Magnetic flux quantum

The following physical equations use SI units. In CGS units, a factor of c would appear.

The superconducting properties in each point of the superconductor are described by the complex quantum mechanical wave function Ψ(r,t) — the superconducting order parameter. As any complex function Ψ can be written as Ψ = Ψ₀e^iθ, where Ψ₀ is the amplitude and θ is the phase. Changing the phase θ by 2πn will not change Ψ and, correspondingly, will not change any physical properties. However, in the superconductor of non-trivial topology, e.g. superconductor with the hole or superconducting loop/cylinder, the phase θ may continuously change from some value θ₀ to the value θ₀ + 2πn as one goes around the hole/loop and comes to the same starting point. If this is so, then one has n magnetic flux quanta trapped in the hole/loop,[8] as shown below:

Per minimal coupling, the current density of Cooper pairs in the superconductor is:

$${\displaystyle \mathbf {J} ={\frac {1}{2m}}\left[\left(\Psi ^{*}(-i\hbar \nabla )\Psi -\Psi (-i\hbar \nabla )\Psi ^{*}\right)-2q\mathbf {A} |\Psi |^{2}\right].}$$

where ${\displaystyle q=2e}$ is the charge of the Cooper pair. The wave function is the Ginzburg–Landau order parameter:

$${\displaystyle \Psi (\mathbf {r} )={\sqrt {\rho (\mathbf {r} )}}\,e^{i\theta (\mathbf {r} )}.}$$

Plugged into the expression of the current, one obtains:

$${\displaystyle \mathbf {J} ={\frac {\hbar }{m}}\left(\nabla {\theta }-{\frac {q}{\hbar }}\mathbf {A} \right)\rho .}$$

Inside the body of the superconductor, the current density J is zero, and therefore

$${\displaystyle \nabla {\theta }={\frac {q}{\hbar }}\mathbf {A} .}$$

Integrating around the hole/loop using Stokes' theorem and ${\displaystyle \nabla \times \mathbf {A} =B}$ gives:

$${\displaystyle \Phi _{B}=\oint \mathbf {A} \cdot d\mathbf {l} ={\frac {\hbar }{q}}\oint \nabla {\theta }\cdot d\mathbf {l} .}$$

Now, because the order parameter must return to the same value when the integral goes back to the same point, we have:[10]

$${\displaystyle \Phi _{B}={\frac {\hbar }{q}}2\pi ={\frac {h}{2e}}.}$$

Due to the Meissner effect, the magnetic induction B inside the superconductor is zero. More exactly, magnetic field H penetrates into a superconductor over a small distance called London's magnetic field penetration depth (denoted λ_L and usually ≈ 100 nm). The screening currents also flow in this λ_L-layer near the surface, creating magnetization M inside the superconductor, which perfectly compensates the applied field H, thus resulting in B = 0 inside the superconductor.

The magnetic flux frozen in a loop/hole (plus its λ_L-layer) will always be quantized. However, the value of the flux quantum is equal to Φ₀ only when the path/trajectory around the hole described above can be chosen so that it lays in the superconducting region without screening currents, i.e. several λ_L away from the surface. There are geometries where this condition cannot be satisfied, e.g. a loop made of very thin (≤ λ_L) superconducting wire or the cylinder with the similar wall thickness. In the latter case, the flux has a quantum different from Φ₀.

The flux quantization is a key idea behind a SQUID, which is one of the most sensitive magnetometers available.

Flux quantization also plays an important role in the physics of type II superconductors. When such a superconductor (now without any holes) is placed in a magnetic field with the strength between the first critical field H_c1 and the second critical field H_c2, the field partially penetrates into the superconductor in a form of Abrikosov vortices. The Abrikosov vortex consists of a normal core—a cylinder of the normal (non-superconducting) phase with a diameter on the order of the ξ, the superconducting coherence length. The normal core plays a role of a hole in the superconducting phase. The magnetic field lines pass along this normal core through the whole sample. The screening currents circulate in the λ_L-vicinity of the core and screen the rest of the superconductor from the magnetic field in the core. In total, each such Abrikosov vortex carries one quantum of magnetic flux Φ₀.

Prior to the 2019 redefinition of the SI base units, the magnetic flux quantum was measured with great precision by exploiting the Josephson effect. When coupled with the measurement of the von Klitzing constant R_K = h/e², this provided the most accurate values of Planck's constant h obtained until 2019. This may be counterintuitive, since h is generally associated with the behavior of microscopically small systems, whereas the quantization of magnetic flux in a superconductor and the quantum Hall effect are both emergent phenomena associated with thermodynamically large numbers of particles.

As a result of the 2019 redefinition of the SI base units, the Planck constant h has a fixed value ${\displaystyle h=}$ 6.62607015×10⁻³⁴ J⋅Hz⁻¹,[11] which, together with the definitions of the second and the metre, provides the official definition of the kilogram. Furthermore, the elementary charge also has a fixed value of e = 1.602176634×10⁻¹⁹ C[12] to define the ampere. Therefore, both the Josephson constant K_J = (2e)/h and the von Klitzing constant R_K = h/e² have fixed values, and the Josephson effect along with the von Klitzing quantum Hall effect becomes the primary mise en pratique[13] for the definition of the ampere and other electric units in the SI.

• Brian Josephson
• Committee on Data for Science and Technology
• Domain wall (magnetism)
• Flux pinning
• Ginzburg–Landau theory
• Husimi Q representation
• Macroscopic quantum phenomena
• Magnetic domain
• Magnetic monopole
• Quantum vortex
• Topological defect
• von Klitzing constant