknowledges the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory which is supported by the NSF through NSF DMR-1644779 and the State of Florida.

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Bulletin of the American Physical Society

2024 APS March Meeting

Monday–Friday, March 4–8, 2024; Minneapolis & Virtual

Session S08: Superconductivity in Heavy Fermion Compounds and Other Platforms

Abstract: S08.00005 : Probing pairing symmetry in UTe2 using phase-sensitive measurements*

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Abstract: S08.00005 : Probing pairing symmetry in UTe₂ using phase-sensitive measurements*