Breakdown of electron-pairs in the presence of an electric field of a superconducting ring

Abstract

The quantum dynamics of quasi-one-dimensional ring with varying electron filling factors is investigated in the presence of an external electric field. The system is modeled within a Hubbard Hamiltonian with attractive Coulomb correlation, which results in a superconducting ground state when away from half-filling. The electric field is induced by applying time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm flux in the perpendicular direction. To explore the non-equilibrium phenomena arising from the field, we adopt exact diagonalization and the Crank-Nicolson numerical method. With an increase in electric field strength, the electron pairs, a signature of the superconducting phase, start breaking and the system enters into a metallic phase. However, the strength of the electric field for this quantum phase transition depends on the electronic correlation. This phenomenon has been confirmed by flux-quantization of time-dependent current and pair correlation functions.