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arXiv · 0912.4125

Stable fractional flux vortices in mesoscopic superconductors

L. F. Chibotaru·V. H. Dao
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Abstract

Conventional superconductors have vortices carrying integer multiples of magnetic flux quantum while unconventional ones, with p- or d-wave order parameter, allow half-integer fluxes. Here we show that mesoscopic size effects stabilize fractional flux vortices in the thermodynamical ground state of s-wave two-gap superconductors. The value of these fluxes can be an arbitrary fraction of flux quantum and can be measured directly from distributions of magnetic fields on the samples.

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L. F. Chibotaru, V. H. Dao. 2009-12-21. Stable fractional flux vortices in mesoscopic superconductors. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.81.020502

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