Fluctuation conductivity in superconductors in strong electric fields

Abstract

We study the effect of a strong electric field on the fluctuation conductivity within the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory for the case of arbitrary dimension. Our results are based on the analytical derivation of the velocity distribution law for the fluctuation Cooper pairs, from the Boltzmann equation. Special attention is drawn to the case of small nonlinearity of conductivity, which can be investigated experimentally. We obtain a general relation between the nonlinear conductivity and the temperature derivative of the linear Aslamazov-Larkin conductivity, applicable to any superconductor. For the important case of layered superconductors, we derive an analogous relation between the small nonlinear correction for the conductivity and the fluctuational magnetoconductivity. On the basis of these relations, we provide experimental methods for determining both the lifetime constant of metastable Cooper pairs above Tc and the coherence length. A systematic investigation of the third harmonic of the electric field generated by a harmonic current can serve as an alternative method for the examination of the metastable Cooper-pair relaxation time.

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