Triangular superconducting array with a quarter of the flux quantum per plaquette

Seunghwan Kim; Sooyeul Lee; M. Y. Choi

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.46.1240

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Triangular superconducting array with a quarter of the flux quantum per plaquette

Seunghwan Kim, Sooyeul Lee, M. Y. Choi

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.46.1240 · Physical Review B

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Abstract

We investigate the phase transition in a triangular superconducting array with a quarter of the flux quantum per plaquette. The system has infinitely-degenerate ground states in addition to those associated with the U(1) symmetry. We study the system both in the mean-field limit, where it is equivalent to a tight-binding electron, and via the Monte Carlo method. It is found that the system exhibits a single phase transition the nature of which is vortex-antivortex unbinding. The existence of peculiar domain-wall-type excitations, which induce unbinding and thus lower the transition temperature, is also pointed out.