Magnetic and Transport Properties of Type-II Superconductors: Numerical Modeling and Experiment

This review is devoted to various experimental and theoretical studies of the magnetic and transport properties of type-II superconductors. The main interest is in the study of the behavior of the vortex system, its dynamics, and interaction with pinning centers: defects. Two widely used methods of numerical simulation of a vortex system are considered here: Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics. The effects investigated by these methods, such as various phase transitions in the vortex lattice, its melting, and inverse crystallization, are described. The existing models of a layered anisotropic high-temperature superconductor in a magnetic field perpendicular and inclined with respect to the superconducting layers are considered. Methods, actively studied and applied in practice for improving the current-carrying characteristics of a superconductor by introducing various nano- and microscopic artificial defects, including those with ferromagnetic ordering, are described. Various effects observed in composite (including multilayer) ferromagnet–superconductor structures, which are still of interest, are considered.