Superconductor-to-normal transition in finite nanowires

Gil Refael; Eugene Demler; Yuval Oreg

doi:10.1103/physrevb.79.094524

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arXiv · 0803.2515

Superconductor-to-normal transition in finite nanowires

Gil Refael·Eugene Demler·Yuval Oreg

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Abstract

In this paper we discuss the interplay of quantum fluctuations and dissipation in uniform superconducting nanowires. We consider a phenomenological model with superconducting and normal components, and a finite equilibration rate between these two-fluids. We find that phase-slip dipoles proliferate in the wire, and decouple the two-fluids within its bulk. This implies that the the normal fluid only couples to the superconductor fluid through the leads at the edges of the wire, and the {\it local} dissipation is unimportant. Therefore, while long wires have a superconductor-metal transition tuned by local properties of the superconducting fluid, short wires have a transition when the {\it total} resistance is $R_{total}=R_Q=h/4e^2$.

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Gil Refael, Eugene Demler, Yuval Oreg. 2008-03-18. Superconductor-to-normal transition in finite nanowires. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.79.094524

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