Detecting vortices in superconductors: Extracting one-dimensional topological singularities from a discretized complex scalar field
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Mathematics and Computer Science Division
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Materials Science Division
In type II superconductors, the dynamics of superconducting vortices determine their transport properties. In the Ginzburg-Landau theory, vortices correspond to topological defects in the complex order parameter. Extracting their precise positions and motion from discretized numerical simulation data is an important, but challenging, task. In the past, vortices have mostly been detected by analyzing the magnitude of the complex scalar field representing the order parameter and visualized by corresponding contour plots and isosurfaces. However, these methods, primarily used for small-scale simulations, blur the fine details of the vortices, scale poorly to large-scale simulations, and do not easily enable isolating and tracking individual vortices. In this paper, we present a method for exactly finding the vortex core lines from a complex order parameter field. With this method, vortices can be easily described at a resolution even finer than the mesh itself. The precise determination of the vortex cores allows the interplay of the vortices inside a model superconductor to be visualized in higher resolution than has previously been possible. Finally, by representing the field as the set of vortices, this method also massively reduces the data footprint of the simulations and provides the data structures for further analysis and feature tracking.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1357455
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1180189
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, Vol. 91, Issue 2; ISSN 1539-3755
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Vortices in high-performance high-temperature superconductors
|
journal | September 2016 |
Strong-pinning regimes by spherical inclusions in anisotropic type-II superconductors
|
journal | November 2017 |
| Strong-pinning regimes by spherical inclusions in anisotropic type-II superconductors | text | January 2017 |
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