Search for Structural Modulations in UPt_3 Using Laue X-ray Diffraction

Abstract

Using synchrotron radiation-based Laue diffraction methods, we have searched for structural anomalies in a single-crystal whisker of the heavy fermion superconductor UPt_3. Our data cover a large volume of k-space with high sensitivity. We find no signs of the structural modulations seen in transmission electron microscopy studies of whiskers grown under identical conditions. Our result has consequences for theories of symmetry-broken superconductivity in this material.