161 research outputs found
Elastic-to-plastic crossover below the peak effect in the vortex solid of YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals
We report on transport and ac susceptibility studies below the peak effect in
twinned YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals. We find that disorder generated at the peak
effect can be partially inhibited by forcing vortices to move with an ac
driving current. The vortex system can be additionally ordered below a
well-defined temperature where elastic interactions between vortices overcome
pinning-generated stress and a plastic to elastic crossover seems to occur. The
combined effect of these two processes results in vortex structures with
different mobilities that give place to history effects.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Published in PRB Rapid Comm., February 1, 200
Giant Peak Effect Observed in Ultrapure YBCO Crystal
A giant peak in the temperature dependence of the screening current is
observed in the ac magnetic response of an ultra-pure YBaCuO
crystal in a magnetic field. At H = 2.0 T ({\bf }{\bf c}), the screening
current density exhibits a 35-fold rise with 0.5 K increase in
temperature, indicating an abrupt -fold collapse in the characteristic
volume of ordered regions in the vortex array. The peak-effect anomaly is most
pronounced for 4.0 T, but detectable up to 7.0 T. The temperature
dependence of the equilibrium magnetization exhibits a small discontinuous jump
(for high fields) inside the peak-effect regime, suggesting that the underlying
phase transition is a weak first-order vortex-lattice melting transition.Comment: 4 page
The Average Kinetic Energy of the Superconducting State
Isothermal magnetization curves are plotted as the magnetization times the
magnetic induction, , versus the applied field, H. We show
here that this new curve is the average kinetic energy of the superconducting
state versus the applied field, for type-II superconductors with a high
Ginzburg-Landau parameter . The maximum of occurs at
a field, , directly related to the upper critical field, ,
suggesting that may be extracted from such plots even in cases when
it is too high for direct measurement. We obtain these plots both
theoretically, from the Ginzburg-Landau theory, and experimentally, using a
Niobium sample with , and compare them.Comment: 11 pages, 9 postscript figure
Domain Walls Motion and Resistivity in a Fully-Frustrated Josephson Array
It is identified numerically that the resistivity of a fully-frustrated
Josephson-junction array is due to motion of domain walls in vortex lattice
rather than to motion of single vortices
Frustrated two-dimensional Josephson junction array near incommensurability
To study the properties of frustrated two-dimensional Josephson junction
arrays near incommensurability, we examine the current-voltage characteristics
of a square proximity-coupled Josephson junction array at a sequence of
frustrations f=3/8, 8/21, 0.382 , 2/5, and 5/12.
Detailed scaling analyses of the current-voltage characteristics reveal
approximately universal scaling behaviors for f=3/8, 8/21, 0.382, and 2/5. The
approximately universal scaling behaviors and high superconducting transition
temperatures indicate that both the nature of the superconducting transition
and the vortex configuration near the transition at the high-order rational
frustrations f=3/8, 8/21, and 0.382 are similar to those at the nearby simple
frustration f=2/5. This finding suggests that the behaviors of Josephson
junction arrays in the wide range of frustrations might be understood from
those of a few simple rational frustrations.Comment: RevTex4, 4 pages, 4 eps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Vortex Dynamics and Defects in Simulated Flux Flow
We present the results of molecular dynamic simulations of a two-dimensional
vortex array driven by a uniform current through random pinning centers at zero
temperature. We identify two types of flow of the driven array near the
depinning threshold. For weak disorder the flux array contains few dislocation
and moves via correlated displacements of patches of vortices in a {\it
crinkle} motion. As the disorder strength increases, we observe a crossover to
a spatially inhomogeneous regime of {\it plastic} flow, with a very defective
vortex array and a channel-like structure of the flowing regions. The two
regimes are characterized by qualitatively different spatial distribution of
vortex velocities. In the crinkle regime the distribution of vortex velocities
near threshold has a single maximum that shifts to larger velocities as the
driving force is increased. In the plastic regime the distribution of vortex
velocities near threshold has a clear bimodal structure that persists upon
time-averaging the individual velocities. The bimodal structure of the velocity
distribution reflects the coexistence of pinned and flowing regions and is
proposed as a quantitative signature of plastic flow.Comment: 12 pages, 13 embedded PostScript figure
History effects and pinning regimes in solid vortex matter
We propose a phenomenological model that accounts for the history effects
observed in ac susceptibility measurements in YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals [Phys.
Rev. Lett. 84, 4200 (2000) and Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 504 (2001)]. Central to the
model is the assumption that the penetrating ac magnetic field modifies the
vortex lattice mobility, trapping different robust dynamical states in
different regions of the sample. We discuss in detail on the response of the
superconductor to an ac magnetic field when the vortex lattice mobility is not
uniform inside the sample. We begin with an analytical description for a simple
geometry (slab) and then we perform numerical calculations for a strip in a
transverse magnetic field which include relaxation effects. In calculations,
the vortex system is assumed to coexist in different pinning regimes. The
vortex behavior in the regions where the induced current density j has been
always below a given threshold (j_c^>) is described by an elastic Campbell-like
regime (or a critical state regime with local high critical current density,
j_c^>). When the VS is shaken by symmetrical (e.g. sinusoidal) ac fields, the
critical current density is modified to j_c^) at
regions where vortices have been forced to oscillate by a current density
larger than j_c^>. Experimentally, an initial state with high critical current
density (j_c^>) can be obtained by zero field cooling, field cooling (with no
applied ac field) or by shaking the vortex lattice with an asymmetrical (e.g.
sawtooth) field. We compare our calculations with experimental ac
susceptibility results in YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. To be published in PR
Slow relaxations and history dependence of the transport properties of layered superconductors
We study numerically the time evolution of the transport properties of
layered superconductors after different preparations. We show that, in
accordance with recent experiments in BSCCO performed in the second peak region
of the phase diagram (Portier et al, 2001), the relaxation strongly depends on
the initial conditions and is extremely slow. We investigate the dependence on
the pinning center density and the perturbation applied. We compare the
measurements to recent findings in tapped granular matter and we interpret our
results with a rather simple picture.Comment: 4 pages, 4 fig
Domain regime in two-dimensional disordered vortex matter
A detailed numerical study of the real space configuration of vortices in
disordered superconductors using 2D London-Langevin model is presented. The
magnetic field is varied between 0 and for various pinning
strengths . For weak pinning, an inhomogeneous disordered vortex matter
is observed, in which the topologically ordered vortex lattice survives in
large domains. The majority of the dislocations in this state are confined to
the grain boundaries/domain walls. Such quasi-ordered configurations are
observed in the intermediate fields, and we refer it as the domain regime (DR).
The DR is distinct from the low-field and the high-fields amorphous regimes
which are characterized by a homogeneous distribution of defects over the
entire system. Analysis of the real space configuration suggests domain wall
roughening as a possible mechanism for the crossover from the DR to the
high-field amorphous regime. The DR also shows a sharp crossover to the high
temperature vortex liquid phase. The domain size distribution and the roughness
exponent of the lattice in the DR are also calculated. The results are compared
with some of the recent Bitter decoration experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
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