455 research outputs found
Temperature dependence of the energy dissipation in dynamic force microscopy
The dissipation of energy in dynamic force microscopy is usually described in
terms of an adhesion hysteresis mechanism. This mechanism should become less
efficient with increasing temperature. To verify this prediction we have
measured topography and dissipation data with dynamic force microscopy in the
temperature range from 100 K up to 300 K. We used
3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic-dianhydride (PTCDA) grown on KBr(001), both
materials exhibiting a strong dissipation signal at large frequency shifts. At
room temperature, the energy dissipated into the sample (or tip) is 1.9
eV/cycle for PTCDA and 2.7 eV/cycle for KBr, respectively, and is in good
agreement with an adhesion hysteresis mechanism. The energy dissipation over
the PTCDA surface decreases with increasing temperature yielding a negative
temperature coefficient. For the KBr substrate, we find the opposite behaviour:
an increase of dissipated energy with increasing temperature. While the
negative temperature coefficient in case of PTCDA agrees rather well with the
adhesion hysteresis model, the positive slope found for KBr points to a
hitherto unknown dissipation mechanism
Simulation Studies on the Stability of the Vortex-Glass Order
The stability of the three-dimensional vortex-glass order in random type-II
superconductors with point disorder is investigated by equilibrium Monte Carlo
simulations based on a lattice XY model with a uniform field threading the
system. It is found that the vortex-glass order, which stably exists in the
absence of screening, is destroyed by the screenng effect, corroborating the
previous finding based on the spatially isotropic gauge-glass model. Estimated
critical exponents, however, deviate considerably from the values reported for
the gauge-glass model.Comment: Minor modifications made, a few referenced added; to appear in J.
Phys. Soc. Jpn. Vol.69 No.1 (2000
Critical Fluctuations and Disorder at the Vortex Liquid to Crystal Transition in Type-II Superconductors
We present a functional renormalization group (FRG) analysis of a
Landau-Ginzburg model of type-II superconductors (generalized to complex
fields) in a magnetic field, both for a pure system, and in the presence of
quenched random impurities. Our analysis is based on a previous FRG treatment
of the pure case [E.Br\'ezin et. al., Phys. Rev. B, {\bf 31}, 7124 (1985)]
which is an expansion in . If the coupling functions are
restricted to the space of functions with non-zero support only at reciprocal
lattice vectors corresponding to the Abrikosov lattice, we find a stable FRG
fixed point in the presence of disorder for , identical to that of the
disordered model in dimensions. The pure system has a stable fixed
point only for and so the physical case () is likely to have a
first order transition. We speculate that the recent experimental findings that
disorder removes the apparent first order transition are consistent with these
calculations.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, typeset using revtex (v3.0
Supercooling across first-order phase transitions in vortex matter
Hysteresis in cycling through first-order phase transitions in vortex matter,
akin to the well-studied phenomenon of supercooling of water, has been
discussed in literature. Hysteresis can be seen while varying either
temperature T or magnetic field H (and thus the density of vortices). Our
recent work on phase transitions with two control variables shows that the
observable region of metastability of the supercooled phase would depend on the
path followed in H-T space, and will be larger when T is lowered at constant H
compared to the case when H is lowered at constant T. We discuss the effect of
isothermal field variations on metastable supercooled states produced by
field-cooling. This path dependence is not a priori applicable to metastability
caused by reduced diffusivity or hindered kinetics.Comment: Tex, 8 pages, 3 Postscripts figures. Submitted to Pramana - J.
Physic
Is there a Phase Transition to the Flux Lattice State?
The sharp drops in the resistance and magnetization which are usually
attributed to a phase transition from the vortex liquid state to a crystal
state are explained instead as a crossover between three and two dimensional
behavior, which occurs when the phase coherence length in the liquid becomes
comparable to the sample thickness. Estimates of the width of the crossover
region and the phase coherence length scales are in agreement with experiment.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe
Effect of disorder on the vortex-lattice melting transition
We use a three dimensional stacked triangular network of Josephson junctions
as a model for the study of vortex structure in the mixed state of high Tc
superconductors. We show that the addition of disorder destroys the first order
melting transition occurring for clean samples. The melting transition splits
in two different (continuous) transitions, ocurring at temperatures Ti and Tp
(>Ti). At Ti the perpendicular-to-field superconductivity is lost, and at Tp
the parallel-to-field superconductivity is lost. These results agree well with
recent experiments in YBaCuO.Comment: 4 pages + 2 figure
Hall Anomaly and Vortex-Lattice Melting in Superconducting Single Crystal YBa2Cu3O7-d
Sub-nanovolt resolution longitudinal and Hall voltages are measured in an
ultra pure YBa2Cu3O7-d single crystal. The Hall anomaly and the first-order
vortex-lattice melting transition are observed simultaneously. Changes in the
dynamic behavior of the vortex solid and liquid are correlated with features of
the Hall conductivity sxy. With the magnetic field oriented at an angle from
the twin-boundaries, the Hall conductivity sharply decreases toward large
negative values at the vortex-lattice melting transition.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures included, Postscript, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
The phase diagram of high-Tc's: Influence of anisotropy and disorder
We propose a phase diagram for the vortex structure of high temperature
superconductors which incorporates the effects of anisotropy and disorder. It
is based on numerical simulations using the three-dimensional Josephson
junction array model. We support the results with an estimation of the internal
energy and configurational entropy of the system. Our results give a unified
picture of the behavior of the vortex lattice, covering from the very
anysotropic BiSrCaCuO to the less anisotropic YBaCuO, and from the first order
melting ocurring in clean samples to the continuous transitions observed in
samples with defects.Comment: 8 pages with 7 figure
Longitudinal Current Dissipation in Bose-glass Superconductors
A scaling theory of vortex motion in Bose glass superconductors with currents
parallel to the common direction of the magnetic field and columnar defects is
presented. Above the Bose-glass transition the longitudinal DC resistivity
vanishes much faster than the
corresponding transverse resistivity , thus {\it reversing} the usual anisotropy of electrical transport in
the normal state of layered superconductors. In the presence of a current at an angle with the common field and columnar defect axis, the
electric field angle approaches as .
Scaling also predicts the behavior of penetration depths for the AC currents as
, and implies a {\it jump discontinuity} at in
the superfluid density describing transport parallel to the columns.Comment: 5 pages, revte
Melting and Dimensionality of the Vortex Lattice in Underdoped YBa2Cu3O6.60
Muon spin rotation measurements of the magnetic field distribution in the
vortex state of the oxygen deficient high-Tc superconductor YBa{2}Cu{3}O{6.60}
reveal a vortex-lattice melting transition at much lower temperature than that
in the fully oxygenated material. The transition is best described by a model
in which adjacent layers of ``pancake'' vortices decouple in the liquid phase.
Evidence is also found for a pinning-induced crossover from a solid 3D to
quasi-2D vortex lattice, similar to that observed in the highly anisotropic
superconductor Bi{2+x}Sr{2-x}CaCu{2}O{8+y}.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 5 postscript file
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