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arXiv · 1410.1479

Evidence for broken time-reversal symmetry in the superconducting phase of URu$_2$Si$_2$

E. R. Schemm·R. E. Baumbach·P. H. Tobash·F. Ronning·E. D. Bauer·A. Kapitulnik
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Abstract

Recent experimental and theoretical interest in the superconducting phase of the heavy fermion material URu$_2$Si$_2$ has led to a number of proposals in which the superconducting order parameter breaks time-reversal symmetry (TRS). In this study we measured polar Kerr effect (PKE) as a function of temperature for several high-quality single crystals of URu$_2$Si$_2$. We find an onset of PKE below the superconducting transition that is consistent with a TRS-breaking order parameter. This effect appears to be independent of an additional, possibly extrinsic, PKE generated above the hidden order transition at $T_{HO}=17.5$ K, and contains structure below $T_c$ suggestive of additional physics within the superconducting state.

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E. R. Schemm, R. E. Baumbach, P. H. Tobash, F. Ronning, E. D. Bauer, A. Kapitulnik. 2015-01-15. Evidence for broken time-reversal symmetry in the superconducting phase of URu$_2$Si$_2$. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.91.140506

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