Abstract
We present a microscopic study of the quantum fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter in thin homogeneous superconducting wires at all temperatures below . The rate of quantum phase-slip processes determines the resistance of the wire, which is observable in very thin wires, even at low temperatures. Furthermore, we predict a new low-temperature metallic phase below a critical wire thickness in the 10-nm range, in which quantum phase slips proliferate.
- Received 13 September 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.1552
©1997 American Physical Society