Macroscopic Aharonov--Bohm Effect in Type-I Superconductors

2005/01/26 by Catrin Ellenberger, Florian Gebhard, Wolfgang Bestgen
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.supr-con #cond-mat.mes-hall

paper · pdf · doi:10.1209/epl/i2004-10369-0

published as Europhysics Letters 69, 431 (2005) · five pages, one figure

arxiv created 2005/01/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01

Abstract

In type-I superconducting cylinders bulk superconductivity is destroyed above the first critical current. Below the second critical current the `type-I mixed state' displays fluctuation superconductivity which contributes to the total current. A magnetic flux on the axis of the cylinder can change the second critical current by as much as 50 percent so that half a flux quantum can switch the cylinder from normal conduction to superconductivity: the Aharonov--Bohm effect manifests itself in macroscopically large resistance changes of the cylinder.

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