Two-step melting of the vortex solid in layered superconductors with random columnar pins
Superconductivity
2009-11-10 v1
Abstract
We consider the melting of the vortex solid in highly anisotropic layered superconductors with a small concentration of random columnar pinning centers. Using large-scale numerical minimization of a free-energy functional, we find that melting of the low-temperature, nearly crystalline vortex solid (Bragg glass) into a vortex liquid occurs in two steps as the temperature increases: the Bragg glass and liquid phases are separated by an intermediate Bose glass phase. A suitably defined local melting temperature exhibits spatial variation similar to that observed in experiments.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0308084,
title = {Two-step melting of the vortex solid in layered superconductors with random columnar pins},
author = {Chandan Dasgupta and Oriol T. Valls},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0308084},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett