Instabilities and resistance fluctuations in thin accelerated superconducting rings

The nonequilibrium properties of a driven quasi-one-dimensional superconducting ring subjected to a constant electromotive force (emf) is studied. The emf accelerates the superconducting electrons until the critical current is reached and a dissipative phase slip occurs that lowers the current. The phase-slip phenomena is examined as a function of the strength of the emf, thermal noise, and normal state resistivity. Numerical and analytic methods are used to make detailed predictions for the magnitude of phase slips and subsequent dissipation.