Lorentz Contraction of Flux Quanta Observed in Experiments with Annular Josephson Tunnel Junctions

A. Laub; T. Doderer; S. G. Lachenmann; R. P. Huebener; V. A. Oboznov

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.75.1372

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Lorentz Contraction of Flux Quanta Observed in Experiments with Annular Josephson Tunnel Junctions

A. Laub, T. Doderer, S. G. Lachenmann, R. P. Huebener, V. A. Oboznov

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.75.1372 · Physical Review Letters

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Abstract

Vortices (magnetic flux quanta) in Josephson tunnel junctions can move at velocities near the propagation velocity of light in the junction, and they undergo the Lorentz contraction. In annular junctions, pairs of vortices and antivortices are created; these move in opposite directions and collide with each other. Using low-temperature scanning electron microscopy, we can visualize the collision region. We observe the contraction of the collision region with increasing vortex velocity. With the assumption that the length of the collision region is proportional to the length of the vortices, we can directly image the Lorentz contraction of magnetic flux quanta.

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Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
Nb Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
PbInAu Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown