The effect of strain on the vortex structure and electromagnetic properties of a mesoscopic superconducting cylinder

The effect of strain on the vortex structure of a mesoscopic superconducting cylinder subjected to an externally applied magnetic field is investigated within the phenomenological Ginzburg–Landau (GL) theory for deformable superconductors. The lowest Landau level method is adopted in the analysis. By solving the linearized GL equation as an eigenvalue problem, fundamental solutions of the nonlinear GL equations are obtained. Taking a linear combination of the fundamental solutions and minimizing the system free energy, we have found the stable giant vortex and multi-vortex states, and the superconducting electron density distribution. The magnetization curve, the third critical field Hc3/coupling parameter and Hc3/cylinder radius phase diagram have also been illustrated. It is found that strain plays an important role in the vortex structure and magnetic properties of mesoscopic superconducting cylinders. (paper)