Pinning and Vortex Dynamics in Superconductors

This series of lectures has for many years been delivered by Prof. Dr. Valerij A. Shklovskij at the V. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine, and by Privatdozent Dr. habil. Oleksandr V. Dobrovolskiy at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The lectures present the traditional as well as some novel aspects of the physics of pinning and the vortex dynamics in type II superconductors. In particular, along with the very basic concepts of vortex matter, the vortex guiding effect in the presence of a uniaxial periodic pinning potential is introduced. The collective-pinning scenario by Larkin and Ovchinnikov and the strong-pinning scenario by Labusch are outlined. The response of a superconductor to a high-frequency electro-magnetic field is discussed. The introduced concepts and results are relevant for both, the fundamental understanding of the fascinating phenomenon of superconductivity as well as for the development of superconducting electronic devices of the fluxonic type.