Quantum Fluctuations and Dissipation in Thin Superconducting Wires

TL;DR

This paper studies quantum fluctuations in thin superconducting wires, showing quantum phase slips dominate at low temperatures, leading to a predicted superconductor-metal transition influenced by dissipation.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of quantum phase slips and dissipation effects, predicting a new quantum phase transition in wires around 10 nm thick.

Findings

Quantum phase slips dominate low-temperature behavior.

Dissipation influences the superconductor-metal transition.

Predicted phase transition for wires ~10 nm thick.

Abstract

We investigate quantum fluctuations in thin superconducting wires. We demonstrate that quantum phase slips dominate the system behavior at low temperatures and are well in the measurable range for sufficiently thin wires. We discuss the effect of dissipation, predict a new quantum superconductor-to-metal (insulator) phase transitions for wires with thicknesses in the 10-nm range, evaluate the resistance R(T) of such wires and compare our results with recent experimental findings.