Magnetic vortices in the Abelian Higgs model with derivative interactions

Abstract

We study the properties of a single magnetic vortex and magnetic vortex lattices in a generalization of the Abelian Higgs model containing the simplest derivative interaction that preserves the [Formula: see text] gauge symmetry of the original model. The paper is motivated by the study of finite isospin chiral perturbation theory in a uniform, external magnetic field: since pions are Goldstone bosons of QCD (due to chiral symmetry breaking by the QCD vacuum), they interact through momentum-dependent terms. We find the asymptotic properties of single vortex solutions and compare them to the well-known solutions of the standard Abelian Higgs model. Furthermore, we study the vortex lattice solutions near the upper critical field using the method of “successive approximations,” which was originally used by Abrikosov in his seminal paper on type-II superconductors. We find the vortex lattice structure, which remains hexagonal as in the standard Abelian Higgs model, and condensation energy of the vortex lattices relative to the normal vacuum (in a uniform magnetic field).