Rayleigh instability of confined vortex droplets in critical superconductors

Journal Article · Mon Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Nature Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/NPHYS3146· OSTI ID:1357008

Lukyanchuk, I.; Vinokur, V. M.; Rydh, A.; Xie, R.; Milošević, M. V.; Welp, U.; Zach, M.; Xiao, Z. L.; Crabtree, G. W.; Bending, S. J.; Peeters, F. M.; Kwok, W. K.

Depending on the Ginzburg-Landau material parameter , superconductors can either be fully diamagnetic if k < 1√2 (type I superconductors) or accommodate magnetic field in the form of Abrikosov vortices if k > 1√2 (type II superconductors).1,2 At Bogomolny critical point, k = kc = 1 √2, a state, infinitely degenerated with respect to vortex spatial configurations, arises.3,4 While conventional type I and type II superconductors are investigated in depth, a thorough understanding of magnetic behaviour in the near-Bogomolny critical regime at k ~ kc is still lacking. Here we report that in restricted systems the critical regime expands over a finite interval of k forming critical superconducting state. We show that in this state, in a sample with dimensions comparable with the vortex core size, vortices merge into a multi-quanta droplet, which undergoes Rayleigh instability5 upon increasing k and decays by emitting single vortices. Superconducting vortices materialize Nielsen-Olesen singular solutions of the Abelian Higgs model pervasive in phenomena ranging from quantum electrodynamics to cosmology.6,7,8,9 Our work, revealing transient dynamics of Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices in systems with boundaries, promises access to novel effects in quantum field theory via bench-top laboratory experiments.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science - Office of Basic Energy Sciences - Materials Sciences and Engineering Division
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1357008
• Journal Information: Nature Physics, Vol. 11, Issue 1; ISSN 1745-2473
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group (NPG)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English