title: Vortex distribution in a confining potential.
abstract: We study a model of interacting vortices in a type II superconductor. In the weak coupling limit, we constructed a mean-field theory which allows us to accurately calculate the vortex density distribution inside a confining potential. In the strong coupling limit, the correlations between the particles become important and the mean-field theory fails. Contrary to recent suggestions, this does not imply failure of the Boltzmann-Gibbs statistical mechanics, as we clearly demonstrate by comparing the results of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Caixa Postal 15051, CEP 91501-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Matheus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Girotto
authors.forename: Alexandre P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Levin