Direct real time measurement of quasiparticle lifetimes in a superconductor

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Abstract
A short laser pulse breaks Cooper pairs and photoexcites electrons in a superconducting film of niobium. As the quasiparticles recombine and rejoin the condensate, changes in the electrodynamic response of the sample are detected by a fast oscilloscope. The observed biexponential decay is consistent with a previous measurement. The fast recovery time is used to obtain the pair recombination time, which is in good agreement with theory.