327 research outputs found
Non-equilibrium structural phase transitions of the vortex lattice in MgB2
We have studied non-equilibrium phase transitions in the vortex lattice in
superconducting MgB2, where metastable states are observed in connection with
an intrinsically continuous rotation transition. Using small-angle neutron
scattering and a stop-motion technique, we investigated the manner in which the
metastable vortex lattice returns to the equilibrium state under the influence
of an ac magnetic field. This shows a qualitative difference between the
supercooled case which undergoes a discontinuous transition, and the
superheated case where the transition to the equilibrium state is continuous.
In both cases the transition may be described by an an activated process, with
an activation barrier that increases as the metastable state is suppressed, as
previously reported for the supercooled vortex lattice [E. R. Louden et al.,
Phys. Rev. B 99, 060502(R) (2019)]. Separate preparations of superheated
metastable vortex lattices with different domain populations showed an
identical transition towards the equilibrium state. This provides further
evidence that the vortex lattice metastability, and the kinetics associated
with the transition to the equilibrium state, is governed by nucleation and
growth of domains and the associated domain boundaries.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1812.0597
Magnetic field induced orientation of superconducting MgB crystallites determined by X-ray diffraction
X-ray diffraction studies of fine polycrystalline samples of MgB in the
superconducting state reveal that crystals orient with their \emph{c}-axis in a
plane normal to the direction of the applied magnetic field. The MgB
samples were thoroughly ground to obtain average grain size 5 - 10 m in
order to increase the population of free single crystal grains in the powder.
By monitoring Bragg reflections in a plane normal to an applied magnetic field
we find that the powder is textured with significantly stronger (\emph{0,0,l})
reflections in comparison to (\emph{h,k,0}), which remain essentially
unchanged. The orientation of the crystals with the \emph{ab}-plane parallel to
the magnetic field at all temperatures below demonstrates that the sign
of the torque under magnetic field does not alter, in disagreement with current
theoretical predictions
Temperature Dependence of the Flux Line Lattice Transition into Square Symmetry in Superconducting LuNiBC
We have investigated the temperature dependence of the H || c flux line
lattice structural phase transition from square to hexagonal symmetry, in the
tetragonal superconductor LuNi_2B_2C (T_c = 16.6 K). At temperatures below 10 K
the transition onset field, H_2(T), is only weakly temperature dependent. Above
10 K, H_2(T) rises sharply, bending away from the upper critical field. This
contradicts theoretical predictions of H_2(T) merging with the upper critical
field, and suggests that just below the H_c2(T)-curve the flux line lattice
might be hexagonal.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Pauli Paramagnetic Effects on Vortices in Superconducting TmNi2B2C
The magnetic field distribution around the vortices in TmNi2B2C in the
paramagnetic phase was studied experimentally as well as theoretically. The
vortex form factor, measured by small-angle neutron scattering, is found to be
field independent up to 0.6 Hc2 followed by a sharp decrease at higher fields.
The data are fitted well by solutions to the Eilenberger equations when
paramagnetic effects due to the exchange interaction with the localized 4f Tm
moments are included. The induced paramagnetic moments around the vortex cores
act to maintain the field contrast probed by the form factor.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Influence of nonlocal electrodynamics on the anisotropic vortex pinning in
We have studied the pinning force density Fp of YNi_2B_2C superconductors for
various field orientations. We observe anisotropies both between the c-axis and
the basal plane and within the plane, that cannot be explained by usual mass
anisotropy. For magnetic field , the reorientation structural
transition in the vortex lattice due to nonlocality, which occurs at a field
, manifests itself as a kink in Fp(H). When , Fp is
much larger and has a quite different H dependence, indicating that other
pinning mechanisms are present. In this case the signature of nonlocal effects
is the presence of a fourfold periodicity of Fp within the basal plane.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Structural Transition Kinetics and Activated Behavior in the Superconducting Vortex Lattice
Using small-angle neutron scattering, we investigated the behavior of a
metastable vortex lattice state in MgB2 as it is driven towards equilibrium by
an AC magnetic field. This shows an activated behavior, where the AC field
amplitude and cycle count are equivalent to, respectively, an effective
"temperature" and "time". The activation barrier increases as the metastable
state is suppressed, corresponding to an aging of the vortex lattice.
Furthermore, we find a cross-over from a partial to a complete suppression of
metastable domains depending on the AC field amplitude, which may empirically
be described by a single free parameter. This represents a novel kind of
collective vortex behavior, most likely governed by the nucleation and growth
of equilibrium vortex lattice domains.Comment: 5 pages plus 3 pages of supplemental materia
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