1994/11/01 by Raymond E. Goldstein, Goldstein, Raymond E., David Jackson +4
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Condensed Matter (cond-mat) #FOS: Physical sciences #High-pressure geophysics and materials #Pattern Formation and Solitons (nlin.PS) #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Theoretical and Computational Physics #cond-mat #nlin.PS #patt-sol
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.cond-mat/9411007
11 pages, 2 figs (available from authors), REVTex 3.0
arxiv created 1994/11/01 · openalex publication_date 1994/11/01 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A theory is developed of the intricately fingered patterns of flux domains observed in the intermediate state of thin type-I superconductors. The patterns are shown to arise from the competition between the long-range Biot-Savart interactions of the Meissner currents encircling each region and the superconducting-normal surface energy. The energy of a set of such domains is expressed as a nonlocal functional of the positions of their boundaries, and a simple gradient flow in configuration space yields branched flux domains qualitatively like those seen in experiment. Connections with pattern formation in amphiphilic monolayers and magnetic fluids are emphasized.