We derive the exact modified London equation for the two-gap superconductor, compare it with its single-gap counterpart. We show that the vortices in the two-gap superconductor are soft (or continuous) core vortices. In particular, we discuss the topological structure of the finite energy vortices (Abrikosov-like vortices), and find that they can be viewed as the incarnation of the baby skyrmion stretched in the third direction. Besides, we point out that the knot soliton in the two-gap superconductor is the twisted Abrikosov-like vortex with its two periodic ends connected smoothly. The relation between the magnetic monopoles and the Abrikosov-like vortices is also discussed briefly.
We consider non-Abrikosov vortex solutions in liquid metallic hydrogen (LMH) in the framework of two-component Ginzburg-Landau model. We have shown that there are three types of non-Abrikosov vortices depending on chosen boundary conditions at the core of vortices, namely, Neumann (N)-type, Dirichlet (D)-type and Gross-Pitaevskii (GP)-type vortices. The Neumann-type vortex has a non-vanishing condensation at the core, that is different from the ordinary vortex, and the magnetic flux could be reversed as well in LMH. Furthermore, we have obtained a new type of a neutral vortex which has no magn…
We calculate the local density of states of a vortex in a two-dimensional s-wave superconductor, in the presence of a uniform applied supercurrent. The supercurrent induces changes in the electronic structure for the isolated vortex as well as the vortex lattice, which agree with the recent measurements in 2H-NbSe2 [Maldonado et al., Phys. Rev. B 88, 064518 (2013)]. We find that the supercurrent polarizes the core states when the vortices are pinned. This shows that the transfer of momentum from the supercurrent to the bound states and the rigidity of the wave functions must be considered for …
The voltage shift RfIc with respect to the flux flow ohmic behavior of the current-voltage characteristic in type II superconductors is ascribed to the irreversible processes occurring when a vortex crosses defects. We include irreversible effects of the vortices-defects interaction into an effective law of motion. The obtained current-voltage characteristic at finite temperature is in agreement with experimental data.
Within the framework of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory we show that circularly polarized THz or far-infrared radiation induces a dc supercurrent that influences the dynamics of vortex-antivortex pair formation in a mesoscopic superconductor undergoing rapid thermal quenching. The Lorentz force arising from the supercurrents promotes vortex-antivortex separation and allows survival of the vortex polarity defined by the helicity of light. Based on this idea, we propose a two-stage irradiation scheme that provides a powerful method for controlled all-optical generation of Abrikosov vor…
The self-energy of a moving vortex is shown do decrease with increasing velocity. The interaction energy of two parallel slowly moving vortices differs from the static case by a small term $\propto v^2$; the "slow" motion is defined as having the velocity $v<v_c =c^2/4πσλ$, where $σ(T)$ is conductivity of the normal excitations and $λ(T)$ is London penetration depth. For higher velocities, $v>v_c(T)$, the interaction energy of two vortices situated along the velocity direction is enhanced and along the perpendicular direction is suppressed compared to the static case.
