Orateur
Description
The behavior of superconducting materials in a magnetic field is well known (Meissner effect, Abrikosov vortices for instance). However, one might wonder how super-currents behave when they coexist with an electric field. The London theory predicts infinite velocity of the charge carriers, which is unphysical. This is a challenging problem of out-of-equilibrium behavior.
To observe this phenomenon, a sample can be polarized by applying a voltage gradient, thereby forcing it into a state that is neither completely superconducting nor completely normal. The sample structures itself into different domains, some of which are in an out-of-equilibrium intermediate state hosting both non-dissipative and dissipative currents. We discuss the dynamics of these states in an aluminum wire and identify a characteristic time related to their formation.