1303.0466 (Nicholas P. Breznay et al.)

Observation of the ghost critical field for superconducting fluctuations
in a disordered TaN thin film    [PDF]

Nicholas P. Breznay, Aharon Kapitulnik

We experimentally study the ghost critical field (GCF), a magnetic field scale for the suppression of superconducting fluctuations, using Hall effect and magnetoresistance measurements on a disordered superconducting thin film near its transition temperature $T_c$. We observe an increase in the Hall effect with a maximum in field that tracks the upper critical field below $T_c$, vanishes near $T_c$, and returns to higher fields above $T_c$. Such a maximum has been observed in studies of the Nernst effect and identified as the GCF. Magnetoresistance measurements near $T_c$ indicate quenching of superconducting fluctuations, agree with established theoretical descriptions, and allow us to extract the GCF and other parameters. Above $T_c$ the Hall peak field is quantitatively distinct from the GCF, and we contrast this finding with ongoing studies of the Nernst effect and SCF in unconventional and thin-film superconductors.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.0466