Observation of Interactions between Two Superconducting Phase-Slip Centers

A superconducting microbridge has been used as a probe to detect quasiparticle diffusion currents and "heating", produced by a phase-slip center (PSC) in a second microbridge. The critical current of the detector is modulated by the voltage $V_{\mathrm{PSC}}$ across the PSC. This modulation provides a measure of quasiparticle current $I_Q$ thru the PSC and gives $I_Q=\frac{V_{\mathrm{PSC}}}{R_D}$ for low voltages, $R_D$ being the high-current differential resistance of the PSC.