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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Intertwining bulk and surface: The case of UTe2

András L. Szabó1,*,† and Aline Ramires2,‡,§

  • 1Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2Laboratory for Theoretical and Computational Physics, PSI Center for Scientific Computing, Theory, and Data, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland

  • *Present address: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
  • †Contact author: a.szabo@fkf.mpg.de
  • ‡Present address: Institute of Solid State Physics, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria.
  • §Contact author: aline.ramires@tuwien.ac.at
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L012038 – Published 11 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nbq1-5p1d

Abstract

UTe2 has been the focus of numerous experimental and theoretical studies in recent years, as it is recognized as one of the few odd-parity bulk superconductors. Its surface has also been probed, revealing charge density wave (CDW), pair density wave, and time-reversal symmetry breaking (TRSB). Here, we propose that the interplay between bulk and surface order parameters in UTe2 may be crucial in explaining its unusual surface properties. Through a phenomenological analysis, assuming a dominant CDW, we can account for three distinctive experimental signatures: (1) the apparent suppression of CDW order at the upper critical field of the bulk superconducting state; (2) the magnetic-field-induced imbalance of the Fourier peaks associated with the CDW; and (3) the onset of TRSB with bulk superconductivity and its field trainability. Furthermore, we propose specific experiments to validate our conjecture, which we believe could be promptly achieved.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L012038– Published 11 February, 2026
  • Received 22 April 2025
  • Accepted 28 December 2025
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