Nonequilibrium Quasiparticle Effects on Domain Wall Dynamics in Superconductors

Abstract

We study the dynamics of a domain wall (DW) in a type-II superconductor connected to two heat reservoirs. We employ a generalized time-dependent Ginzburg--Landau framework in which the superconducting order parameter and the nonequilibrium quasiparticle distribution are treated as coupled dynamical variables. Within this framework, the effect of the thermal bias is imposed through boundary conditions on the quasiparticle distribution, which are set by the reservoir temperatures. We show, both numerically and within linear response, that the DW moves toward the hotter boundary. From the local momentum-balance relation implied by the model, we identify a viscous force and a force arising from the coupling between the order parameter and the nonequilibrium distribution function. The nonequilibrium distribution separates exactly into a boundary-driven part and a part generated by the motion of the DW itself. The former sets the sign of the DW velocity, whereas the latter renormalizes the relaxation of the order parameter. These results provide a microscopic basis for the phenomenological local-temperature description developed in our previous work.