Moment of inertia of superconductors

Abstract

We find that the bulk moment of inertia per unit volume of a metal becoming superconducting increases by the amount me/(πrc), with me the bare electron mass and rc=e2/mec2 the classical electron radius. This is because superfluid electrons acquire an intrinsic moment of inertia me(2λL)2, with λL the London penetration depth. As a consequence, we predict that when a rotating long cylinder becomes superconducting its angular velocity does not change, contrary to the prediction of conventional BCS-London theory that it will rotate faster. We explain the dynamics of magnetic field generation when a rotating normal metal becomes superconducting.