Reentrant superconductivity is a phenomenon in which the destructive effects of magnetic field on superconductivity are mitigated, allowing a zero-resistance state to survive under conditions that would otherwise destroy it. Typically, the reentrant superconducting region derives from a zero-field parent superconductor. Here, we show that in specifically-prepared UTe2 crystals, extremely large magnetic field gives rise to an unprecedented high field superconductor that lacks a zero-field parent phase. This orphan superconductivity exists at fields between 37 T and 52 T, over a smaller angular range than observed in superconducting UTe2. The stability of field-induced orphan superconductivity is a challenge to existing theoretical explanations, and underscores the likelihood of a field-induced modification of the electronic structure of UTe2.
@article{arxiv.2304.12392,
title = {Orphan High Field Superconductivity in Non-Superconducting Uranium Ditelluride},
author = {Corey E. Frank and Sylvia K. Lewin and Gicela Saucedo Salas and Peter Czajka and Ian Hayes and Hyeok Yoon and Tristin Metz and Johnpierre Paglione and John Singleton and Nicholas P. Butch},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2304.12392},
year = {2023}
}