3 research outputs found
Observation of Vortex Coalescence, Vortex Chains and Crossing Vortices in the Anisotropic Spin-Triplet Superconductor
Scanning SQUID force microscopy is used to study magnetic flux
structures in single crystals of the layered spin triplet superconductor
SrRuO. Images of the magnetic flux configuration above the
-face of the cleaved crystal are acquired, mostly after
field-cooling the sample. For low applied magnetic fields, individual vortices
are observed, each carrying a single quantum of flux. Above 1 gauss,
coalescence of vortices is discovered. The coalescing vortices may indicate the
presence of domains of a chiral order parameter. When the applied field is
tilted from the -axis, we observe a gradual transition from vortex
domains to vortex chains. The in-plane component of the applied magnetic field
transforms the vortex domains to vortex chains by aligning them along the field
direction.This behavior and the inter-chain distance varies in qualitative
agreement with the Ginzburg Landau theory of anisotropic 3D superconductors.
The effective mass anisotropy of SrRuO, =20, is the
highest observed in three dimensional superconductors. When the applied field
is closely in plane, the vortex form flux channels confined between the
crystal-layers. Residual Abrikosov vortices are pinned preferentially on these
channels. Thus the in-plane vortices are decorated by crossing Abrikosov
vortices: two vortex orientations are apparent simultaneously, one along the
layers and the other perpendicular to the layers.Comment: to appear in Physica C M2S conference Dresde