A new vortex state with non-uniform vorticity in superconducting mesoscopic rings

A study is presented of the superconducting states in mesoscopic rings. On the basis of self-consistent solution of the Ginzburg–Landau equations, a new kind of vortex states with non-uniform vorticity is found for some cases to be thermodynamically more stable, than the solution with unique winding number for the whole ring. There are indications that the solution with non-uniform vorticity concerns a metastable state of a superconducting mesoscopic ring.