Cornell researchers found that two superconducting states can coexist in uranium ditelluride under pressure. Ultrasound measurements revised the material’s phase diagram and revealed competition between the states as temperature fell. The result advances research into a candidate for topological superconductivity, while quantum-computing applications remain several steps away.
Cornell researchers found that uranium ditelluride can host two superconducting states at once under pressure. One state emerges in extreme cold, while another appears under strong magnetic fields or pressure. Sahas Kamat and colleagues redrew the material’s phase diagram, locating a region where the states coexist and interact rather than appearing only in separate experimental conditions.[1], [2]
Pulse-echo ultrasound measurements revealed an additional phase boundary. Experiments took place between one and two kelvin, after pressure was established at room temperature. In the coexistence region the states competed: one component disappeared during further cooling alongside growth of the other state. Earlier maps of the material’s behaviour had presented a thermodynamic inconsistency that prompted the new measurements.[1]
The different states concern the angular momentum of paired electrons. Their coexistence supplies an ingredient sought in topological superconductors, materials of interest for quantum computing. Corresponding author Brad Ramshaw said practical applications remained several steps away. The work appeared in Nature Physics on October 30; the authors’ publicly available preprint was first submitted in March and revised in July.[1]
