Topological order in the vortex-glass phase of high-temperature superconductors

Kierfeld, Jan; Nattermann, Thomas; Hwa, Terence

doi:10.1103/physrevb.55.626

Cited by 132 publications

(175 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

158

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Note that the magnitude of this renormalization (i.e., the ratio F T /F D ) is mainly determined by the parameter ν −1 , see Eq. (29). Interestingly, in contrast to the case of the δT c pinning where ν appears as a result of the specific temperature dependence of g 0 , Eq.…”

Section: B Approximate Formulas Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Peak effect, vortex-lattice melting line, and order-disorder transition in conventional and high-Tcsuperconductors

2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We investigate the order-disorder transition line from a Bragg glass to an amorphous vortex glass in the H − T phase diagram of three-dimensional type-II superconductors taking into account both pinning-caused and thermal fluctuations of the vortex lattice. Our approach is based on the Lindemann criterion and on results of the collective pinning theory and generalizes previous work of other authors. It is shown that the shapes of the order-disorder transition line and the vortex lattice melting curve are determined only by the Ginzburg number, which characterizes thermal fluctuations, and by a parameter which describes the strength of the quenched disorder in the fluxline lattice. In the framework of this unified approach we obtain the H − T phase diagrams for both conventional and high-Tc superconductors. Several well-known experimental results concerning the fishtail effect and the phase diagram of high-Tc superconductors are naturally explained by assuming that a peak effect in the critical current density versus H signalizes the order-disorder transition line in superconductors with point defects.

show abstract

Section: B Approximate Formulas Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Peak effect, vortex-lattice melting line, and order-disorder transition in conventional and high-Tcsuperconductors

2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nonetheless it has been shown that for strong enough disorder the Bragg glass phase is unstable against dislocation formation. [26][27][28] This suggests that the melting process could be ruled by topological defects ͑as discussed in Ref. 30͒ in analogy with two-dimensional theories of crystal melting.…”

Section: Grain-boundary-induced Meltingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…25 At high enough disorder, the Bragg glass phase is found to be unstable against dislocation proliferation and one may expect the transition into an amorphous vortex glass. [26][27][28] The precise nature of this transition and, more generally, the mechanism underlying vortex lattice melting is still under debate. Typical melting theories are based on variants of the Lindemann criterion with disorder, 29 or involve dislocation proliferation mechanisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grain boundaries in vortex matter

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We explore the statistical properties of grain boundaries in the vortex polycrystalline phase of type-II superconductors. Treating grain boundaries as arrays of dislocations interacting through linear elasticity, we show that self-interaction of a deformed grain boundary is equivalent to a nonlocal long-range surface tension. This affects the pinning properties of grain boundaries, which are found to be less rough than isolated dislocations. The presence of grain boundaries has an important effect on the transport properties of type-II superconductors as we show by numerical simulations: our results indicate that the critical current is higher for a vortex polycrystal than for a regular vortex lattice. Finally, we discuss the possible role of grain boundaries in vortex lattice melting. Through a phenomenological theory we show that melting can be preceded by an intermediate polycrystalline phase.

show abstract

“…Point defects are naturally occurring, e.g., in ceramic high-T c materials in the form of oxygen vacancies, but can also be artificially introduced, for instance by electron irradiation [2]. The presence of weak point pinning centers destroys the long-range crystalline order of the low-temperature Abrikosov flux line lattice in the disorder-free system, to form either a genuine disordered vortex glass phase [3][4][5][6][7] or a Bragg glass state that is characterized by quasi long-range positional order [8][9][10][11][12][13]. The thermally induced first-order melting transition of the vortex lattice at elevated temperatures [14][15][16] is thereby replaced by a disorder-driven continuous phase transition between frustrated ('glassy') low-temperature states and a fluctuating flux liquid phase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relaxation dynamics of vortex lines in disordered type-II superconductors following magnetic field and temperature quenches

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We study the effects of rapid temperature and magnetic field changes on the non-equilibrium relaxation dynamics of magnetic vortex lines in disordered type-II superconductors by employing an elastic line model and performing Langevin molecular dynamics simulations. In a previously equilibrated system, either the temperature is suddenly changed, or the magnetic field is instantaneously altered which is reflected in adding or removing flux lines to or from the system. The subsequent aging properties are investigated in samples with either randomly distributed point-like or extended columnar defects, which allows to distinguish the complex relaxation features that result from either type of pinning centers. One-time observables such as the radius of gyration and the fraction of pinned line elements are employed to characterize steady-state properties, and two-time correlation functions such as the vortex line height autocorrelations and their mean-square displacement are analyzed to study the non-linear stochastic relaxation dynamics in the aging regime.

show abstract

Topological order in the vortex-glass phase of high-temperature superconductors

Cited by 132 publications

References 37 publications

Peak effect, vortex-lattice melting line, and order-disorder transition in conventional and high-Tcsuperconductors

Peak effect, vortex-lattice melting line, and order-disorder transition in conventional and high-Tcsuperconductors

Grain boundaries in vortex matter

Relaxation dynamics of vortex lines in disordered type-II superconductors following magnetic field and temperature quenches

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About