Using analytic and numerical techniques Nielsen-Olesen vortices, which in the context of Ginzburg-Landau theory are known as Abrikosov vortices of type-II superconductors, are studied for large Ginzburg-Landau parameter $\lambda$. We show that their energy is equal to $(\pi n^2/2)\log \lambda$ to leading order, where $n$ is the winding number of the vortex, and find that the limit of the gauge field can be expressed in terms of the modified Bessel function $K_1$. The leading terms of the asymptotic expansion of the solution are given, and the different contributions to the energy are analyzed.

• Received 15 October 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.82.125033