Quantum Tunneling of Normal-Superconducting Interfaces in a Type-I Superconductor

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.

4 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (7)

• Creep and depinning in disordered media
• Vortex-glass phases in type-II superconductors
• Tunable Quantum Tunneling of Magnetic Domain Walls
• Tunneling of a Quantized Vortex: Roles of Pinning and Dissipation
• The Suprafroth (Superconducting Froth)
• Equilibrium topology of the intermediate state in type-I superconductors of different shapes
• Dynamics of stripe patterns in type-I superconductors subject to a rotating field

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Quantum depinning of the magnetic vortex core in micron-size permalloy disks
• Equilibrium intermediate-state patterns in a type-I superconducting slab in an arbitrarily oriented applied magnetic field
• Quantum dynamics of vortices in mesoscopic magnetic disks
• The role of temperature in the magnetic irreversibility of type-I Pb superconductors
• Magnetic field dependence of the quantum tunneling of normal-superconductor interfaces in a type-I Pb superconductor