Field-angle-resolved heat transport in UTe$_2$: determination of nodal positions in the superconducting order parameter

TL;DR

This study uses field-angle-resolved thermal conductivity measurements to identify the nodal positions in UTe$_2$, conclusively determining its superconducting order parameter symmetry as $B_{2u}$, thus advancing understanding of its unconventional superconductivity.

Contribution

It provides the first conclusive identification of the nodal structure and symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in UTe$_2$ using angle-dependent thermal conductivity measurements.

Findings

Point nodes are located along the crystallographic $b$-axis.

Superconducting order parameter belongs to the $B_{2u}$ irreducible representation.

Field-angle oscillations in thermal conductivity reveal nodal positions.

Abstract

One of the recurring hurdles in studying unconventional superconductivity is the challenge of efficiently and conclusively identifying the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in a new material. Uranium ditelluride (UTe$_2$) exhibits an unprecedented number of superconducting phases as a function of pressure and magnetic field, each presumably characterized by a different symmetry of the superconducting gap function. None of these phases has had its symmetry conclusively identified so far. In this article, we report results of an extensive study of the thermal conductivity of UTe$_2$ in its low-field, low-temperature superconducting state as a function of the angle of an applied magnetic field rotated in the $b$-$c$ plane. We observe clear and substantial oscillations in the thermal conductivity as a function of field angle, which naturally suggests the existence of point nodes in the gap. Utilizing the experimentally determined Fermi surface, we are able to model this phenomenon for all the potential gap structures in UTe$_2$ and positively identify the location of these nodes as being along the crystallographic $b$-axis, implying that the superconducting order parameter belongs to the $B_{2u}$ irreducible representation of the crystal point group. The clarity of this result will accelerate the identification of other superconducting phases in UTe$_2$, and guide future studies through the use of high resolution field-angle-dependent measurements.