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Title: Distinct magnetic signatures of fractional vortex configurations in multiband superconductors

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4904010· OSTI ID:22395486
 [1]; ;  [2];  [3]
  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência dos Materiais, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Luiz Freire, s/n, 50670-901 Recife-PE (Brazil)
  2. Departement Fysica, Universiteit Antwerpen, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerpen (Belgium)
  3. Centro Atómico Bariloche, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro (Argentina)

Vortices carrying fractions of a flux quantum are predicted to exist in multiband superconductors, where vortex core can split between multiple band-specific components of the superconducting condensate. Using the two-component Ginzburg-Landau model, we examine such vortex configurations in a two-band superconducting slab in parallel magnetic field. The fractional vortices appear due to the band-selective vortex penetration caused by different thresholds for vortex entry within each band-condensate, and stabilize near the edges of the sample. We show that the resulting fractional vortex configurations leave distinct fingerprints in the static measurements of the magnetization, as well as in ac dynamic measurements of the magnetic susceptibility, both of which can be readily used for the detection of these fascinating vortex states in several existing multiband superconductors.

OSTI ID:
22395486
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 23; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English