2019/04/08 by Ivan Sadovskyy, A. E. Koshelev, W. K. Kwok +2 · 1 voice
Physics and Astronomy · Engineering · #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Superconducting Materials and Applications #HVDC Systems and Fault Protection
paper · pdf · doi:10.1073/pnas.1817417116
openalex publication_date 2019/04/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The ability of type II superconductors to carry large amounts of current at high magnetic fields is a key requirement for future design innovations in high-field magnets for accelerators and compact fusion reactors, and largely depends on the vortex pinning landscape comprised of material defects. The complex interaction of vortices with defects that can be grown chemically, e.g., self-assembled nanoparticles and nanorods, or introduced by postsynthesis particle irradiation precludes a priori prediction of the critical current and can result in highly nontrivial effects on the critical current. Here, we borrow concepts from biological evolution to create a vortex pinning genome based on a genetic algorithm, naturally evolving the pinning landscape to accommodate vortex pinning and determine the best possible configuration of inclusions for two different scenarios: a natural evolution process initiating from a pristine system and one starting with preexisting defects to demonstrate the potential for a postprocessing approach to enhance critical currents. Furthermore, the presented approach is even more general and can be adapted to address various other targeted material optimization problems.