Inhomogeneous high temperature melting and decoupling of charge density waves in spin-triplet superconductor UTe2.

Charge, spin and Cooper-pair density waves have now been widely detected in exotic superconductors. Understanding how these density waves emerge - and become suppressed by external parameters - is a key research direction in condensed matter physics. Here we study the temperature and magnetic-field evolution of charge density waves in the rare spin-triplet superconductor candidate UTe2 using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy. We reveal that charge modulations composed of three different wave vectors gradually weaken in a spatially inhomogeneous manner, while persisting to surprisingly high temperatures of 10-12 K. We also reveal an unexpected decoupling of the three-component charge density wave state. Our observations match closely to the temperature scale potentially related to short-range magnetic correlations, providing a possible connection between density waves observed by surface probes and intrinsic bulk features. Importantly, charge density wave modulations become suppressed with magnetic field both below and above superconducting Tc in a comparable manner. Our work points towards an intimate connection between hidden magnetic correlations and the origin of the unusual charge density waves in UTe2.

Interplay between finite resources and a local defect in an asymmetric simple exclusion process.

When particle flux is regulated by multiple factors such as particle supply and varying transport rate, it is important to identify the respective dominant regimes. We extend the well-studied totally asymmetric simple exclusion model to investigate the interplay between a controlled entrance and a local defect site. The model mimics cellular transport phenomena where there is typically a finite particle pool and nonuniform moving rates due to biochemical kinetics. Our simulations reveal regions where, despite an increasing particle supply, the current remains constant while particles redistribute in the system. Exploiting a domain wall approach with mean-field approximation, we provide a theoretical ground for our findings. The results in steady-state current and density profiles provide quantitative insights into the regulation of the transcription and translation process in bacterial protein synthesis.