104 research outputs found
Melting of regular and decoupled vortex lattices in BSCCO crystals
The angular dependence of the first-order phase transition (FOT) in the
vortex lattice in BiSrCaCuO crystals was investigated
by a low frequency AC shielding technique (with the AC field ), in
which the static-field component parallel to - () was varied with
the in-plane field held constant. The linear decrease of the
FOT field with increasing ends at a
temperature--dependent critical value of . A new transition,
marked by the abrupt drop of the -plane shielding current, appears at this
point. We draw a new phase diagram with and field
components as coordinates; this features at least two distinct regions in the
vortex solid phase, that are determined by the different interplay between the
pancake vortex-- and Josephson vortex lattice.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures Paper submitted to the conference proceedings of
M2S-2000 Houston, T
Supercooling of the high field vortex phase in single crystalline BSCCO
Time resolved magneto-optical images show hysteresis associated with the
transition at the so-called ``second magnetization peak'' at B_sp in
single-crystalline Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8+d. By rapid quenching of the high-field
phase, it can be made to persist metastably in the sample down to fields that
are nearly half B_sp.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures Submitted to the conference proceedings of M2S-VI,
February 200, Housto
Ferromagnetic domain structure of La0.78Ca0.22MnO3 single crystals
The magneto-optical technique has been employed to observe spontaneous ferromagnetic domain structures in La0.78Ca0.22MnO3 single crystals. The magnetic domain topology was found to be correlated with the intrinsic twin structure of the investigated crystals. With decreasing temperature the regular network of ferromagnetic domains undergoes significant changes resulting in apparent rotation of the domain walls in the temperature range of 70–150 K. The apparent rotation of the domain walls can be understood in terms of the Jahn-Teller deformation of the orthorhombic unit cell, accompanied by additional twinning
Vortex liquid correlations induced by in-plane field in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d
By measuring the Josephson Plasma Resonance, we have probed the influence of
an in-plane magnetic field on the pancake vortex correlations along the c-axis
in heavily underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Tc = 72.4 +/- 0.6 K) single crystals
both in the vortex liquid and in the vortex solid phase. Whereas the in-plane
field enhances the interlayer phase coherence in the liquid state close to the
melting line, it slightly depresses it in the solid state. This is interpreted
as the result of an attractive force between pancake vortices and Josephson
vortices, apparently also present in the vortex liquid state. The results
unveil a boundary between a correlated vortex liquid in which pancakes adapt to
Josephson vortices, and the usual homogeneous liquid.Comment: 2 pages, submitted to the Proceedings of M2S HTSC VIII Dresde
Vortex Solid-Liquid Transition in BiSrCaCuO with a High Density of Strong Pins
The introduction of a large density of columnar defects in %underdoped
BiSrCaCuO crystals does not, at sufficiently low
vortex densities, increase the irreversibility line beyond the first order
transition (FOT) field of pristine crystals. At such low fields, the flux line
wandering length behaves as in pristine
%BiSrCaCuO crystals. Next, vortex positional
correlations along the --axis in the vortex Bose glass at fields above the
FOT are smaller than in the low--field vortex solid. Third, the
Bose-glass-to-vortex liquid transition is signaled by a rapid decrease in
c-axis phase correlations. These observations are understood in terms of the
``discrete superconductor'' model.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures Submitted to Phys. Rev. B Rapid Comm. 16-1-2004
Revised version 18-3-200
Magnetization Decay due to Vortex Phase Boundary Motion in BSCCO
We identify a new regime of decay of the irreversible magnetization in clean
BiSrCaCuO crystals, at induction values close to the
``second peak field'' at which the bulk critical current density steeply
increases. A time window is identified during which the decay of the induction
is controlled by the slow propagation of the phase transformation front across
the sample.Comment: 2 pages, 3 figures Paper submitted to the conference proceedings of
M2S-2000 Houston T
Magnetic relaxation in the "Bragg-glass" phase in BSCCO
Magnetic relaxation in the Bragg-glass phase of overdoped Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8
crystals was investigated using time-resolved magneto-optical visualisation of
the flux distribution. This has permitted us to extract the current-voltage
characteristic, which can be well described by a power-law, although fits to a
stretched exponential E \sim \exp(- j_{c} / j)^{\mu} with 0.3 < \mu < 0.8 are
possible at long times in excess of 100 s.Comment: 2 pages, 3 figures submitted to conference proceedings of M2S-2000
Houston T
Role of pair-breaking and phase fluctuations in c-axis tunneling in underdoped BiSrCaCuO
The Josephson Plasma Resonance is used to study the c-axis supercurrent in
the superconducting state of underdoped
BiSrCaCuO with varying degrees of controlled
point-like disorder, introduced by high-energy electron irradiation. As
disorder is increased, the Josephson Plasma frequency decreases proportionally
to the critical temperature. The temperature dependence of the plasma frequency
does not depend on the irradiation dose, and is in quantitative agreement with
a model for quantum fluctuations of the superconducting phase in the CuO
layers.Comment: 2 pages, submitted to the Proceedings of M2S-HTSC VIII Dresde
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Onset of bulk pinning in BSCCO single crystals
The long growth defects often found in Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8} single crystals effectively weaken the geometrical barrier and lower the field of first flux penetration. This means that the intrinsic (bulk) magnetic properties can be more easily accessed using magnetic measurements. Thus, the onset of strong bulk flux pinning in the sample bulk is determined to lie at T {approximately} 40 K, independent of whether the field strength is above or below the field of the second peak in the magnetization
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