TY - JOUR
T1 - Absence of bulk charge density wave order in the normal state of UTe2
AU - Kengle, C. S.
AU - Vonka, J.
AU - Francoual, S.
AU - Chang, J.
AU - Abbamonte, P.
AU - Janoschek, M.
AU - Rosa, P. F.S.
AU - Simeth, W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - A spatially modulated superconducting state, known as pair density wave (PDW), is a tantalizing state of matter with unique properties. Recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies revealed that spin-triplet superconductor UTe2 hosts an unprecedented spin-triplet, multi-component PDW whose three wavevectors are indistinguishable from a preceding charge-density wave (CDW) order that survives to temperatures well above the superconducting critical temperature, Tc. Whether the PDW is the mother or a subordinate order remains unsettled. Here, based on a systematic search for bulk charge order above Tc using resonant elastic X-ray scattering (REXS), we show that the structure factor of charge order previously identified by STM is absent in the bulk within the sensitivity of REXS. Our results invite two scenarios: either the density-wave orders condense simultaneously at Tc in the bulk, in which case PDW order is likely the mother phase, or the charge modulations are restricted to the surface.
AB - A spatially modulated superconducting state, known as pair density wave (PDW), is a tantalizing state of matter with unique properties. Recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies revealed that spin-triplet superconductor UTe2 hosts an unprecedented spin-triplet, multi-component PDW whose three wavevectors are indistinguishable from a preceding charge-density wave (CDW) order that survives to temperatures well above the superconducting critical temperature, Tc. Whether the PDW is the mother or a subordinate order remains unsettled. Here, based on a systematic search for bulk charge order above Tc using resonant elastic X-ray scattering (REXS), we show that the structure factor of charge order previously identified by STM is absent in the bulk within the sensitivity of REXS. Our results invite two scenarios: either the density-wave orders condense simultaneously at Tc in the bulk, in which case PDW order is likely the mother phase, or the charge modulations are restricted to the surface.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41467-024-53739-8
DO - 10.1038/s41467-024-53739-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 39521771
AN - SCOPUS:85209475768
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 15
JO - Nature communications
JF - Nature communications
IS - 1
M1 - 9713
ER -