We show that the strain-induced attraction between Abrikosov vortices has a non-core contribution overlooked up until now. This contribution is an example of the universal mechanism of soliton attraction in solids revealed in [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 66}, 14111 (2002)]. The resulting interaction energy is larger than that due to the vortex cores at least by a factor $\ln ^2 κ$. Consequently, the non-core contribution must be included, for instance, in discussions about the orientation of vortex lattices with respect to the crystal axes. It is shown to be also important when interpreting the thermal …
In systems combining type-II superconductivity and magnetism the non-stationary magnetic field of moving Abrikosov vortices may excite spin waves, or magnons. This effect leads to the appearance of an additional damping force acting on the vortices. By solving the London and Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equations we calculate the magnetic moment induced force acting on vortices in ferromagnetic superconductors and superconductor/ferromagnet superlattices. If the vortices are driven by a dc force, magnon generation due to the Cherenkov resonance starts as the vortex velocity exceeds some threshold v…
The electronic structure of a vortex line trapped by a planar defect in a type-II superconductor is analyzed within the Bogoliubov-de Gennes theory. The normal reflection of electrons and holes at the defect plane results in the topological transition in the spectrum and formation of a new type of quasiparticle states skipping or gliding along the defect. This topological transition appears to be a hallmark of the initial stage of the crossover from the Abrikosov to the Josephson vortex type revealing in the specific behavior of the quantized quasiparticle levels and density of states. The inc…
We study the spatial distribution of supercurrent circulated around an Abrikosov vortex in an SF bilayer in perpendicular magnetic field. Within the dirty limit regime and circular cell approximation for the vortex lattice, we derive the conditions when the Usadel equations the F layer can be solved analytically. Using the obtained solutions, we demonstrate the possibility of reversal of direction of proximity induced supercurrents around the vortex in the F layer compared to that in the S-layer. The direction of currents can be controlled either by varying transparency of the SF interface or …
Abrikosov vortices in altermagnetic superconductors
Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM-MPC) Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU（材料物理中心（CFM-MPC）CSIC-巴斯克国立大学混合中心）；Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC)（圣塞巴斯蒂安国际物理中心）
We show that low-angle grain boundaries (GB) in high-temperature superconductors exhibit intermediate Abrikosov vortices with Josephson cores, whose length $l$ along GB is smaller that the London penetration depth, but larger than the coherence length. We found an exact solution for a periodic vortex structure moving along GB in a magnetic field $H$ and calculated the flux flow resistivity $R_F(H)$, and the nonlinear voltage-current characteristics. The predicted $R_F(H)$ dependence describes well our experimental data on $7^{\circ}$ unirradiated and irradiated $YBa_2Cu_3O_7$ bicrystals, from …
We present a theoretical and experimental study of the Fiske resonances in the current-voltage characteristics of "small" Josephson junctions with randomly distributed misaligned Abrikosov vortices. We obtained that in the presence of Abrikosov vortices the resonant interaction of electromagnetic waves, excited inside a junction, with the ac Josephson current manifests itself by Fiske steps in a current-voltage characteristics even in the absence of external magnetic field. We found that the voltage positions of the Fiske steps are determined by a junction size, but the Fiske step magnitudes d…
The interaction between a superconducting vortex or antivortex in a superconducting film and a magnetic dipole with in- or out-of-plane magnetization is investigated within the London approximation. The dependence of the interaction energy on the dipole-vortex distance and the film thickness is studied and analytical results are obtained in limiting cases. We show how the short range interaction with the magnetic dipole makes the co-existence of vortices and antivortices possible. Different configurations with vortices and antivortices are investigated.
We show that Abrikosov vortices moving towards the surface of a superconductor emit electromagnetic radiation into free space. The frequency distribution of the radiated intensity displays a pronounced maximum at microwave frequencies around v_x/lambda, where lambda is the magnetic penetration length. Coherent motion of a lattice of flux lines leads to constructive interference and increases the strength of the radiated power by a large factor.
We study the phase diagram of vortex matter in disordered type-II superconductors. We performed numerical simulations in the London Langevin approximation, using a new realistic representation of the disorder. At low magnetic fields we find a disentangled and dislocation free Bragg-glass regime. Increasing the field introduces disorder-driven entanglement in a discontinuous manner, leading to a vortex-glass phase, which subsequently melts into the vortex liquid. The obtained phase boundaries are in quantitative agreement with the experimental data.
