TY - JOUR
T1 - Twofold spontaneous symmetry breaking in the heavy-fermion superconductor UPt 3
AU - MacHida, Y.
AU - Itoh, A.
AU - So, Y.
AU - Izawa, K.
AU - Haga, Y.
AU - Yamamoto, E.
AU - Kimura, N.
AU - Onuki, Y.
AU - Tsutsumi, Y.
AU - MacHida, K.
PY - 2012/4/9
Y1 - 2012/4/9
N2 - The field-orientation dependent thermal conductivity of the heavy-fermion superconductor UPt 3 was measured down to very low temperatures and under magnetic fields throughout the distinct superconducting phases: B and C phases. In the C phase, a striking twofold oscillation of the thermal conductivity within the basal plane is resolved reflecting the superconducting gap structure with a line of node along the a axis. Moreover, we find an abrupt vanishing of the oscillation across a transition to the B phase, as a clear indication of a change of gap symmetries. We also identify extra two line nodes below and above the equator in both B and C phases. From these results together with the symmetry consideration, the gap function of UPt 3 is determined as a E 1u representation characterized by a combination of two line nodes at the tropics and point nodes at the poles.
AB - The field-orientation dependent thermal conductivity of the heavy-fermion superconductor UPt 3 was measured down to very low temperatures and under magnetic fields throughout the distinct superconducting phases: B and C phases. In the C phase, a striking twofold oscillation of the thermal conductivity within the basal plane is resolved reflecting the superconducting gap structure with a line of node along the a axis. Moreover, we find an abrupt vanishing of the oscillation across a transition to the B phase, as a clear indication of a change of gap symmetries. We also identify extra two line nodes below and above the equator in both B and C phases. From these results together with the symmetry consideration, the gap function of UPt 3 is determined as a E 1u representation characterized by a combination of two line nodes at the tropics and point nodes at the poles.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.157002
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.157002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84859601551
VL - 108
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
SN - 0031-9007
IS - 15
M1 - 157002
ER -