2002/04/09 by Chandan Dasgupta, Oriol T. Valls · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Anisotropy #Condensed matter physics #Critical current #Flux pinning #Geometry #High-temperature superconductivity #Lattice (music) #Magnetic field #Materials science #Mechanics #Perpendicular #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Pinning force #Quantum mechanics #Superconductivity #Theoretical and Computational Physics #Type-II superconductor #Vortex #cond-mat.stat-mech #cond-mat.supr-con
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.66.064518
published as Phys. Rev. B66, 064518 (2002) · 15 pages including 17 Figures. Higher resolution gray scale plots available from authors
arxiv created 2002/04/09 · openalex publication_date 2002/08/20 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We use numerical minimization of a model free energy functional to study the effects of columnar pinning centers on the structure and thermodynamics of a system of pancake vortices in the mixed phase of highly anisotropic layered superconductors. The magnetic field and the columnar pins are assumed to be perpendicular to the layers. Our methods allow us to study in detail the density distribution of vortices in real space. We present results for the dependence of the average number of vortices trapped at a pinning center on temperature and pinning strength, and for the effective interaction between nearby pinned vortices arising from short-range correlations in the vortex liquid. For a commensurate, periodic array of pinning centers, we find a line of first order vortex lattice melting transitions in the temperature T vs pin concentration c plane, which terminates at an experimentally accessible critical point as c is increased. Beyond this point, the transition is replaced by a crossover. Our results should also apply, with little change, to thin-film superconductors with strong point pinning.