The material UTe2 exhibits multiple forms of zero electrical resistance—a phenomenon known as superconductivity—and displays several puzzling properties. After UTe2 loses its superconductivity at a certain magnetic field, it becomes superconducting again under much higher fields.
Using a new high-field measurement technique, researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have explained this unusual superconducting behavior in a paper in Nature Communications. Their method is now being adopted at high-field laboratories worldwide.
Quantum materials exhibit exotic properties that make them relevant for next-generation technologies. While some scientists researching quantum materials seek to uncover specific properties for targeted applications, such as quantum computing, other researchers are curiosity-driven, searching for knowledge that hasn’t yet appeared in textbooks.