Stabilizing superconductivity in nanowires by coupling to dissipative environments

We present a theory for a finite-length superconducting nanowire coupled to an environment. We show that in the absence of dissipation quantum phase slips always destroy superconductivity, even at zero temperature. Dissipation stabilizes the superconducting phase. We apply this theory to explain the "antiproximity effect" recently seen by Tian et al. in zinc nanowires.