Weak Localization Effect in Superconductors by Radiation Damage

TL;DR

This paper investigates how radiation damage affects superconductors, showing that weak localization significantly reduces the transition temperature and alters electron-phonon interactions, with theoretical models fitting experimental data well.

Contribution

It applies the weak localization theory to explain radiation damage effects on superconductors, providing a unified understanding of $T_{c}$ reduction and resistivity changes.

Findings

Weak localization correction influences phonon-mediated interactions.

Good fit of theory to experimental data on $T_{c}$ and resistivity.

Universal correlation between $T_{c}$ and resistance ratio.

Abstract

Large reductions of the superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}$ and the accompanying loss of the thermal electrical resistivity (electron-phonon interaction) due to radiation damage have been observed for several A15 compounds, Chevrel phase and Ternary superconductors, and $\rm{NbSe_{2}}$ in the high fluence regime. We examine these behaviors based on the recent theory of weak localization effect in superconductors. We find a good fitting to the experimental data. In particular, weak localization correction to the phonon-mediated interaction is derived from the density correlation function. It is shown that weak localization has a strong influence on both the phonon-mediated interaction and the electron-phonon interaction, which leads to the universal correlation of $T_{c}$ and resistance ratio.