Vorticity and magnetic shielding in a type-II superconductor

Abstract

We study in detail, solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations, the magnetic field, supercurrent and order parameter profiles originated by a solenoid or magnetic whisker inserted in a type-II superconductor. We consider solutions of different vorticities, n, in the various cases. The results confirm the connection between the vorticity, the internal currents and the boundstates in a self-consistent way. The number of boundstates is given by the vorticity of the phase of the gap function as in the case with no external solenoid. In the limiting case of an infinitely thin solenoid, like a Dirac string, the solution is qualitatively different. The quasiparticle spectrum and wave functions are a function of n-n_ext, where n_ext is the vorticity of the solenoid. The flux is in all cases determined by the vorticity of the gap function.