Model for Magnetic Flux Patterns Induced by the Influence of In-Plane Magnetic Fields on Spatially Inhomogeneous Superconducting Interfaces of LaAlO3-SrTiO3 Bilayers

The effect of spatial inhomogeneity on the properties of a two-dimensional noncentrosymmetric superconductor in an in-plane magnetic field is investigated, as it can be realized in LaAlO3-SrTiO3 interfaces. We demonstrate that the spatial variation of Rashba spin-orbit coupling yields a local magnetic flux pattern due to the field-induced inhomogeneous helical phase. For sufficiently strong fields, vortices can nucleate at inhomogeneities of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.237007