Paramagnetic Meissner effect in superconductors from self-consistent solutions of Ginzburg-Landau equations

Abstract

The paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) is observed in small superconducting samples, and a number of controversial explanations of this effect are proposed, but there is as yet no clear understanding of its nature. In the present paper PME is considered on the base of the Ginzburg-Landau theory (GL). The one-dimensional solutions are obtained in a model case of a long superconducting cylinder for different cylinder radii R, the GL-parameters κand vorticities m. Acording to GL-theory, PME is caused by the presence of vortices inside the sample. The superconducting current flows around the vortex to screeen the vortex own field from the bulk of the sample. Another current flows at the boundary to screen the external field H from entering the sample. These screening currents flow in opposite directions and contribute with opposite signs to the total magnetic moment (or magnetization) of the sample. Depending on H, the total magnetization M may be either negative (diamagnetism), or positive (paramagnetism). A very complicated saw-like dependence M(H) (and other characteristics), which are obtained on the base of self-consistent solutions of the GL-equations, are discussed.