Strange quark mass turns magnetic domain walls into multi-winding flux tubes

Evans, Geraint W. and Schmitt, Andreas (2021) Strange quark mass turns magnetic domain walls into multi-winding flux tubes. Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics, 24, [035002]. (doi:10.1088/1361-6471/abcb9d).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Dense quark matter is expected to behave as a type-II superconductor at strong coupling. It was previously shown that if the strange quark mass ms is neglected, magnetic domain walls in the so-called 2SC phase are the energetically preferred magnetic defects in a certain parameter region. Computing the flux tube profiles and associated free energies within a Ginzburg–Landau approach, we find a cascade of multi-winding flux tubes as 'remnants' of the domain wall when ms is increased. These flux tubes exhibit an unconventional ring-like structure of the magnetic field. We show that flux tubes with winding numbers larger than one survive for values of ms up to about 20% of the quark chemical potential. This makes them unlikely to play a significant role in compact stars, but they may appear in the QCD phase diagram in the presence of an external magnetic field.

Text

Strange quark mass turns magnetic domain walls into multi-winding flux tubes - Accepted Manuscript

Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB)

Text

Evans_2021_J._Phys._G__Nucl._Part._Phys._48_035002 - Version of Record

Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB)