Collective vortex phases in periodic plus random pinning potential

Abstract

We study theoretically the simultaneous effect of a regular and a random pinning potentials on the vortex lattice structure at filling factor of 1. This structure is determined by a competition between the square symmetry of regular pinning array, by the intervortex interaction favoring a triangular symmetry, and by the randomness trying to depin vortices from their regular positions. Both analytical and molecular-dynamics approaches are used. We construct a phase diagram of the system in the plane of regular and random pinning strengths and determine typical vortex lattice defects appearing in the system due to the disorder. We find that the total disordering of the vortex lattice can occur either in one step or in two steps. For instance, in the limit of weak pinning, a square lattice of pinned vortices is destroyed in two steps. First, elastic chains of depinned vortices appear in the film; but the vortex lattice as a whole remains still pinned by the underlying square array of regular pinning sites. These chains are composed into fractal-like structures. In a second step, domains of totally depinned vortices are generated and the vortex lattice depins from regular array.

13 pages, 9 figures

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Magnetic flux pinning in superconductors with hyperbolic-tesselation arrays of pinning sites
• Enhancing the critical current in quasiperiodic pinning arrays below and above the matching magnetic flux
• Transport Anisotropy as a Probe of the Interstitial Vortex State in Superconductors with Artificial Pinning Arrays
• Suppression of dissipation in Nb thin films with triangular antidot arrays by random removal of pinning sites
• Observation of a gel of quantum vortices in a superconductor at very low magnetic fields
• Pattern formation in vortex matter with pinning and frustrated inter-vortex interactions
• Kink-antikink vortex transfer in periodic-plus-random pinning potential: Theoretical analysis and numerical experiments
• Single-file and normal diffusion of magnetic colloids in modulated channels
• Two-dimensional Wigner crystals of classical Lennard-Jones particles
• Experimental realization of smectic phase in vortex matter induced by symmetric potentials arranged in two-fold symmetry arrays