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A new study published in Physical Review Letters predicts that type-II superconductors, typically thought incapable of thermoelectric effects, can generate high-efficiency power by exploiting vortices and breaking particle-hole symmetry, thus offering promising applications in quantum technologies. A research team from CNR Nano and Chapman University has made an important discovery in quantum thermal management. Their latest study demonstrates that pure superconductors, traditionally considered poor candidates for thermoelectric effects, can exhibit a strong thermoelectric response. These findings challenge previous assumptions and open new possibilities for thermoelectric applications in quantum technologies. The team's work focuses on Abrikosov vortices, also known as fluxons, within type II superconductors. The team demonstrated that fluxons could create a localized region at the vortex centre where particle-hole symmetry is strongly broken in a moderate magnetic field. This results in an unexpectedly strong thermoelectric effect. The discovery could have significant implications for quantum technologies, where superconductors play a central role in emerging applications such as quantum computing and photon detection. The international team is composed of Francesco Giazotto and Alessandro Braggio, based at the NEST laboratory of CNR Nano and Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, and Andrew N. Jordan, Alok Nath Singh, and Bibek Bhandari from the Institute for Quantum Studies at Chapman University.