Theory of domain-wall superconductivity in superconductor/ferromagnet bilayers

We analyze the enhancement of the superconducting critical temperature of superconducting/ferromagnetic bilayers due to the appearance of localized superconducting states in the vicinity of magnetic domain walls in the ferromagnet. We consider the case when the main mechanism of the superconductivity destruction via the proximity effect is the exchange field. We demonstrate that the influence of the domain walls on the superconducting properties of the bilayer may be quite strong if the domain-wall thickness is of the order of the superconducting coherence length.