Searching for thermal signatures of persistent currents in normal metal rings

Germain Souche, Julien Huillery, H. Pothier, Philippe Gandit, Jerome I. Mars, Sergey Skipetrov, Olivier Bourgeois

Published 2013-01-18, updated 2013-03-18Version 2

We introduce a calorimetric approach to probe persistent currents in normal metal rings. The heat capacity of a large ensemble of silver rings is measured by nanocalorimetry under a varying magnetic field at different temperatures (60 mK, 100 mK and 150 mK). Periodic oscillations versus magnetic field are detected in the phase signal of the temperature oscillations, though not in the amplitude (both of them directly linked to the heat capacity). The period of these oscillations ($\Phi_0/2$, with $\Phi_0 = h/e$ the magnetic flux quantum) and their evolution with temperature are in agreement with theoretical predictions. In contrast, the amplitude of the corresponding heat capacity oscillations (several $k_{\mathrm{B}}$) is two orders of magnitude larger than predicted by theory.