On electric fields in low temperature superconductors

The manifestly Lorentz covariant Ginzburg-Landau equations coupled to Maxwell's equations are considered as a possible framework for the effective description of the interactions between low temperature superconductors and both magnetic and electric fields. A specific experimental set-up, involving a nanoscopic superconductor and only static applied fields whose geometry is, however, crucial, is described, which should allow us to confirm or invalidate the covariant model through the determination of the temperature dependence of the critical magnetic-electric field phase diagram and the identification of some distinctive features it should display. (author)