Stable vortex states are studied in large superconducting thin disks (for numerical purposes we considered with radius R = 50 ξ). Configurations containing more than 700 vortices were obtained using two different approaches: the nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory and the London approximation. To obtain better agreement with results from the GL theory we generalized the London theory by including the spatial variation of the order parameter following Clem's ansatz. We find that configurations calculated in the London limit are also stable within the Ginzburg-Landau theory for up to ~ 230 vor…
The dissipative currents due to normal excitations are included in the London description. The resulting time dependent London equations are solved for a moving vortex and a moving vortex lattice. It is shown that the field distribution of a moving vortex looses it cylindrical symmetry, it experiences contraction which is stronger in the direction of the motion, than in the direction normal to the velocity $\bm v$. The London contribution of normal currents to dissipation is small relative to the Bardeen-Stephen core dissipation at small velocities, but approaches the latter at high velocities…
Equidistant resonance jumps in superconducting coplanar resonators driven by Abrikosov vortices
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology（莫斯科物理技术学院）；Institute for Physics of Microstructures, Russian Academy of Sciences（俄罗斯科学院微结构物理研究所）；Dukhov Research Institute of Automatics (VNIIA)（杜霍夫自动仪器科学研究院）
Electrodynamic phenomena related to vortices in superconductors have been studied since their prediction by Abrikosov, and seem to hold no fundamental mysteries. However, most of the effects are treated separately, with no guiding principle. We demonstrate that the relativistic vortex worldsheet in spacetime is the object that naturally conveys all electric and magnetic information, for which we obtain simple and concise equations. Breaking Lorentz invariance leads to down-to-earth Abrikosov vortices, and special limits of these equations include for instance dynamic Meissner screening and the…
Abrikosov fluxonics, a domain of science and engineering at the interface of superconductivity research and nanotechnology, is concerned with the study of properties and dynamics of Abrikosov vortices in nanopatterned superconductors, with particular focus on their confinement, manipulation, and exploitation for emerging functionalities. Vortex pinning, guided vortex motion, and the ratchet effect are three main fluxonic ``tools'' which allow for the dynamical (pinned or moving), the directional (angle-dependent), and the orientational (current polarity-sensitive) control over the fluxons, res…
We study the impact of the non-analytic reconstruction of vortex cores on static vortex structures in weakly coupled superfluids. We show that in rotating two-dimensional systems, the Abrikosov vortex lattice is unstable to vortex core deformation: Each zero of the wave function becomes a cut of finite length. The directors characterizing the orientations of the cuts are themselves ordered in superstructures due either to surface effects or to interaction with shear deformations of the lattice (spiral structure). Similar instability may be also observable in clean superconducting films.
It is shown that the order parameter $Δ$ induced in the normal part of superconductor-normal-superconductor proximity system is modulated in the magnetic field differently from vortices in bulk superconductors. Whereas $Δ$ turns zero at vortex centers, the magnetic structure of these vortices differs from that of Abrikosov's.
Here we report a study of vortex states in a thin superconducting film with a magnetic dot grown upon it by means of a method based on London-Maxwell equations. Vortices with single quantum flux ($Φ_0 = h c / 2 e$), giant vortices (vortices with multiple flux) as well as antivortices (vortices with negative vorticity) are taken into consideration. It turns out that giant vortices occur, when the dot's size is sufficiently smaller ($R \leq 4.5 ξ$) than the effective penetration depth $Λ$. In the case of a dot with sufficiently large size ($R \geq 6 ξ$), the vortices with single quantum flux dom…
We show that periodic lattice of Abrikosov vortices in chiral $p$ wave superconductor in general supports fermionic states with zero energy provided the intervortex distance is smaller than the critical one. The zero modes appear at the intersection with the Fermi level of electronic magnetic Bloch bands formed by the overlapping vortex core states. The Bloch bands are robust against lattice disorder induced by fluctuations of vortex positions and can transmit the energy flow across the lattice. The hallmark of zero modes on Bloch bands in electronic heat conductivity is discussed.
In superconductors penetrated by Abrikosov vortices the magnetic pressure and the inhomogeneous condensate density induce a deformation of the ionic lattice. We calculate how this deformation corrugates the surface of a semi-infinite sample. The effect of the surface dipole is included.
