Flux tube dynamics in the dual superconductor

Abstract

We study plasma oscillations in a flux tube of the dual superconductor model of 't Hooft and Mandelstam. A magnetic condensate is coupled to an electromagnetic field by its dual vector potential, and fixed electric charges set up a flux tube. An electrically charged fluid (a quark plasma) flows in the tube and screens the fixed charges via plasma oscillations. We investigate both Type I and Type II superconductors, with plasma frequencies both above and below the threshold for radiation into the Higgs vacuum. We find strong radiation of electric flux into the superconductor in all regimes, and argue that this invalidates the use of the simplest dual superconductor model for dynamical problems.