Quantum tunneling of the interfaces between normal-metal and superconducting regions of a type-I Pb superconductor

Authors

Eugene M. Chudnovsky, CUNY Lehman CollegeFollow
S Velez, Universitat de Barcelona
A Garcia-Santiago, Universitat de Barcelona
J A. Hernandez, Universitat de Barcelona

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

Evidence of a non-thermal magnetic relaxation in the intermediate state of a type-I superconducor is presented. It is attributed to quantum tunneling of interfaces separating normal and superconducting regions. Tunneling barriers are estimated and temperature of the crossover from thermal to quantum regime is obtained from Caldeira-Leggett theory. Comparison between theory and experiment points to tunneling of interface segments of size comparable to the coherence length, by steps of order one nanometer.

Comments

This work was originally published in Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, available at DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.064507.