Anomalous metallic phase in tunable destructive superconductors
S. Vaitiekėnas, Peter Krogstrup, C. M. Marcus
Abstract
Multiply connected superconductors smaller than the coherence length show destructive superconductivity, characterized by reentrant quantum phase transitions driven by magnetic flux. We investigate the dependence of destructive superconductivity on flux, transverse magnetic field, temperature, and current in InAs nanowires with a surrounding epitaxial Al shell, finding excellent agreement with mean-field theory across multiple reentrant transitions. Near the crossover between destructive and nondestructive regimes, an anomalous metal phase is observed with temperature-independent resistance, controlled over two orders of magnitude by a millitesla-scale transverse magnetic field.
Topics & Concepts
Condensed matter physicsSuperconductivityMagnetic fieldCoherence lengthPhase (matter)Superconducting coherence lengthCoherence (philosophical gambling strategy)Materials scienceNanowireReentrancyFerromagnetismPhysicsNanotechnologyQuantum mechanicsPhysics of Superconductivity and MagnetismQuantum and electron transport phenomenaSuperconductivity in MgB2 and Alloys