We theoretically study the nonequilibrium dynamics of the order parameter of a superconducting ring inhomogeneously quenched through its transition temperature. Numerical simulations based on spectral decomposition of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation reveal that current-carrying superconducting states can be generated in the ring under certain fast local temperature quench conditions. We also show that illumination of the ring with a circularly polarized electromagnetic radiation during rapid cooling strongly promotes the generation of current-carrying states with rotation directions controlled by the helicity of the radiation field.

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• Polarization of light
• Superconducting fluctuations
• Superconducting phase transition
• Thermoelectric effects
• Nonequilibrium systems
• Thin films
• Methods in superconductivity
• Optical absorption spectroscopy