On the stability of the critical state with inhomogeneous temperature in composite superconductors

The problem of the thermal and magnetic destruction of the critical state in composite superconductors is investigated. The initial distributions of temperature and electromagnetic field are assumed to be essentially inhomogeneous. The limit of the thermomagnetic instability in quasi-stationary approximation is determined. The obtained integral criterion, unlike the analogous criterion for a homogeneous temperature profile, is shown to take into account the influence of any part of the superconductor on the threshold for critical-state instability. Received 11 October 2001 / Received in final form 30 November 2002 Published online 14 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: taylanov@iaph.tkt.uz