Superconducting order parameter in UTe$_2$ determined by Knight shift measurement

Abstract

This study investigates the spin susceptibility in U-based superconductor UTe$_2$ in the superconducting (SC) state by using Knight shift measurements for a magnetic field $H$ along the $a$ axis, which is the magnetic easy axis of UTe$_2$. Although a tiny anomaly ascribed to the SC diamagnetic effect was observed just below the SC transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$, the $a$-axis Knight shift in the SC state shows no significant decrease, following the extrapolation from the normal-state temperature dependence. This indicates that the spin susceptibility is nearly unchanged below $T_{\rm c}$. Considering the previous Knight shift results for $H \parallel b$ and $H \parallel c$, the dominant SC state is determined to be $B_{\rm 3u}$ in the spin-triplet pairing, which is consistent with the spin anisotropy in the normal state. The present result shows that UTe$_2$ is a spin-triplet superconductor with spin degrees of freedom.