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More than ten years have passed since the book of F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. H´ elein, which contributed largely to turning Ginzburg-Landau equations from a renowned physics model into a large PDE research ?eld, with an ever-increasing number of papers and research directions (the number of published mathematics papers on the subject is certainly in the several hundreds, and that of physics papers in the thousands). Having ourselves written a series of rather long and intricately - terdependent papers, and having taught several graduate courses and mini-courses on the subject, we felt the need for a more uni?ed and self-contained presentation. The opportunity came at the timely moment when Ha¨ ?m Brezis s- gested we should write this book. We would like to express our gratitude towards him for this suggestion and for encouraging us all along the way. As our writing progressed, we felt the need to simplify some proofs, improvesomeresults,aswellaspursuequestionsthatarosenaturallybut that we had not previously addressed. We hope that we have achieved a little bit of the original goal: to give a uni?ed presentation of our work with a mixture of both old and new results, and provide a source of reference for researchers and students in the ?eld.
List of contents
Physical Presentation of the Model-Critical Fields.- First Properties of Solutions to the Ginzburg-Landau Equations.- The Vortex-Balls Construction.- Coupling the Ball Construction to the Pohozaev Identity and Applications.- Jacobian Estimate.- The Obstacle Problem.- Higher Values of the Applied Field.- The Intermediate Regime.- The Case of a Bounded Number of Vortices.- Branches of Solutions.- Back to Global Minimization.- Asymptotics for Solutions.- A Guide to the Literature.- Open Problems.
Summary
This book presents the mathematical study of vortices of the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model, an important phenomenological model used to describe superconductivity. The Ginzburg-Landau functionals considered include both the model cases with and without a magnetic field. The text introduces the reader to essential mathematical techniques and tools for analyzing the Ginzburg-Landau functional, such as the Ball-Method and the Jacobian estimate. These methods are used to determine vortex locations and densities, asymptotic expansions of energy in terms of the vortices, and rigorously derived values of the critical fields. The book concludes with a discussion of convergence and the results obtained through both minimizing and nonminimizing solutions. The book acts a guide to the various branches of Ginzburg-Landau studies, provides context for the study of vortices, and presents a list of open problems in the field. It provides an introduction to the Ginzburg-Landau model, and discusses current research and results.
Additional text
"This book deals with the mathematical study of the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model with magnetic field. This important model was introduced by Ginzburg and Landau in the 1950s as a phenomenological model to describe superconductivity consisting in the complete loss of resistivity of certain metals and alloys at very low temperatures...All parts of this interesting book are clearly and rigorously written. A consistent bibliography is given and several open problems are detailed. This work has to be recommended."
—Zentralblatt MATH
"In conclusion, this book is an excellent, up-to-the-minute presentation of the current state of the mathematics of vortices in Ginzburg-Landau models. It also represents a tour de force of mathematical analysis, revealing a fascinating and intricate picture of a physical model which may have been unexpected based on heuristic considerations. I strongly recommend this book to researchers who are interested in vortices (andother quantized singularities) as these methods will continue to be instrumental in forthcoming research in the field. One could also find interesting material to supplement a graduate coursc in variational methods or PDEs."
—SIAM Review
Report
"This book deals with the mathematical study of the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model with magnetic field. This important model was introduced by Ginzburg and Landau in the 1950s as a phenomenological model to describe superconductivity consisting in the complete loss of resistivity of certain metals and alloys at very low temperatures...All parts of this interesting book are clearly and rigorously written. A consistent bibliography is given and several open problems are detailed. This work has to be recommended."
-Zentralblatt MATH
"In conclusion, this book is an excellent, up-to-the-minute presentation of the current state of the mathematics of vortices in Ginzburg-Landau models. It also represents a tour de force of mathematical analysis, revealing a fascinating and intricate picture of a physical model which may have been unexpected based on heuristic considerations. I strongly recommend this book to researchers who are interested in vortices (andother quantized singularities) as these methods will continue to be instrumental in forthcoming research in the field. One could also find interesting material to supplement a graduate coursc in variational methods or PDEs."
-SIAM Review
