Fluctuation Mechanisms in Superconductors

Abstract

Thermodynamic fluctuations in superconductors have been studied for many decades because they influence basically all properties of a superconductor, e.g. conductivity, susceptibility and specific heat [1], and they allow deep insights into very basic aspects of the underlying physics of superconductivity [2–4]. Particularly in one- and twodimensional systems thermodynamic fluctuations play an important role leading to a rounding of the phase transition even in very clean and homogeneous samples. The resistivity of one- and two-dimensional superconductors is particularly well understood, and detailed theories exist allowing for an accurate description of many observed effects [5].