Stable vortex-antivortex molecules in mesoscopic superconducting triangles

Phys Rev Lett. 2003 Apr 11;90(14):147003. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.147003. Epub 2003 Apr 11.

Abstract

A thermodynamically stable vortex-antivortex pattern has been revealed in equilateral mesoscopic type I superconducting triangles, contrary to type II superconductors where similar patterns are unstable. The stable vortex-antivortex "molecule" appears due to the interplay between two factors: a repulsive vortex-antivortex interaction in type I superconductors and the vortex confinement in the mesoscopic triangle.