Observation of vortex stripes in UTe${}_2$

Abstract

Quantum vortices are fundamentally important for properties of superconductors. In conventional type-II superconductor they determine the magnetic response of the system and tend to form regular lattices. UTe${}_2$ is a recently discovered heavy fermion superconductor exhibiting many anomalous macroscopic behaviors. However, the question whether it has a multicomponent order parameter remains open. Here, we study magnetic properties of UTe${}_2$ by employing scanning superconducting quantum interference device microscopy. We find vortex behavior which is very different from that in ordinary superconductors. We imaged vortices generated by cooling in magnetic field applied along different crystalline directions. While a small out-of-plane magnetic field produces typical isolated vortices, higher field generates vortex stripe patterns which evolve with vortex density. The stripes form at different locations and along different directions in the surface plane when the vortices are crystalized along the crystalline b or c axes. The behavior is reproduced by our simulation based on an anisotropic two-component order parameter. This study shows that UTe${}_2$ has a nontrivial disparity of multiple length scales, placing constraints on multicomponent superconductivity. The tendency of vortex stripe formation and their control by external field may be useful in fluxonics applications.

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