1201.1859 (Andrew J. Kerman)

Flux-charge duality and quantum phase fluctuations in one-dimensional
superconductors    [PDF]

Andrew J. Kerman

It has long been thought that superconductivity breaks down in lower-dimensional systems due to enhanced quantum phase fluctuations. In 1D wires, these fluctuations are described in terms "quantum phase-slip" (QPS): tunneling of the superconducting order parameter between states whose relative phase differs by $\pm2\pi$. Although many phenomena observed experimentally in narrow superconducting wires over the last several decades have been attributed to QPS, such as anomalous resistive fluctuations and even a complete destruction of superconductivity in the narrowest wires, a clear and unifying understanding has not yet been achieved. In this article we present a new theory for QPS based on the idea that flux-charge duality, a classical symmetry of Maxwell's equations, relates the phase fluctuations associated with QPS to the well-known charge fluctuations associated with Josephson tunneling, at a microscopic level. This theory successfully explains many phenomena observed in experiments, and it may also provide a conceptual link to quantum phase fluctuations in 2D thin films.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.1859