Vortex Physics in High-Temperature Superconductors

The discovery of high-temperature superconductors has stimulated dramatic growth in our understanding of the physics of quantized vortex lines. These superconductors exclude magnetic fields weaker than a lower critical field Hc1≤10−2 tesla. Stronger fields penetrate as an array of vortices, each consisting of exactly one quantum of flux (φ0 = hc/2e) surrounded in the plane perpendicular to the field by circulating supercurrents that extend radially a few hundred nanometers. The behavior of vortices dominates many physical properties of high-temperature superconductors up to the upper critical field Hc2∼102 tesla, where superconductivity gives way to normal metallic behavior and magnetic fields penetrate uniformly.