Increasing the critical current of superconductors has been a central scientific effort, but the fundamental understanding of critical currents near 0 K is lacking. Here, Doron et al. report that in disordered superconductors the critical current near 0 K is well explained by a thermal bi-stability where electrons thermally decouple from phonons in a discontinuous manner.
- A. Doron
- T. Levinson
- D. Shahar