Universal upper bound for the entropy of superconducting vortices and the quantum Nernst effect

Abstract

We show that the entropy per quantum vortex per layer in superconductors in external magnetic fields is bounded by the universal value kBln 2, which explains puzzling results of recent experiments on the Nernst effect. The observed plateau of the Nernst signal as a function of the magnetic field is correspondingly attributed to a manifestation of the integer quantum Nernst effect.