Clécio C. de Souza Silva

Controlled multiple reversals of a ratchet effect

A single particle confined in an asymmetric potential demonstrates an anticipated ratchet effect by drifting along the ‘easy’ ratchet direction when subjected to non-equilibrium fluctuations. This well-known effect can, however, be dramatically changed if the potential captures several interacting particles. Here we demonstrate that the inter-particle interactions in a chain of repelling particles captured by a ratchet potential can, in a controllable way, lead to multiple drift reversals, with the drift sign alternating from positive to negative as the number of particles per ratchet period changes from odd to even. To demonstrate experimentally the validity of this very general prediction, we performed transport measurements on a.c.-driven vortices trapped in a superconductor by an array of nanometre-scale asymmetric traps. We found that the direction of the vortex drift does undergo multiple reversals as the vortex density is increased, in excellent agreement with the model predictions. This drastic change in the drift behaviour between single- and multi-particle systems can shed some light on the different behaviour of ratchets and biomembranes in two drift regimes: diluted (single particles) and concentrated (interacting particles).

Vortex ratchet effects in films with a periodic array of antidots

The vortex ratchet effect has been studied in Al films patterned with square arrays of submicron antidots. We have investigated the transport properties of two sets of samples: (i) asymmetrical antidots where vortices are driven by an unbiased ac current, and (ii) symmetrical antidots where in addition to the ac drive a dc bias was used. For each sample, the rectified (dc) voltage is measured as a function of drive amplitude and frequency, magnetic field, and temperature. As unambiguously shown by our data, the voltage rectification in the asymmetric antidots is induced by the intrinsic asymmetry in the pinning potential created by the antidots, whereas the rectification in the symmetric antidots is induced by the dc bias. In addition, the experiments reveal interesting collective phenomena in the vortex ratchet effect. At fields below the first matching field (

Stability of fractional vortex states in a two-band mesoscopic superconductor

H_1

Reversible transport of interacting Brownian ratchets.

), the dc voltage--ac drive characteristics present two rectification peaks, which is interpreted as an interplay between the one-dimensional motion of weakly pinned incommensurate vortex rows and the two-dimensional motion of the whole vortex lattice. We also discuss the different dynamical regimes controlling the motion of interstitial and trapped vortices at fields slightly higher than

Vortex configurations and metastability in mesoscopic superconductors

H_1

Vortices in superconducting strips: interplay between surface effects and the pinning landscape

and their implications for the vortex ratchet effect.

Vortex density waves and negative absolute resistance in patterned superconductors

We investigate the stability of noncomposite fractional vortex states in a mesoscopic two-band superconductor within the two-component Ginzburg-Landau model. Our analysis explicitly takes into account the relationship between the model parameters and microscopic material parameters, such as partial density of states, fermi velocities and elements of the electron-phonon coupling matrix. We have found that states with different phase winding number in each band (L1 not equal to L2) and fractional flux can exist in many different configurations, including rather unconventional ones where the dominating band carries larger winding number and states where |L1-L2| > 1. We present a detailed analysis of the stability of the observed vortex structures with respect to changing the microscopic parameters, showing that, in the weak coupling case, fractional vortex states can be assessed in essentially the whole range of temperatures and applied magnetic fields in which both bands are active. Finally, we propose an efficient way of increasing the range of parameters for which these fractional vortex states can be stabilized. In particular, our proposal allows for observation of fractional vortex structures in materials with stronger coupling, where those states are forbidden at a homogeneous field. This is accomplished with the help of the stray fields of a suitably prepared magnetic dot placed nearby the superconducting disk.

Transverse pinning and vortex displacement fluctuations of moving vortex lattices interacting with periodic pinning

The transport of interacting Brownian particles in a periodic asymmetric (ratchet) substrate is studied numerically. In a zero-temperature regime, the system behaves as a reversible step motor, undergoing multiple sign reversals of the particle current as any of the following parameters are varied: the pinning potential parameters, the particle occupation number, and the excitation amplitude. The reversals are induced by successive changes in the symmetry of the effective ratchet potential produced by the substrate and the fraction of particles which are effectively pinned. At high temperatures and low frequencies, thermal noise assists delocalization of the pinned particles, rendering the system to recover net motion along the gentler direction of the substrate potential. The joint effect of high temperature and high frequency, on the other hand, induces an additional current inversion, this time favoring motion along the direction where the ratchet potential is steeper. The dependence of these properties on the ratchet parameters and particle density is analyzed in detail.

Vortex dynamics in mesoscopic strips

Abstract The vortex dynamics in mesoscopic superconducting cylinders with rectangular cross section under an axially applied magnetic field is investigated in the multivortex London regime. The rectangles considered range from a square up to an infinite slab. The flux distribution and total flux carried by a vortex placed in an arbitrary position of the sample is calculated analytically by assuming Clems solution for the vortex core. The Bean–Livingston energy barrier is also analytically calculated in this framework. A Langevin algorithm simulates the flux penetration and dynamical evolution of the vortices as the external field is slowly cycled. The simulated magnetization process is governed by metastable states. The magnetization curves are hysteretic, with paramagnetic response in part of the downward branch, and present a series of peaks corresponding to the entry or expulsion of a single vortex. For elongated rectangles, the vortices arrange themselves into parallel vortex chains and an additional modulation of the magnetization, corresponding to creation or destruction of a vortex chain, comes out.

Numerical study of the anisotropic properties of vortex motion in superconducting films with a periodic lattice of deffects

Abstract Vortices in a narrow superconducting strip with a square array of pinning sites are studied. The interactions of vortices with other vortices and with external sources (applied magnetic field and transport current) are calculated via a screened Coulomb model. The edge barrier is taken into account and shown to have an important role on the system dynamics. Numerical simulations in this approach show that the field dependent magnetic moment presents peaks corresponding to history dependent configurations of the vortex lattice. Some effects of the edge barrier on the I – V characteristics are also reported.