4,654 research outputs found
Metastability and paramagnetism in superconducting mesoscopic disks
A projected order parameter is used to calculate, not only local minima of
the Ginzburg-Landau energy functional, but also saddle points or energy
barriers responsible for the metastabilities observed in superconducting
mesoscopic disks (Geim et al. Nature {\bf 396}, 144 (1998)). We calculate the
local minima magnetization and find the energetic instability points between
vortex configurations with different vorticity. We also find that, for any
vorticity, the supercurrent can reverse its flow direction on decreasing the
magnetic field before one vortex can escape.Comment: Modified version as to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Nonlinear response of superparamagnets with finite damping: an analytical approach
The strongly damping-dependent nonlinear dynamical response of classical
superparamagnets is investigated by means of an analytical approach. Using
rigorous balance equations for the spin occupation numbers a simple approximate
expression is derived for the nonlinear susceptibility. The results are in good
agreement with those obtained from the exact (continued-fraction) solution of
the Fokker-Planck equation. The formula obtained could be of assistance in the
modelling of the experimental data and the determination of the damping
coefficient in superparamagnets.Comment: 7 PR pages, 2 figure
Evolution of small-scale magnetic elements in the vicinity of granular-size swirl convective motions
Advances in solar instrumentation have led to a widespread usage of time
series to study the dynamics of solar features, specially at small spatial
scales and at very fast cadences. Physical processes at such scales are
determinant as building blocks for many others occurring from the lower to the
upper layers of the solar atmosphere and beyond, ultimately for understanding
the bigger picture of solar activity. Ground-based (SST) and space-borne
(Hinode) high-resolution solar data are analyzed in a quiet Sun region
displaying negative polarity small-scale magnetic concentrations and a cluster
of bright points observed in G-band and Ca II H images. The studied region is
characterized by the presence of two small-scale convective vortex-type plasma
motions, one of which appears to be affecting the dynamics of both, magnetic
features and bright points in its vicinity and therefore the main target of our
investigations. We followed the evolution of bright points, intensity
variations at different atmospheric heights and magnetic evolution for a set of
interesting selected regions. A description of the evolution of the
photospheric plasma motions in the region nearby the convective vortex is
shown, as well as some plausible cases for convective collapse detected in
Stokes profiles.Comment: 9 figure
Vortex matter in superconducting mesoscopic disks: Structure, magnetization, and phase transitions
The dense vortex matter structure and associated magnetization are calculated
for type-II superconducting mesoscopic disks. The magnetization exhibits
generically first-order phase transitions as the number of vortices changes by
one and presents two well-defined regimes: A non-monotonous evolution of the
magnitude of the magnetization jumps signals the presence of a vortex glass
structure which is separated by a second-order phase transition at
from a condensed state of vortices (giant vortex) where the magnitude of the
jumps changes monotonously. We compare our results with Hall magnetometry
measurements by Geim et al. (Nature 390, 259 (1997)) and claim that the
magnetization exhibits clear traces of the presence of these vortex glass
states.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
An effective lowest Landau level treatment of demagnetization in superconducting mesoscopic disks
Demagnetization, which is inherently present in the magnetic response of
small finite-size superconductors, can be accounted for by an effective
within a two-dimensional lowest Landau level approximation of the
Ginzburg-Landau functional. We show this by comparing the equilibrium
magnetization of superconducting mesoscopic disks obtained from the numerical
solution of the three-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau equations with that obtained
in the ``effective'' LLL approximation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Vortex structure of thin mesoscopic disks in the presence of an inhomogeneous magnetic field
The vortex states in a thin mesoscopic disk are investigated within the
phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theory in the presence of different ''model''
magnetic field profiles with zero average field which may result from a
ferromagnetic disk or circulating currents in a loop near the superconductor.
We calculated the dependences of both the ground and metastable states on the
magnitude and shape of the magnetic field profile for different values of the
order parameter angular moment, i.e. the vorticity. The regions of existence of
the multi-vortex state and the giant vortex state are found. We analysed the
phase transitions between these states and studied the contribution from
ring-shaped vortices. A new transition between different multi-vortex
configurations as the ground state is found. Furthermore, we found a vortex
state consisting of a central giant vortex surrounded by a collection of
anti-vortices which are located in a ring around this giant vortex. The limit
to a disk with an infinite radius, i.e. a film, will also be discussed. We also
extended our results to ''real'' magnetic field profiles and to the case in
which an external homogeneous magnetic field is present.Comment: 17 pages, 23 figures. Submitted to PR
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