A superconducting "dripping faucet"

TL;DR

This paper investigates the chaotic dynamics of magnetic flux spots in a superconducting strip with a narrow channel, using real-time detection to analyze their motion and draw parallels with water droplet dripping.

Contribution

It introduces a high-bandwidth Hall probe for real-time flux detection and demonstrates chaos in flux spot motion, analogous to water drops, revealing new insights into superconducting flux dynamics.

Findings

Flux spots nucleate and move along the channel under current.

Chaotic behavior characterized by positive Lyapunov exponents.

Close analogy established between superconducting flux and water drop systems.

Abstract

When a current is applied to a type-I superconducting strip containing a narrow channel across its width, magnetic flux spots nucleate at the edge and are then driven along the channel by the current. These flux "drops" are reminiscent of water drops dripping from a faucet, a model system for studying low-dimensional chaos. We use a novel high-bandwidth Hall probe to detect in real time the motion of individual flux spots moving along the channel. Analyzing the time series consisting of the intervals between successive flux drops, we find distinct regions of chaotic behavior characterized by positive Lyapunov exponents, indicating that there is a close analogy between the dynamics of the superconducting and water drop systems.