Rotational Symmetry Breaking in the Hidden-Order Phase of URu2Si2.
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| Title: | Rotational Symmetry Breaking in the Hidden-Order Phase of URu |
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| Authors: | Okazaki, R.1,2, Shibauchi, T.1 shibauchi@scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp, Shi, H. J.1, Haga, Y.3, Matsuda, T. D.3, Yamamoto, E.3, Onuki, Y.3,4, Ikeda, H.1, Matsuda, Y.1 |
| Source: | Science (pre-March 2025). 1/28/2011, Vol. 331 Issue 6016, p439-442. 4p. |
| Subject Terms: | Fermions, Symmetry (Physics), Phase transitions, Transition temperature, Anisotropy, Rotational motion, Mathematical invariants |
| Abstract: | A second-order phase transition is characterized by spontaneous symmetry breaking. The nature of the broken symmetry in the so-called "hidden-order" phase transition in the heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2, at transition temperature Th = 17.5 K, has posed a long-standing mystery. We report the emergence of an in-plane anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility below Th, which breaks the four-fold rotational symmetry of the tetragonal URu2Si2. Two-fold oscillations in the magnetic torque under in-plane field rotation were sensitively detected in small pure crystals. Our findings suggest that the hidden-order phase is an electronic "nematic" phase, a translationally invariant metallic phase with spontaneous breaking of rotational symmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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