Metastable Vortex Lattice Phases in Superconducting MgB2

Abstract

The vortex lattice (VL) symmetry and orientation in clean type-II superconductors depends sensitively on the host material anisotropy, vortex density and temperature, frequently leading to rich phase diagrams. Typically, a well-ordered VL is taken to imply a ground state configuration for the vortex-vortex interaction. Using neutron scattering we studied the VL in MgB2 for a number of field-temperature histories, discovering an unprecedented degree of metastability in connection with a known, second-order rotation transition. This allows, for the first time, structural studies of a well-ordered, non-equilibrium VL. While the mechanism responsible for the longevity of the metastable states is not resolved, we speculate it is due to a jamming of VL domains, preventing a rotation to the ground state orientation.

Main paper: 5 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary material: 3 pages, 7 figures

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• Corrections for the Geometric Distortion of the Tube Detectors on SANS Instruments at ORNL
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• Singlet-triplet mixing in the order parameter of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor Ru${}_7$B${}_3$
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• Structural studies of metastable and equilibrium vortex lattice domains in MgB2
• Effects of magnetic and non-magnetic doping on the vortex lattice in MgB${}_2$
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• Field-angle dependent vortex lattice phase diagram in MgB2
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