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Metastability and paramagnetism in superconducting mesoscopic disks
1Departamento de Fisica Teorica de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, Madrid 28049, Spain.
Physical Review Letters
|October 4, 2000
Summary
Researchers used a projected order parameter to study energy barriers in superconducting disks. They found that supercurrent can reverse flow direction before vortices escape, explaining observed metastability.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Superconductivity
- Materials Science
Background:
- Superconducting mesoscopic disks exhibit metastability.
- Understanding vortex dynamics is crucial for superconducting devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the energy barriers and local minima of the Ginzburg-Landau energy functional in superconducting mesoscopic disks.
- To explain the observed metastability in these systems.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a projected order parameter to calculate local minima and saddle points of the Ginzburg-Landau energy functional.
- Calculated local minima magnetization and identified energetic instability points between different vortex configurations.
Main Results:
- Identified energy barriers responsible for metastability in superconducting mesoscopic disks.
- Found energetic instability points between vortex configurations with varying vorticity.
- Demonstrated that supercurrent flow can reverse direction upon decreasing magnetic field before vortex escape, irrespective of vorticity.
Conclusions:
- The projected order parameter is effective for analyzing vortex configurations and metastability in superconducting disks.
- The study provides insights into the dynamic behavior of supercurrents and vortices in mesoscopic superconductors.
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