Type-II superconductor

A superconductor that admits magnetic flux in quantized vortices between its lower and upper critical fields while retaining superconductivity.

Abrikosov vortex: A quantized magnetic-flux tube surrounded by circulating supercurrent in a type-II superconductor. These vortices carry the magnetic flux admitted between the critical fields.
Superconductivity: A state of matter with zero electrical resistance and distinctive magnetic-field behavior. Type-II superconductivity is one magnetic response within this broader phenomenon.
Alexei Abrikosov: A Soviet physicist who predicted the vortex state of type-II superconductors in 1957. His solution established the defining mixed state and earned the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Superconducting magnet: An electromagnet whose coils use superconducting wire to carry large currents with little electrical loss. Type-II wires remain superconducting in the intense fields required by many magnets.
High-temperature superconductivity: Superconductivity occurring at temperatures unusually high relative to conventional superconductors. Many high-temperature superconductors are type-II, yet their pairing mechanisms remain incompletely understood.
Ginzburg–Landau theory: A phenomenological theory describing superconductivity with a complex order parameter and free-energy functional. Its parameter determines whether magnetic flux penetrates through vortices or is expelled.
Meissner effect: The expulsion of magnetic fields from a material as it becomes superconducting. Type-II materials expel weak fields before admitting vortices above their lower critical field.
Vitaly Ginzburg: A Soviet theoretical physicist who helped develop Ginzburg–Landau theory of superconductivity. The theory he developed with Landau provided the framework for distinguishing superconductor types.
Critical current: The maximum current a superconducting material can carry before its superconducting state becomes unstable or dissipative. Vortex motion can create resistance once current-driven forces overcome pinning.
Cuprate superconductor: A copper-oxide material that becomes superconducting, often at comparatively high transition temperatures. Its strongly interacting electrons produce vortex and magnetic behavior beyond simple conventional models.

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SuperconductorBroader topic: Its broad magnetic-field range makes it suitable for high-field magnets.