Phase slip statistics of a single isolated flux-biased superconducting ring

TL;DR

This paper investigates thermally-activated fluxoid state transitions in a superconducting ring, comparing experimental data with theory without free parameters, revealing qualitative agreement and discussing potential causes for discrepancies.

Contribution

It provides the first no-free-parameters comparison between experimental fluxoid transition data and theoretical predictions for a superconducting ring.

Findings

Qualitative agreement between data and theory over a wide temperature range

Identification of possible origins for discrepancies in the damping model

Detailed characterization of fluxoid transition statistics

Abstract

We describe measurements of the thermally-activated transitions between fluxoid states of a single isolated superconducting ring. We compare these measurements with theoretical predictions in which all of the relevant parameters are determined via independent characterization of the same ring. This no-free-parameters comparison shows qualitative agreement over a wide range of temperatures. We discuss possible origins for the remaining discrepancies between the data and theory, in particular the choice of model for the superconducting order parameter's damping.