In superconductivity, a Pearl vortex is a vortex of supercurrent in a thin film of type-II superconductor, first described in 1964 by Judea Pearl. A Pearl vortex is similar to Abrikosov vortex except for its magnetic field profile which, due to the dominant air-metal interface, diverges sharply as 1/ r at short distances from the center, and decays slowly, like 1/ r 2 at long distances. Abrikosov's vortices, in comparison, have very short range interaction and diverge as l o g ( 1 / r ) near the center.
A transport current flowing through a superconducting film may cause these vortices to move with a constant velocity v proportional to, and perpendicular to the transport current. Because of their proximity to the surface, and their sharp field divergence at their centers, Pearl's vortices can actually be seen by a scanning SQUID microscope. The characteristic length governing the distribution of the magnetic field around the vortex center is given by the ratio Λ = 2 λ 2 / d , also known as "Pearl length," where d is the film thickness and λ is London penetration depth. Because this ratio can reach macroscopic dimensions (~1 mm) by making the film sufficiently thin, it can be measured relatively easy and used to estimate the density of superconducting electrons.
At distances shorter than the Pearl's length, vortices behave like a Coulomb gas (1/ r repulsive force).
