{"title":"Theoretical Studies on Off-Axis Phase Diagrams and Knight Shifts in UTe\\(_2\\): Tetra-Critical Point, d-Vector Rotation, and Multiple Phases","authors":"Kazushige Machida","doi":"10.1007/s10909-024-03181-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Inspired by recent remarkable sets of experiments on UTe<span>\\(_2\\)</span>: discoveries of the fourth horizontal internal transition line running toward a tetra-critical point (TCP) at <i>H</i> = 15 T, the off-axis high-field phases, and abnormally large Knight shift (KS) drop below <span>\\(T_\\textrm{c}\\)</span> for <span>\\(H \\parallel a\\)</span>-magnetic easy axis, we advance further our theoretical work on the field (<i>H</i>)-temperature (<i>T</i>) phase diagram for <span>\\(H \\parallel b\\)</span>-magnetic hard axis which contains a positive sloped <span>\\(H_\\textrm{c2}\\)</span> departing from TCP. A nonunitary spin-triplet pairing with three components explains these experimental facts simultaneously and consistently by assuming that the underlying normal electron system with a narrow bandwidth characteristic to the Kondo temperature <span>\\(\\sim\\)</span>30 K unsurprisingly breaks the particle-hole symmetry. This causes a special invariant term in Ginzburg–Landau (GL) free energy functional which couples directly with the 5f magnetic system, giving rise to the <span>\\(T_\\textrm{c}\\)</span> splitting and ultimately to the positive sloped <span>\\(H_\\textrm{c2}\\)</span> and the horizontal internal transition line connected to TCP. The large KS drop can be understood in terms of this GL invariance whose coefficient is negative and leads to a diamagnetic response where the Cooper pair spin is antiparallel to the applied field direction. The present scenario also accounts for the observed d-vector rotation phenomena and off-axis phase diagrams with extremely high <span>\\(H_\\textrm{c2}\\)</span> <span>\\(\\gtrsim\\)</span>70 T found at angles in between the <i>b</i>- and <i>c</i>-axes and between the <i>bc</i>-plane and <i>a</i>-axis, making UTe<span>\\(_2\\)</span> a fertile playground for a possible topological superconductor.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":641,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Low Temperature Physics","volume":"216 5-6","pages":"746 - 788"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10909-024-03181-3.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Low Temperature Physics","FirstCategoryId":"101","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10909-024-03181-3","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PHYSICS, APPLIED","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Inspired by recent remarkable sets of experiments on UTe\(_2\): discoveries of the fourth horizontal internal transition line running toward a tetra-critical point (TCP) at H = 15 T, the off-axis high-field phases, and abnormally large Knight shift (KS) drop below \(T_\textrm{c}\) for \(H \parallel a\)-magnetic easy axis, we advance further our theoretical work on the field (H)-temperature (T) phase diagram for \(H \parallel b\)-magnetic hard axis which contains a positive sloped \(H_\textrm{c2}\) departing from TCP. A nonunitary spin-triplet pairing with three components explains these experimental facts simultaneously and consistently by assuming that the underlying normal electron system with a narrow bandwidth characteristic to the Kondo temperature \(\sim\)30 K unsurprisingly breaks the particle-hole symmetry. This causes a special invariant term in Ginzburg–Landau (GL) free energy functional which couples directly with the 5f magnetic system, giving rise to the \(T_\textrm{c}\) splitting and ultimately to the positive sloped \(H_\textrm{c2}\) and the horizontal internal transition line connected to TCP. The large KS drop can be understood in terms of this GL invariance whose coefficient is negative and leads to a diamagnetic response where the Cooper pair spin is antiparallel to the applied field direction. The present scenario also accounts for the observed d-vector rotation phenomena and off-axis phase diagrams with extremely high \(H_\textrm{c2}\)\(\gtrsim\)70 T found at angles in between the b- and c-axes and between the bc-plane and a-axis, making UTe\(_2\) a fertile playground for a possible topological superconductor.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Low Temperature Physics publishes original papers and review articles on all areas of low temperature physics and cryogenics, including theoretical and experimental contributions. Subject areas include: Quantum solids, liquids and gases; Superfluidity; Superconductivity; Condensed matter physics; Experimental techniques; The Journal encourages the submission of Rapid Communications and Special Issues.