The recent discovery of spin-triplet superconductivity emerging from a nonmagnetic parent state in ${\mathrm{UTe}}_2$ has stimulated great interest in the underlying mechanism of Cooper pairing. Experimental characterization of short-range electronic and magnetic correlations is vital to understanding these phenomena. Here we use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS), x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and atomic-multiplet-based modeling to shed light on the active debate between $5f^{2}6d^1$-based models with singlet crystal field states versus $5f^3$-based models that predict atomic Kramers doublets and much greater $5f$ itinerancy. The XAS and RIXS data are found to agree strongly with predictions for a $5f^{2}6d^1$-like valence electron configuration with weak intradimer magnetic correlations, and provide a context for interpreting recent investigations of the electronic structure and superconducting pairing mechanism.

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• Electronic structure
• Magnetic interactions
• Topological superconductors
• Heavy-fermion systems
• Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering
• X-ray absorption spectroscopy