We take account of normal currents that emerge when vortices move. Moving Abrikosov vortices in the bulk and Pearl vortices in thin films are considered. Velocity dependent distributions of both normal and persistent currents are studied in the frame of time-dependent London equations. In thin films near the Pearl vortex core, these distributions are intriguing in particular.
Interactions between vortices in planar superconducting films and a point magnetic dipole placed outside the film, and the creation of vortices by the dipole, are studied in the London limit. The exact solution of London equations for films of arbritrary thickness with a generic distribution of vortex lines, curved or straight, is obtained by generalizing the results reported by the author and E.H. Brandt (Phys. Rev. B {\bf 61}, 6370 (2000)) for films without the dipole. From this solution the total energy of the vortex-dipole system is obtained as a functional of the vortex distribution. The …
Mass of Abrikosov vortices defied experimental observation for more than four decades. We demonstrate a method of its detection in high-temperature superconductors. Similarly to electrons, fluxons circulate in the direction given by the magnetic field, causing circular dichroism. We report the magneto-transmittance of a nearly optimally doped thin YBaCuO film, measured using circularly polarized submillimeter waves. The circular dichroism emerges in the superconducting state and increases with dropping temperature. Our results confirm the dominant role of quasiparticle states in the vortex cor…
Scanning $μ$SQUID force microscopy is used to study magnetic flux structures in single crystals of the layered spin triplet superconductor Sr$\_{2}$RuO$\_{4}$. Images of the magnetic flux configuration above the $\vec{a}\vec{b}$-face of the cleaved crystal are acquired, mostly after field-cooling the sample. For low applied magnetic fields, individual vortices are observed, each carrying a single quantum of flux. Above 1 gauss, coalescence of vortices is discovered. The coalescing vortices may indicate the presence of domains of a chiral order parameter. When the applied field is tilted from t…
By using the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory, we show that extremely diverse experimental data on flux-flow resistivity in multiband superconductors can be qualitatively explained by a composite nature of Abrikosov vortices consisting of elementary fractional vortices in different bands. In composite vortices, the ratio of a core size to electric field relaxation length is found to vary in wide limits depending on system parameters. As a result, the flux-flow magneto-resistance can strongly exceed the single-component Bardeen-Stephen estimation provided that moving vortices generate elec…
Magnetic flux structures in single crystals of the layered spin triplet superconductor Sr$\_{2}$RuO$\_{4}$ are studied by scanning micro SQUID Force microscopy. Vortex chains appear as the applied field is tilted along the in-plane direction of the superconductor. The vortex chains align along the direction of the in-plane component of the applied magnetic field. The decoration of in-plane vortices by crossing Abrikosov vortices is observed: two vortex orientations are apparent simultaneously, one along the layers and the other perpendicular to the layers. The crossing vortices appear preferen…
The intervortex interaction is investigated in very anisotropic layered superconductors in tilted magnetic field. In such a case, the crossing lattice of Abrikosov vortices (AVs) and Josephson vortices (JVs) appears. The interaction between pancakes vortices (PVs), forming the AVs, and JVs produces the deformation of the AV line. It is demonstrated that in the result of this deformation a long range attraction between AVs is induced. This phenomenon is responsible for the dense vortex chains formation. The vortex structure in weak perpendicular magnetic field is the vortex chain phase, while i…
Quantized magnetic vortices driven by electric current determine key electromagnetic properties of superconductors. While the dynamic behavior of slow vortices has been thoroughly investigated, the physics of ultrafast vortices under strong currents remains largely unexplored. Here we use a nanoscale scanning superconducting quantum interference device to image vortices penetrating into a superconducting Pb film at rates of tens of GHz and moving with velocities up to tens of km/s, which are not only much larger than the speed of sound but also exceed the pair-breaking speed limit of supercond…
Numerical calculations on a mesoscopic ring of a type II superconductor in the London limit suggest that an Abrikosov vortex can be trapped in such a structure above a critical magnetic field and generate a phase shift in the magnetoresistance oscillations. We prepared submicron-sized superconducting loops of single-crystal, type II superconductor NbSe$_2$ and measured magnetoresistance oscillations resulting from vortices crossing the loops. The free energy barrier for vortex crossing determines the crossing rate and is periodically modulated by the external magnetic flux threading the loop. …
We study the pinning of vortices in thin film superconductors by magnetic dots in the London approximation. A single dot is in general able to pin multiple field-induced vortices, up to a saturation number n_s, which can be much larger than one. However, the magnetic field of the dot also creates intrinsic vortices and anti-vortices, which must be accounted for. In a ferromagnetic dot array, the intrinsic anti-vortices are pinned only interstitially. Much stronger pinning effect is expected of an antiferromagnetic dot array. Possible realizations of various magnetic configurations are discusse…
We study the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen multi-vortices. Using a numerical code we are able to solve the vortex equations with winding number up to n=25,000. We can thus check the wall vortex conjecture previously made in hep-th/0507273 and hep-th/0507286. The numerical results show a remarkable agreement with the theoretical predictions.
