Convergence of the self-dual Ginzburg-Landau gradient flow

TL;DR

This paper proves the convergence of the self-dual Ginzburg-Landau gradient flow on a Riemann surface, demonstrating the utility of Bogomolny operators in evolution problems and identifying energy minimizers below the Bradlow limit.

Contribution

It introduces a direct proof of gradient flow convergence using Bogomolny operators and extends their utility from static to evolution problems in Ginzburg-Landau theory.

Findings

Proves convergence of the gradient flow in the self-dual case.

Identifies energy minimizers below the Bradlow limit.

Shows the effectiveness of Bogomolny structure in evolution problems.

Abstract

We prove convergence of the gradient flow of the Ginzburg-Landau energy functional on a Riemann surface in the self-dual Bogomolny case, in Coulomb gauge. The proof is direct and makes use of the associated nonlinear first order differential operators (the Bogomolny operators). One aim is to illustrate that the Bogomolny structure, which is known to be of great utility in the static elliptic case, can also be used effectively in evolution problems. We also identify the minimizers and minimum value of the energy when the Bogomolny bound is not achieved (below the Bradlow limit).