Vortex lattices and broken time reversal symmetry in the topological superconductor UPt3
Abstract
The topological superconductor UPt3, has three distinct vortex phases, a strong indication of its unconventional character. Using small-angle neutron scattering we have probed the vortex lattice in the UPt3 B phase with the magnetic field along the crystal c-axis. We find a difference in the vortex lattice configuration depending on the sign of the magnetic field relative to the field direction established upon entering the B phase at low temperature in a field sweep, showing that the vortices in this material posses an internal degree of freedom. This observation is facilitated by the discovery of a field driven non-monotonic vortex lattice rotation, driven by competing effects of the superconducting gap distortion and the vortex-core structure. From our bulk measurements we infer that the superconducting order parameter in the UPt3 B phase breaks time reversal symmetry and exhibits chiral symmetry with respect to the c-axis.
- Publication:
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arXiv e-prints
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.1812.05690
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1812.05690
- Bibcode:
- 2018arXiv181205690A
- Keywords:
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- Condensed Matter - Superconductivity
- E-Print:
- 7 pages plus 3 pages of supplementary material