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<p>UTe<sub>2</sub> is an unconventional heavy-fermion superconductor discussed as a candidate for spin-triplet pairing. However, conflicting reports on gap structure, particularly regarding point nodes, have hindered understanding of the order parameter symmetry. Here, we report <i>b</i>-axis thermal conductivity <i>κ</i><sub><i>b</i></sub>/<i>T</i> measurements on high-quality UTe<sub>2</sub> single crystals down to &#xa0;~&#xa0;50 mK that definitively resolve the gap anisotropy. <i>κ</i><sub><i>b</i></sub>/<i>T</i> shows negligible residual conductivity as <i>T</i>&#xa0;→&#xa0;0, while magnetic fields induce only weak enhancement of the residual term. Remarkably, a threshold-like field scale is observed at low fields for <b>H</b>∥<i>a</i>, characterized by a kink signaling a change in quasiparticle transport normal to the field. Above this threshold, strong anisotropy develops for transport along and normal to the field. These results strongly suggest that UTe<sub>2</sub> hosts a fully gapped state with pseudo point nodes, where the gap minima approach but never reach zero, placing strong constraints on the order parameter and exotic pairing mechanism.</p>

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Pseudo point nodal superconducting gap in spin-triplet UTe2

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月16日

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  • S. Hosoi,
  • K. Imamura,
  • M. M. Bordelon,
  • E. D. Bauer,
  • S. M. Thomas,
  • F. Ronning,
  • P. F. S. Rosa,
  • R. Movshovich,
  • I. Vekhter,
  • Y. Matsuda

摘要

UTe2 is an unconventional heavy-fermion superconductor discussed as a candidate for spin-triplet pairing. However, conflicting reports on gap structure, particularly regarding point nodes, have hindered understanding of the order parameter symmetry. Here, we report b-axis thermal conductivity κb/T measurements on high-quality UTe2 single crystals down to  ~ 50 mK that definitively resolve the gap anisotropy. κb/T shows negligible residual conductivity as T → 0, while magnetic fields induce only weak enhancement of the residual term. Remarkably, a threshold-like field scale is observed at low fields for H∥a, characterized by a kink signaling a change in quasiparticle transport normal to the field. Above this threshold, strong anisotropy develops for transport along and normal to the field. These results strongly suggest that UTe2 hosts a fully gapped state with pseudo point nodes, where the gap minima approach but never reach zero, placing strong constraints on the order parameter and exotic pairing mechanism.