Structural Transition Kinetics and Activated Behavior in the Superconducting Vortex Lattice

Abstract

Using small-angle neutron scattering, we investigated the behavior of a metastable vortex lattice state in MgB2 as it is driven towards equilibrium by an AC magnetic field. This shows an activated behavior, where the AC field amplitude and cycle count are equivalent to, respectively, an effective "temperature" and "time". The activation barrier increases as the metastable state is suppressed, corresponding to an aging of the vortex lattice. Furthermore, we find a cross-over from a partial to a complete suppression of metastable domains depending on the AC field amplitude, which may empirically be described by a single free parameter. This represents a novel kind of collective vortex behavior, most likely governed by the nucleation and growth of equilibrium vortex lattice domains.

5 pages plus 3 pages of supplemental material

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Non-equilibrium structural phase transitions of the vortex lattice in MgB2
• Ac dynamic reorganization and non-equilibrium phase transition in driven vortex matter
• Rotational transition, domain formation, dislocations and defects in vortex systems with combined six- and 12-fold anisotropic interactions
• Structural studies of metastable and equilibrium vortex lattice domains in MgB2
• Effects of magnetic and non-magnetic doping on the vortex lattice in MgB${}_2$
• Reversible ordering and disordering of the vortex lattice in UPt3
• Field-angle dependent vortex lattice phase diagram in MgB2