Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands.
Phys Rev Lett. 2012 May 4;108(18):187002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.187002. Epub 2012 May 3.
Quantum phase slips are traditionally considered in diffusive superconducting wires which are assumed homogeneous. We present a definite estimate for the amplitude of phase slips that occur at a weak inhomogeneity in the wire where local resistivity is slightly increased. We model such a weak link as a general coherent conductor and show that the amplitude is dominated by the topological part of the action. We argue that such weak links occur naturally in apparently homogeneous wires and adjust the estimate to that case. The fabrication of an artificial weak link would localize phase slips and facilitate a better control of the phase-slip amplitude.
量子相位滑移传统上被认为发生在假设均匀的扩散超导导线上。我们对在导线上存在微弱不均匀性时发生的相位滑移幅度进行了明确的估计，其中局部电阻率略有增加。我们将这种弱连接建模为一般的相干导体，并表明幅度主要由作用的拓扑部分决定。我们认为，这种弱连接在明显均匀的导线上自然发生，并将该估计调整到这种情况。人工弱连接的制造将局部化相位滑移，并更便于控制相位滑移幅度。
