Dimensionality of the reinforced superconductivity in UTe<sub>2</sub>.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41271708.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-66288-5 and PMC identifier 12638786.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Superconductivity in the heavy-fermion metal UTe<sub>2</sub> survives under high magnetic fields, presenting both an intriguing puzzle and an experimental challenge. The non-perturbative influence of the magnetic field complicates the determination of superconducting order parameters in the high-field phases. Here, we report electronic transport anisotropy measurements in precisely aligned microbars in magnetic fields to 45 T. Our results reveal a highly directional vortex pinning force in the field-reinforced phase. The critical current is significantly suppressed for currents only along the c-direction, where the flux-flow voltage vanishes with slight angular misalignments-hallmarks of vortex lock-in transitions typically seen in quasi-2D superconductors like cuprates and pnictides. This marks the observation of a transition into a vortex lock-in state at the boundary between two distinct superconducting states. These findings challenge assumptions of nearly isotropic charge transport in UTe<sub>2</sub> and point to enhanced two-dimensionality in the high-field state, consistent with a change in the order parameter.