Method for detecting superconducting stripes in high-temperature superconductors based on nonlinear resistivity measurements.

We theoretically study the effect that stripelike superconducting inclusions would have on the nonlinear resistivity in single crystals. Even if the stripe orientation varies throughout the sample between two orthogonal directions due to twinning, we predict that there should be a universal dependence of the nonlinear resistivity on the angle between the applied current and the crystal axes. This prediction can be used to test the existence of superconducting stripes at and above the superconducting transition temperature in cuprate superconductors.