Type-1.5 superconductivity in multiband systems: Magnetic response, broken symmetries and microscopic theory - A brief overview

A conventional superconductor is described by a single complex order parameter field which has two fundamental length scales, the magnetic field penetration depth lambda and the coherence length xi. Their ratio kappa determines the response of a superconductor to an external field, sorting them into two categories as follows; type-I when kappa < 1/root 2 and type-II when kappa > 1/root 2. We overview here multicomponent systems which can possess three or more fundamental length scales and allow a separate type-1.5 superconducting state when, e. g. in two-component case xi(1) < root 2 lambda < xi(2). In that state, as a consequence of the extra fundamental length scale, vortices attract one another at long range but repel at shorter ranges. As a consequence the system should form an additional Semi-Meissner state which properties we discuss below. In that state vortices form clusters in low magnetic fields. Inside the cluster one of the component is depleted and the superconductor-to-normal interface has negative energy. In contrast the current in second component is mostly concentrated on the cluster's boundary, making the energy of this interface positive. Here we briefly overview recent developments in Ginzburg-Landau and microscopic descriptions of this state. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.