Theory and numerics for shape optimization in superconductivity

We consider a mathematical model for a thin superconducting film which is magnetically shielded by permanent magnets in order to improve the current carrying capability of the film. In a first part we study the behaviour of the magnetic field of the combined system, which is characterized via a boundary value problem for Laplace's equation for the quasi-scalar magnetic potential. In a second part we formulate and analyze a related geometric optimization problem that can be interpreted as a homogenization of the current distribution in the superconducting film by means of shape optimization for the magnet boundaries. We present a uniqueness and existence analysis for the boundary value problem based on boundary integral equations. The theoretical studies are complemented by a numerical approximation scheme for the potential, for which we prove exponential convergence rates under appropriate smoothness assumptions on the geometry. As central result for the geometric optimization problem we prove the differentiable dependence of the current distribution on the geometry, which also leads to an abstract existence result. Based on the differentiability result we derive two numerical schemes to realize the geometric optimization problem iteratively. The first approach relies on explicit parametrizations for the boundaries leading to a steepest descent scheme. The second approach uses level set methods which are based on an implicit boundary representation. The feasibility of both approaches is shown in a variety of examples. (orig.)