Screening and topological order in thin superconducting films

Abstract

We derive an effective two-dimensional low-energy theory for thin superconducting films coupled to a three-dimensional fluctuating electromagnetic field. Using this theory we discuss plasma oscillations, interactions between charges and vortices and extract the energy of a vortex. Having found that the effective theory properly describes the long-distance physics, we then use it to investigate to what extent the superconducting film is a topologically ordered phase of matter.