Physics – Condensed Matter – Superconductivity
Scientific paper
2007-09-25
Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 207001 (2008)
Physics
Condensed Matter
Superconductivity
5 pages, 4 figures
Scientific paper
10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.207001
Hysteresis in the current-voltage characteristic in a superconducting nanowire reflects an underlying bistability. As the current is ramped up repeatedly, the state switches from a superconductive to a resistive one, doing so at random current values below the equilibrium critical current. Can a single phase-slip event somewhere along the wire--during which the order-parameter fluctuates to zero--induce such switching, via the local heating it causes? We address this and related issues by constructing a stochastic model for the time-evolution of the temperature in a nanowire whose ends are maintained at a fixed temperature. The model indicates that although, in general, several phase-slip events are necessary to induce switching, there is indeed a temperature- and current-range for which a single event is sufficient. It also indicates that the statistical distribution of switching currents initially broadens, as the temperature is reduced. Only at lower temperatures does this distribution show the narrowing with cooling naively expected for resistive fluctuations consisting of phase slips that are thermally activated.
Goldbart Paul M.
Pekker David
Shah Nayana
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