Anomalous oscillatory magnetoresistance in superconducting transitions

Abstract

We have discovered an oscillatory magnetoresistance phenomenon in a wide range of superconducting systems, with a periodicity that is essentially independent of temperature, transport current, magnetic field, and even material parameters. The nearly universal period points to a possible fundamental mechanism deeper than superconductivity itself, and may result from intrinsic pair-breaking mechanisms at sub-atomic length scales.