We study force-free configurations of Abrikosov flux lines in the line-liquid and line-crystal limit, near the melting transition at H_m. We show that the condition for zero force configurations can be solved by appealing to the structure of chiral liquid crystalline phases.
We are going to analyze the nucleation of vortices in a thin mesoscopic superconducting disk. The Gibbs free energy from London model is formulated. This energy function, with an arbitrary configuration of vortices, is assoicated with the disk's size, applied magnetic field and finite temperature. Then, the optimal solution is obtained by differentiating with respect position r, for fixed applied field and temperature. We also investigate the stability of the different vortex states inside the disk and compare our results with those of other theoretical studies and with available experimental …
Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is known to play an important role in superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructures. Here we demonstrate that SOC results in the spontaneous generation of vortices in an \textit{s}-wave superconductor placed below a ferromagnetic metal with intrinsic or interfacial SOC. By using the generalized London and Ginzburg-Landau theories, we calculate the supercurrent amplitude in various types of S/F heterostructures at and below the superconducting critical temperature. In particular, we show that even in the limit of weak SOC, vortex-antivortex pairs are stabilized and that …
We demonstrate that, in contrast to the single-component Abrikosov vortex, in two-component superconductors vortex solutions with exponentially screened magnetic field exist only in exceptional cases: in the case of vortices carrying an integer number of flux quanta, and in a special parameter limit for half-quantum vortices. For all other parameters the vortex solutions have delocalized magnetic field with a slowly decaying tail. Furthermore, we demonstrate a new effect which is generic in two-component systems but has no counterpart in single-component systems: on exactly half of the paramet…
Unconventional mixed state in the nematic superconductor LiFeAs
CNR-SPIN（意大利国家研究委员会自旋物理研究所）；Division of Mathematics, University of Dundee（邓迪大学数学系）；Maxwell Institute, University of Edinburgh（爱丁堡大学麦克斯韦研究所）；School of Mathematics, University of Leeds（利兹大学数学学院）；Leibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, IFW-Dresden（德累斯顿IFW莱布尼茨固体与材料研究所）；PSI Center for Neutron and Muon Sciences CNM（瑞士保罗谢尔研究所中子与缪子科学中心）；Laboratorium für Festkörperphysik, ETH Zürich（苏黎世联邦理工学院凝聚态物理实验室）
The magnetic field $h_z$ of a moving Pearl vortex in a superconducting thin-film in $(x,y)$ plane is studied with the help of time-dependent London equation. It is found that for a vortex at the origin moving in $+x$ direction, $h_z(x,y)$ is suppressed in front of the vortex, $x>0$, and enhanced behind ($x<0$). The distribution asymmetry is proportional to the velocity and to the conductivity of normal quasiparticles. The vortex self-energy and the interaction of two moving vortices are evaluated.
