Vortex-antivortex nucleation in magnetically nanotextured superconductors: Magnetic-field-driven and thermal scenarios

Abstract

Within the Ginzburg-Landau formalism, we predict two novel mechanisms of vortex-antivortex nucleation in a magnetically nanostructured superconductor. Although counterintuitive, nucleation of vortex-antivortex pairs can be activated in a superconducting (SC) film covered by arrays of submicron ferromagnets (FMs) when exposed to an external homogeneous magnetic field. In another scenario, we predict the thermal induction of vortex-antivortex configurations in SC/FM samples. This phenomenon leads to a new type of Little-Parks oscillations of the FM magnetization-temperature phase boundary of the superconducting film.

4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letters