Symmetric and asymmetric vortex-antivortex molecules in a fourfold superconducting geometry

Phys Rev Lett. 2006 Sep 29;97(13):137002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.137002. Epub 2006 Sep 28.

Abstract

In submicron superconducting squares in a homogeneous magnetic field, Ginzburg-Landau theory may admit solutions of the vortex-antivortex type, conforming to the symmetry of the sample [L. F. Chibotaru, Nature (London) 408, 833 (2000)10.1038/35048521]. Here we show that these fascinating, but never experimentally observed states, can be enforced by artificial fourfold pinning, with their diagnostic features enhanced by orders of magnitude. The second-order nucleation of vortex-antivortex molecules can be driven by either temperature or an applied magnetic field, with stable asymmetric vortex-antivortex equilibria found on its path.