What holes in superconductors reveal about superconductivity

TL;DR

This paper investigates how holes in superconductors affect the Meissner effect, suggesting that conventional BCS theory lacks necessary physical elements to explain magnetic field expulsion, which is addressed by the hole superconductivity theory.

Contribution

It highlights the limitations of BCS theory in explaining the Meissner effect and advocates for the hole superconductivity theory as a more complete explanation.

Findings

Holes in superconductors influence the transition dynamics.

Conventional BCS theory omits key physical elements for magnetic expulsion.

Hole superconductivity theory provides new insights into the Meissner effect.

Abstract

We consider a type I superconducting body that contains one or more holes in its interior that undergoes a transition between normal and superconducting states in the presence of a magnetic field. We argue that unlike other thermodynamic systems that undergo first order phase transitions the system cannot reach its equilibrium thermodynamic state, and that this sheds new light on the physics of the Meissner effect. How the Meissner effect occurs has not been addressed within the conventional theory of superconductivity, BCS. The situation considered in this paper indicates that expulsion of magnetic field requires physical elements absent from Hamiltonians assumed to describe superconductors within BCS theory. These physical elements are essential components of the alternative theory of hole superconductivity.