Hot-Electron Instability in Superconductors

Abstract

High flux velocities in a superconductor can distort the quasiparticle distribution function and elevate the electronic temperature. Close to T c , a non-thermal distribution function shrinks the vortex core producing the well-known Larkin-Ovchinnikov flux instability. In the present work we consider the opposite limit of low temperatures, where electron-electron scattering is more rapid than electron-phonon, resulting in an electronic temperature rise with a thermal-like distribution function. This produces a different kind of flux instability, due to a reduction in condensate and expansion of the vortex core. Measurements in YBCO films confirm the distinct predictions ofthis mechanism.