  A new description is proposed for the low-field critical behavior of type-II
superconductors. The starting point is the Ginzburg-Landau theory in presence
of an external magnetic field H. A set of fictitious vortex variables and a
singular gauge transformation are used to rewrite a finite H Ginzburg-Landau
functional in terms of a complex scalar field of zero average vorticity. The
continuum limit of the transformed problem takes the form of an H = 0
Ginzburg-Landau functional for a charged field coupled to a fictitious `gauge'
potential which arises from long wavelength fluctuations in the background
liquid of field-induced vorticity. A possibility of a novel phase transition
involving zero vorticity degrees of freedom and formation of a uniform
condensate is suggested. A similarity to the superconducting [Higgs]
electrodynamics and the nematic-smectic-A transition in liquid crystals is
noted. The experimental situation is discussed.
