English

A Spin Triplet Superconductor UPt$_3$

Superconductivity 2012-07-04 v2

Abstract

Motivated by a recent angle-resolved thermal conductivity experiment that shows a twofold gap symmetry in the high-field and low-temperature C phase in the heavy-fermion superconductor UPt3_3, we group-theoretically identify the pairing functions as E1uE_{1u} with the ff-wave character for all the three phases. The pairing functions are consistent with the observation as well as with a variety of existing measurements. By using a microscopic quasi-classical Eilenberger equation with the identified triplet pairing function under applied fields, we performed detailed studies of the vortex structures for three phases, including the vortex lattice symmetry, the local density of states, and the internal field distribution. These quantities are directly measurable experimentally by SANS, STM/STS, and NMR, respectively. It is found that, in the B phase of low HH and low TT, the double-core vortex is stabilized over a singular vortex. In the C phase, thermal conductivity data are analyzed to confirm the gap structure proposed. We also give detailed comparisons of various proposed pair functions, concluding that the present scenario of E1uE_{1u} with the ff-wave, which is an analogue to the triplet planar state, is better than the E2uE_{2u} or E1gE_{1g} scenario. Finally, we discuss the surface topological aspects of Majorana modes associated with the E1ufE_{1u}^f state of planar like features.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1202.1894,
  title  = {A Spin Triplet Superconductor UPt$_3$},
  author = {Yasumasa Tsutsumi and Kazushige Machida and Tetsuo Ohmi and Masa-aki Ozaki},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1202.1894},
  year   = {2012}
}

Comments

13 pages, 10 figures, published version, selected for an Editor's Choice

R2 v1 2026-06-21T20:16:55.546Z