Vortex phase separation in mesoscopic superconductors
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: We demonstrate that in mesoscopic type II superconductors with the lateral size commensurate with London penetration depth, the ground state of vortices pinned by homogeneously distributed columnar defects can form a hierarchical nested domain structure. Each domain is characterized by an average number of vortices trapped at a single pinning site within a given domain. Our study marks a radical departure from the current understanding of the ground state in disordered macroscopic systems and provides an insight into the interplay between disorder, vortex-vortex interaction, and confinement within finite system size. The observed vortex phase segregation implies the existence of the soliton solution for the vortex density in the finite superconductors and establishes a new class of nonlinear systems that exhibit the soliton phenomenon.
SUBMITTER: Iaroshenko O
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3639453 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
ACCESS DATA