Dynamics of stripe patterns in type-I superconductors subject to a rotating field

Abstract

The evolution of stripe patterns in type-I superconductors subject to a rotating in-plane magnetic field is investigated magneto-optically. The experimental results reveal a very rich and interesting behavior of the patterns. For small rotation angles, a small parallel displacement of the main part of the stripes and a co-rotation of their very ends is observed. For larger angles, small sideward protrusions develop, which then generate a zigzag instability, ultimately leading to a breaking of stripes into smaller segments. The short segments then start to co-rotate with the applied field although they lag behind by approximately $10^{\circ }$. Very interestingly, if the rotation is continued, also reconnection of segments into longer stripes takes place. These observations demonstrate the importance of pinning in type-I superconductors.

To appear in Phys. Rev. B

References in corpus (1)

• Numerical simulations of two dimensional magnetic domain patterns

Cited by in corpus (4)

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• Equilibrium intermediate-state patterns in a type-I superconducting slab in an arbitrarily oriented applied magnetic field
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• The role of temperature in the magnetic irreversibility of type-I Pb superconductors