Connection between f-electron correlations and magnetic excitations in UTe2
2025

Magnetic Excitations in UTe2

Sample size: 82 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Thomas Halloran, Peter Czajka, Gicela Saucedo Salas, Corey E. Frank, Chang-Jong Kang, J. A. Rodriguez-Rivera, Jakob Lass, Daniel G. Mazzone, Marc Janoschek, Gabriel Kotliar, Nicholas P. Butch

Primary Institution: NIST Center for Neutron Research

Hypothesis

What is the connection between f-electron correlations and magnetic excitations in UTe2?

Conclusion

The study reveals that the magnetic excitations in UTe2 are likely due to interband spin excitons arising from f-electron hybridization.

Supporting Evidence

  • The magnetic excitations emerge from the Brillouin zone boundary at high symmetry points.
  • The scattering intensity is consistent with that expected from U3+/U4+ f-electron spins.
  • The measured scattering intensity is independent of an applied magnetic field up to 11 T.

Takeaway

Scientists studied a material called UTe2 to understand its magnetic properties, finding that its magnetism comes from how certain electrons interact.

Methodology

Inelastic neutron scattering experiments were performed on a coaligned mosaic of single crystalline samples of UTe2.

Limitations

The study could not resolve the proposed spin-resonance excitation and relied on a mosaic of coaligned samples rather than a single crystal.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/s41535-024-00720-9

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