Superheating fields of superconductors: Asymptotic analysis and numerical results

Andrew J. Dolgert; S. John Di Bartolo; Alan T. Dorsey

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.53.5650

← Back to search

Superheating fields of superconductors: Asymptotic analysis and numerical results

Andrew J. Dolgert, S. John Di Bartolo, Alan T. Dorsey

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.53.5650 · Physical Review B

T1

Active bibliographic source — not scientific approval

Bibliographic access preserves source history; it does not approve extracted materials or validate reported claims. Review warnings on each occurrence separately.

Abstract

The superheated Meissner state in type-I superconductors is studied both analytically and numerically within the framework of Ginzburg-Landau theory. Using the method of matched asymptotic expansions we have developed a systematic expansion for the solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equations in the limit of small κ, and have determined the maximum superheating field Hsh for the existence of the metastable, superheated Meissner state as an expansion in powers of κ1/2. Our numerical solutions of these equations agree quite well with the asymptotic solutions for κ<0.5. The same asymptotic methods are also used to study the stability of the solutions, as well as a modified version of the Ginzburg-Landau equations which incorporates nonlocal electrodynamics. Finally, we compare our numerical results for the superheating field for large κ against recent asymptotic results for large κ, and again find a close agreement. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of the method of matched asymptotic expansions for dealing with problems in inhomogeneous superconductivity involving boundary layers. © 1996 The American Physical Society.