Dissipationless Counterflow Currents above T_{c} in Bilayer Superconductors

Phys Rev Lett. 2024 Mar 1;132(9):096002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.096002.

Abstract

We report the existence of dissipationless currents in bilayer superconductors above the critical temperature T_{c}, assuming that the superconducting phase transition is dominated by phase fluctuations. Using a semiclassical U(1) lattice gauge theory, we show that thermal fluctuations cause a transition from the superconducting state at low temperature to a resistive state above T_{c}, accompanied by the proliferation of unbound vortices. Remarkably, while the proliferation of vortex excitations causes dissipation of homogeneous in-plane currents, we find that counterflow currents, flowing in the opposite direction within a bilayer, remain dissipationless. The presence of a dissipationless current channel above T_{c} is attributed to the inhibition of vortex motion by local superconducting coherence within a single bilayer, in the presence of counterflow currents. Our theory presents a possible scenario for the pseudogap phase in bilayer cuprates.