{
  "id": 9621151,
  "title": "Picosecond pulses push superconductors beyond their critical-current limit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/picosecond-pulses-push-superconductors-beyond-their-critical-current",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-24T20:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-picosecond-pulses-superconductors-critical-current.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "This report delves into groundbreaking research published in Nature Physics, where scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter have demonstrated that picosecond current pulses can surpass the conventional critical-current limit in type-II superconductors. Superconductors, which conduct electricity without resistance, have a maximum current capacity known as the critical current. In type-II superconductors, this critical current is influenced by the motion of vortices, tiny regions where magnetic flux penetrates the material. When the current is applied for extremely short durations—just a few picoseconds—the researchers were able to access the depairing current, an intrinsic limit that had previously been difficult to reach using standard continuous current measurements. This approach circumvents the usual vortex-induced dissipation by rapidly applying the current, allowing the superconducting condensate itself to be pushed closer to its intrinsic limit. The study utilized an ultrafast electrical-transport platform developed at MPSD, employing photoconductive switches activated by 300-femtosecond green laser pulses. The findings provide insights into the microscopic properties of superconductors, such as gap symmetry, which are not apparent through conventional direct-current (DC) transport measurements. This research opens new avenues for exploring and controlling superconductors on their intrinsic timescales, potentially impacting fields like optoelectronics and magnetic devices.",
  "summary": "Superconductors can carry electrical current without resistance, but only up to a maximum value known as the critical current. The critical current is a crucial figure of merit for applications, and materials science has long been focused on increasing this limit. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) have now shown that, in type-II…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}