Dynamics and thermal instability of magnetic flux in type-II superconductors

Abstract

In recent experiments, trapped magnetic flux is initially generated by abrupt laser heating of a strip of a type-II superconducting film subjected to a weak magnetic field. We study herein the nonequilibrium penetration of the flux into the Meissner state area. Effects of the heal dissipation and transport on the motion and stability of the interface between the magnetic flux and flux-free domains are considered. It is shown that the magnetic induction and the temperature have the form of a shock wave moving with constant velocity as large as that corresponding to the depairing current. In the vicinity of the front, superconductivity is suppressed by strong screening currents. The front velocity is determined by the Joule heat caused by the electric current in the normal domain at the flux front. The stability of the shock wave solution is investigated both analytically and numerically. For sufficiently small heat diffusion constant a finger shaped thermal instability is found.