Glassy Dynamics in a heavy ion irradiated NbSe2 crystal

Serena Eley; Karen Khilstrom; Roxana Fotovat; Zhili L. Xiao; Aiping Chen; Di Chen; Maxime Leroux; Ulrich Welp; Wai-Kwong Kwok; Leonardo Civale

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-31203-0

paper

Glassy Dynamics in a heavy ion irradiated NbSe2 crystal

arXiv:1803.07203 · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-31203-0

Abstract

Fascination with glassy states has persisted since Fisher introduced the vortex-glass as a new thermodynamic phase that is a true superconductor that lacks conventional long-range order. Though Fisher's original model considered point disorder, it was later predicted that columnar defects (CDs) could also induce glassiness -- specifically, a Bose-glass phase. In YBa $_{2}$ Cu $_{3}$ O $_{7 - x}$ (YBCO), glassy states can cause distinct behavior in the temperature ( $T$ ) dependent rate of thermally activated vortex motion ( $S$ ). The vortex-glass state produces a plateau in $S (T)$ whereas a Bose-glass can transition into a state hosting vortex excitations called double-kinks that can expand, creating a large peak in $S (T)$ . Although glass phases have been well-studied in YBCO, few studies exist of other materials containing CDs that could contribute to distinguishing universal behavior. Here, we report on the effectiveness of CDs tilted ~30 $°$ from the c-axis in reducing $S$ in a NbSe $_{2}$ crystal. The magnetization is 5 times higher and $S$ is minimized when the field is parallel to the defects versus aligned with the c-axis. We see signatures of glassiness in both field orientations, but do not observe a peak in $S (T)$ nor a plateau at values observed in YBCO. We discuss the possibility that competing disorder induces a field-orientation-driven transition from a Bose-glass to an anisotropic glass involving both point and columnar disorder.

Glassy Dynamics in a heavy ion irradiated NbSe2 crystal

Abstract

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