Calculations in the 1970s suggested that it may actually be weakly first-order due to the effect of long-range fluctuations in the electromagnetic field. In the 1980s it was shown theoretically with the help of a disorder field theory, in which the vortex lines of the superconductor play a major role, that the transition is of second order within the type II regime and of first order (i.e., latent heat) within the type I regime, and that the two regions are separated by a tricritical point. The results were strongly supported by Monte Carlo computer simulations.
Calculations in the 1970s suggested that it may actually be weakly first-order due to the effect of long-range fluctuations in the electromagnetic field In the 1980s it was shown theoretically with the help of a disorder field theory in which the vortex lines of the superconductor play a major role that the transition is of second order within the type II regime and of first order (ie latent heat) within the type I regime and that the two regions are separated by a tricritical point The results were strongly supported by Monte Carlo computer simulations