Vortex pinning by inhomogeneities in type-II superconductors

S. J. Chapman & G. Richardson

The methods of formal matched asymptotics are used to examine the motion of a curvilinear vortex in an inhomogeneous type-II superconducting material in the limit as the vortex core radius tends to zero. The resulting law of motion indicates that the logarithm of the equilibrium density of the superconducting electrons acts as a pinning potential for the vortex, so that vortices will be attracted by impurities in the superconducting material.