Contents

Contents

Idea

By a vortex string one typically means a string-shaped soliton threading through a vortex-solution in a 4-dimensional gauge theory.

The original example are the magnetic flux tubes through the Abrikosov vortices seen in type II superconductors at critical values of the magnetic field. The idea to think of these as string-like dynamical objects in themselves, much as in string theory, is due to Nielsen-Olesen 73, hence one also speaks of Nielsen-Oleson vortices or Nielsen-Olesen strings.

More generally, such string-shaped vortices are considered in Yang-Mills theories with non-abelian gauge group (see e.g. Tong 09).

References

In electromagnetism

Vortex strings were originally considered in the abelian gauge theory of electromagnetism as Abrikosov vortices in type II superconductors.

• Alexei Abrikosov, On the Magnetic properties of superconductors of the second group, Sov. Phys. JETP 5 (1957) 1174-1182, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 32 (1957) 1442-1452 (spire:9138)

The idea that these vortex flux tube could be thought of as dynamical strings much as in string theory is due to: