Relation between Vortex Excitation and Thermal Conductivity in Superconductors

TL;DR

This paper investigates how vortex excitations influence thermal conductivity in different types of superconductors using microscopic wave functions and linear response theory, revealing temperature-dependent spatial variations.

Contribution

It introduces a microscopic analysis of vortex-induced thermal conductivity variations in d-wave and s-wave superconductors, highlighting the spatially-resolved effects at various temperatures.

Findings

Thermal conductivity varies with magnetic field and temperature.

Spatial distribution of thermal conductivity around vortices differs between superconductor types.

Analysis links local density of states to thermal transport properties.

Abstract

Thermal conductivity $\kappa_{xx}(T)$ under a field is investigated in $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave superconductors and isotropic s-wave superconductors by the linear response theory, using a microscopic wave function of the vortex lattice states. To study the origin of the different field dependence of $\kappa_{xx}(T)$ between higher and lower temperature regions, we analyze the spatially-resolved thermal conductivity around a vortex at each temperature, which is related to the spectrum of the local density of states. We also discuss the electric conductivity in the same formulation for a comparison.