Paper detail

Gauge fluctuations and transition temperature for superconducting wires

We consider the Ginzburg-Landau model, confined in an infinitely long rectangular wire of cross-section $L_{1}\times L_{2}$. Our approach is based on the Gaussian effective potential in the transverse unitarity gauge, which allows to treat gauge contributions in a compact form. The contributions from the scalar self-interaction and from the gauge fluctuations are clearly identified. Using techniques from dimensional and $zeta$-function regularizations, modified by the confinement conditions, we investigate the critical temperature for a wire of transverse dimensions $L_1$, $L_2$. Taking the mass term in the form $m_{0}^2=a(T/T_0 - 1)$, where $T_0$ is the bulk transition temperature, we obtain equations for the critical temperature as a function of the $L_{i}'s$ and of $T_{0}$, and determine the limiting sizes sustaining the transition. A qualitative comparison with some experimental observations is done.