25 research outputs found
Visualization of novel flux dynamics in YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films with antidots.
Using magneto-optical visualization, individual 2 μm diameter antidots (circular holes) in YB
Flux front penetration in disordered superconductors
We investigate flux front penetration in a disordered type II superconductor
by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of interacting vortices and find scaling
laws for the front position and the density profile. The scaling can be
understood performing a coarse graining of the system and writing a disordered
non-linear diffusion equation. Integrating numerically the equation, we observe
a crossover from flat to fractal front penetration as the system parameters are
varied. The value of the fractal dimension indicates that the invasion process
is described by gradient percolation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Vortex avalanches and magnetic flux fragmentation in superconductors
We report results of numerical simulations of non isothermal dendritic flux
penetration in type-II superconductors. We propose a generic mechanism of
dynamic branching of a propagating hotspot of a flux flow/normal state
triggered by a local heat pulse. The branching occurs when the flux hotspot
reflects from inhomogeneities or the boundary on which magnetization currents
either vanish, or change direction. Then the hotspot undergoes a cascade of
successive splittings, giving rise to a dissipative dendritic-type flux
structure. This dynamic state eventually cools down, turning into a frozen
multi-filamentary pattern of magnetization currents.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. Let
Effect of a columnar defect on the shape of slow-combustion fronts
We report experimental results for the behavior of slow-combustion fronts in
the presence of a columnar defect with excess or reduced driving, and compare
them with those of mean-field theory. We also compare them with simulation
results for an analogous problem of driven flow of particles with hard-core
repulsion (ASEP) and a single defect bond with a different hopping probability.
The difference in the shape of the front profiles for excess vs. reduced
driving in the defect, clearly demonstrates the existence of a KPZ-type of
nonlinear term in the effective evolution equation for the slow-combustion
fronts. We also find that slow-combustion fronts display a faceted form for
large enough excess driving, and that there is a corresponding increase then in
the average front speed. This increase in the average front speed disappears at
a non-zero excess driving in agreement with the simulated behavior of the ASEP
model.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Dynamics of the magnetic flux trapped in fractal clusters of normal phase in a superconductor
The influence of geometry and morphology of superconducting structure on
critical currents and magnetic flux trapping in percolative type-II
superconductor is considered. The superconductor contains the clusters of a
normal phase, which act as pinning centers. It is found that such clusters have
significant fractal properties. The main features of these clusters are studied
in detail: the cluster statistics is analyzed; the fractal dimension of their
boundary is estimated; the distribution of critical currents is obtained, and
its peculiarities are explored. It is examined thoroughly how the finite
resolution capacity of the cluster geometrical size measurement affects the
estimated value of fractal dimension. The effect of fractal properties of the
normal phase clusters on the electric field arising from magnetic flux motion
is investigated in the case of an exponential distribution of cluster areas.
The voltage-current characteristics of superconductors in the resistive state
for an arbitrary fractal dimension are obtained. It is revealed that the
fractality of the boundaries of the normal phase clusters intensifies the
magnetic flux trapping and thereby raises the critical current of a
superconductor.Comment: revtex, 16 pages with 1 table and 5 figures; text and figures are
improved; more detailed version with geometric probability analisys of the
distribution of entry points into weak links over the perimeter of a normal
phase clusters and one additional figure is published in Phys.Rev.B;
alternative e-mail of author is [email protected]
Avalanche dynamics, surface roughening and self-organized criticality - experiments on a 3 dimensional pile of rice
We present a two-dimensional system which exhibits features of self-organized
criticality. The avalanches which occur on the surface of a pile of rice are
found to exhibit finite size scaling in their probability distribution. The
critical exponents are = 1.21(2) for the avalanche size distribution and
= 1.99(2) for the cut-off size. Furthermore the geometry of the avalanches
is studied leading to a fractal dimension of the active sites of =
1.58(2). Using a set of scaling relations, we can calculate the roughness
exponent = 0.41(3) and the dynamic exponent = 1.56(8). This result is compared with that obtained from a power
spectrum analysis of the surface roughness, which yields = 0.42(3) and
= 1.5(1) in excellent agreement with those obtained from the scaling
relations.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Experiments in vortex avalanches
Avalanche dynamics is found in many phenomena spanning from earthquakes to
the evolution of species. It can be also found in vortex matter when a type II
superconductor is externally driven, for example, by increasing the magnetic
field. Vortex avalanches associated with thermal instabilities can be an
undesirable effect for applications, but "dynamically driven" avalanches
emerging from the competition between intervortex interactions and quenched
disorder constitute an interesting scenario to test theoretical ideas related
with non-equilibrium dynamics. However, differently from the equilibrium phases
of vortex matter in type II superconductors, the study of the corresponding
dynamical phases - in which avalanches can play a role - is still in its
infancy. In this paper we critically review relevant experiments performed in
the last decade or so, emphasizing the ability of different experimental
techniques to establish the nature and statistical properties of the observed
avalanche behavior.Comment: To be published in Reviews of Modern Physics April 2004. 17 page