Low-field instabilities in Nb3Sn multifilamentary wires:: the possible role of unreacted Nb

We report an experimental study aiming to demonstrate the not negligible role of unreacted Nb on the magnetic instabilities in superconducting Nb3Sn multifilamentary wires, observable through partial flux jumps at magnetic field values below 0.5 T. The analysed wires were recently developed for use as dipoles required in future high- energy proton accelerators and are based on powder- in-tube technology. We studied both unreacted (only involving Nb filaments) and reacted wires, finding flux jump instabilities in both cases when performing magnetic measurements. The results can be interpreted on the basis of the critical state model and are coherent with the intrinsic stability criterion.