217 research outputs found
Relaxation measurements in the regime of the second magnetization peak in Nb films
We report on magnetic measurements as a function of field, temperature and
time (relaxation) in superconducting Nb films of critical temperature Tc = 9.25
K. The magnetic measurements as a function of field exhibited a second
magnetization peak (SMP) which in general is accompanied by thermomagnetic
instabilities (TMIs). The lines where the SMP occurs and where the first flux
jump in the virgin magnetization curves is observed, end at a characteristic
point (To,Ho)=(7.2 K,80 Oe). Relaxation measurements showed that for T<To=7.2 K
the activation energy Uo and the normalized relaxation rate S exhibit
non-monotonic behavior as a function either of temperature or field. The
extrema observed in Uo and S coincide with the onset and the maximum points of
the SMP. In the regime T>To=7.2 K both Uo and S present a conventional
monotonic behavior. These results indicate that the SMP behavior observed in
our Nb films is promoted by the anomalous relaxation of the magnetization.Comment: To appear in Physica
Effect of electron irradiation on vortex dynamics in YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-x} single crystals
We report on drastic change of vortex dynamics with increase of quenched
disorder: for rather weak disorder we found a single vortex creep regime, which
we attribute to a Bragg-glass phase, while for enhanced disorder we found an
increase of both the depinning current and activation energy with magnetic
field, which we attribute to entangled vortex phase. We also found that
introduction of additional defects always increases the depinning current, but
it increases activation energy only for elastic vortex creep, while it
decreases activation energy for plastic vortex creep.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submited to Phys. Rev.
Dynamics of Flux Creep in Underdoped Single Crystals of Y_1-xPr_xBa_2Cu_3O_7-d
Transport as well as magnetic relaxation properties of the mixed state were
studied on strongly underdoped Y_1-xPr_xBa_2Cu_3O_7-d crystals. We observed two
correlated phenomena - a coupling transition and a transition to quantum creep.
The distribution of transport current below the coupling transition is highly
nonuniform, which facilitates quantum creep. We speculate that in the mixed
state below the coupling transition, where dissipation is nonohmic, the current
distribution may be unstable with respect to self-channeling resulting in the
formation of very thin current-carrying layers.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Plasticity and memory effects in the vortex solid phase of twinned YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals
We report on marked memory effects in the vortex system of twinned YBa2Cu3O7
single crystals observed in ac susceptibility measurements. We show that the
vortex system can be trapped in different metastable states with variable
degree of order arising in response to different system histories. The pressure
exerted by the oscillating ac field assists the vortex system in ordering,
locally reducing the critical current density in the penetrated outer zone of
the sample. The robustness of the ordered and disordered states together with
the spatial profile of the critical current density lead to the observed memory
effects
The magnetization of PrFeAsOF$_{0.12} sueprconductor
The magnetization of the PrFeAsOF polycrystalline sample
has been measured as functions of temperature and magnetic field . The
observed total magnetization is the sum of a superconducting irreversible
magnetization () and a paramagnetic magnetization (). Analysis of dc
susceptibility in the normal state shows that the paramagnetic
component of magnetization comes from the Pr magnetic moments. The
intragrain critical current density derived from the magnetization
measurement is large. The curve displays a second peak which shifts
towards the high-field region with decreasing temperature. In the low-field
region, a plateau up to a field followed by a power law
behavior of is the characteristic of the strong pinning. A vortex
phase diagram for the present superconductor has been obtained from the
magnetization and resistivity data.Comment: A revised version with modified title,8 pages, 7 figure
Hysteretic behavior of the vortex lattice at the onset of the second peak for HgBaCuO superconductor
By means of local Hall probe ac and dc permeability measurements we
investigated the phase diagram of vortex matter for the HgBaCuO superconductor in the regime near the critical temperature. The second peak
line, , in contrast to what is usually assumed, doesn't terminate
at the critical temperature. Our local ac permeability measurements revealed
pronounced hysteretic behavior and thermomagnetic history effects near the
onset of the second peak, giving evidence for a phase transition of vortex
matter from an ordered qausilattice state to a disordered glass
Self-organization of vortices in type-II superconductors during magnetic relaxation
We revise the applicability of the theory of self-organized criticality (SOC)
to the process of magnetic relaxation in type-II superconductors. The driving
parameter of self-organization of vortices is the energy barrier for flux creep
and not the current density. The power spectrum of the magnetic noise due to
vortex avalanches is calculated and is predicted to vary with time during
relaxation.Comment: RevTex, 5 pages, 2 PS figures. Accepted in Phys. Rev.
Pinning-induced transition to disordered vortex phase in layered superconductors
Destruction of the vortex lattice by random point pinning is considered as a
mechanism of the ``second peak'' transition observed experimentally in weakly
coupled layered high temperature superconductors. The transition field
separating the topologically ordered quasilattice from the amorphous vortex
configuration is strongly influenced by the layered structure and by the
nonlocal nature of the vortex tilt energy due to the magnetic interlayer
coupling. We found three different regimes of transition depending on the
relative strength of the Josephson and magnetic couplings. The regimes can be
distinguished by the dependence of the transition fieldComment: 8 pages, 3 Postscript figures. Accepted to Phys. Rev.B. (regular
article
- …