Interaction between a Bloch wall in a ferrite-garnet film and a vortex in a superconductor is analyzed in the London approximation. Equilibrium distribution of vortices formed around the Bloch wall is calculated. The results agree quantitatively with magneto-optical experiment where an in-plane magnetized ferrite-garnet film placed on top of NbSe2 superconductor allows observation of individual vortices. In particular, our model can reproduce a counter-intuitive attraction observed between vortices and a Bloch wall having the opposite polarity. It is explained by magnetic charges appearing due…
Inspired by the seminal, ground-breaking work of Abrikosov in 1957, we developed a new approximation to the interaction between two widely separated superconducting vortices. In contrast with Abrikosov's, we take into account the finite size of the vortices and their internal magnetic profile. We consider the vortices to be embedded within a superconducting, infinitely long hollow cylinder, in order to simplify the symmetry and boundary conditions for the mathematical analysis. We study this system in the context of a magnetic Ginzburg-Landau functional theory, by solving for the magnetic fiel…
We overview several recent experimental and numerical observations, which are at odds with the Vortex Glass theory of the freezing of disordered vortex matter. To reinvestigate the issue, we performed numerical simulations of the overdamped London - Langevin model, and use finite size scaling to analyze the data. Upon approaching the transition the initial Vortex Glass type criticality is arrested at some crossover temperature. Below this temperature the timescales continue growing very quickly, consistent with the Vogel-Fulcher form, while the spatial correlation length xi stops exhibiting an…
The vortex system in a high-T_c superconductor has been studied numerically using the mapping to 2D bosons and the path-integral Monte Carlo method. We find a single first-order transition from an Abrikosov lattice to an entangled vortex liquid. The transition is characterized by an entropy jump dS = 0.4 k_B per vortex and layer (parameters for YBCO) and a Lindemann number c_L = 0.25. The increase in density at melting is given by dρ= 6.0*10^{-4} / λ(T)^2. The vortex liquid corresponds to a bosonic superfluid, with ρ_s = ρeven in the limit λ-> \infty.
The vibrational contribution $μ_{v}(H)$ to the dynamic magnetic permeability is calculated allowing for the spatial variation of the order parameter in the vortex cores. The behavior of calculated dependence $μ_{v}(H)$ is analyzed for the case when the vortices oscillate near their positions corresponding to the equilibrium vortex lattice. It is shown that taking into account the suppression of the order parameter in the vortex cores leads to appreciable difference in the behavior of $μ_{v}(H)$ as compared to the similar dependence obtained in the London approximation. The main reason of this …
We use analytic and numerical methods to analyze the dynamics of vortices following the quench of a Type-II superconductor under the application of an external magnetic field. In three dimensions, in the absence of a field, the spacing between vortices scales with time t with an exponent phi=0.414 +/- 0.01, In a thin sheet of superconductor, the scaling exponent is phi=0.294 +/- 0.01. When an external magnetic field h is applied, the vortices are confined with respect to the length scale of the Abrikosov lattice, leading to a crossover between the power-law scaling length scale and the lattice…
The coherent nonlinear dynamics of Abrikosov vortices in asymmetric pinning nanolandscapes is studied by theoretical modeling and combined microwave and dc electrical resistance measurements. The problem is considered on the basis of a single-vortex Langevin equation within the framework of a stochastic model of anisotropic pinning. When the distance over which Abrikosov vortices are driven during one half ac cycle coincides with one or a multiple of the nanostructure period, Shapiro steps appear in the current-voltage curves (CVCs) as a general feature of systems whose evolution in time can b…
The magnetic field of moving vortices in anisotropic superconductors is considered in the framework of time-dependent London approach. It is found that at distances large relative to the core size, the field may change sign that alludes to a non-trivial intervortex interaction which depends on the crystal anisotropy and on the speed and direction of motion. These effects are caused to the electric fields and corresponding normal currents which appear due to the moving vortex magnetic structure. We find that the motion related part of the magnetic field attenuates at large distances as $1/r^3$ …
