Kimberly Modic, PhD, an assistant professor at the institute, said researchers have long believed magnetism plays a huge role in unconventional superconductivity. \u201cBut the catch is that UTe2<\/a>\u00a0is not magnetic,\u201d she noted. \u201cSo, at first glance, it\u2019s not obvious why this material exhibits such a special superconducting state.\u201d<\/p>\n To understand how this unusual superconductivity emerges in UTe2, the scientists studied the material before reentrant superconductivity appeared under extreme magnetic fields. Using pulsed-field facilities, they exposed samples to rapid bursts of magnetism<\/a> reaching up to 60 Tesla within a tenth of a second.<\/p>\n Valeska Zambra, a PhD student and lead author of the study, said the team aimed to determine whether the magnetic fluctuations inside the material could explain the high-field superconductivity. They developed a method to probe the sample under extreme magnetic fields using a controlled mechanical \u201cwiggle.\u201d<\/p>\n The method in practice<\/p>\n Zambra said they placed the sample on a cantilever-like stick to manipulate and shake it inside the magnetic field. \u201cFrom the crystal\u2019s point of view, the shaking makes it look like the direction of the magnetic field oscillates in time, allowing for a fast check of the magnetization under that changing field.\u201d<\/p>\n This method allowed the researchers to access transverse magnetic susceptibility in previously unreachable conditions. This is how they found a region of strong transverse magnetic susceptibility in UTe2 that acts as the glue binding electrons together. It helped explain the high-field superconductivity.<\/p>\n The researchers said the work is not only important for understanding UTe2 itself, but also for opening new ways to study exotic quantum materials. Using samples smaller than a grain of salt, they were able to measure nearly defect-free pieces of UTe2. <\/p>\n They also developed techniques to fabricate and precisely integrate these tiny samples into the experiment. \u201cMeasuring small samples roughly as large as the thickness of a human hair is especially challenging, but this is precisely what our group specializes in,\u201d Modic highlighted.<\/p>\n High-field laboratories have already contacted the ISTA group to adopt the new measurement technique for their own experiments. Modic noted that UTe2 may exhibit a previously unknown type of superconductivity.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough other unconventional superconductors exist, UTe2\u00a0makes the word \u2018unconventional\u2019 almost sound like an understatement,\u201d she concluded in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Z1_b62d97.jpg\" "\\"Crystal")
UTe2\u00a0has a hidden zero-resistance state that appears at extremely high magnetic fields after the material loses its original superconductivity at lower fields.
Credit: ISTA<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Z2_2d9fcb.jpg\" "\\"Crystal")
Valeska Zambra, a PhD student and first study author inspecting a sample.
Credit: ISTA<\/a><\/p>\n