Paramagnetic Reentrance Effect in NS Proximity Cylinders

Abstract

A scenario for the unusual paramagnetic reentrance behavior at ultra-low temperatures in Nb-Ag, Nb-Au, and Nb-Cu cylinders is presented. For the diamagnetic response down to temperatures of the order 15 mK, the standard theory (quasi-classical approximation) for superconductors appears to work very well, assuming that Ag, Au, and Cu remain in the normal state except for the proximity-induced superconductivity. Here it is proposed that these noble metals may become p-wave superconductors with a transition temperature of order 10 mK. Below this temperature, p-wave triplet superconductivity emerges around the periphery of the cylinder. The diamagnetic current flowing in the periphery is compensated by a quantized paramagnetic current in the opposite direction, thus providing a simple explanation for the observed increase in the susceptibility at ultra-low temperatures.

RevTex, 8 pages with 1 eps figure