Slow Electronic Dynamics in the Paramagnetic State of UTe2

¹²⁵Te NMR experiments in field (H) applied along the easy magnetization axis (the a-axis) revealed slow electronic dynamics developing in the paramagnetic state of UTe₂. The observed slow fluctuations are concerned with a successive growth of long-range electronic correlations below 30-40 K, where the spin susceptibility along the hard magnetization axis (the b-axis) shows a broad maximum. The experiments also imply that tiny amounts of disorder or defects locally disturb the long-range electronic correlations and develop an inhomogeneous electronic state at low temperatures, leading to a low temperature upturn observed in the bulk-susceptibility in H || a. We suggest that UTe₂ would be located on the paramagnetic side near an electronic phase boundary, where either magnetic or Fermi-surface instability would be the origin of the characteristic fluctuations.