Vortex Lattice Depinning vs. Vortex Lattice Melting: a pinning-based explanation of the equilibrium magnetization jump

Abstract

In this communication we argue that the Vortex Lattice Melting scenario fails to explain several key experimental results published in the literature. From a careful analysis of these results we conclude that the Flux Line Lattice (FLL) does not melt along a material- and sample-dependent boundary $H_j(T)$ but the opposite, it de-couples from the superconducting matrix becoming more ordered. When the FLL depinning is sharp, the difference between the equilibrium magnetization $M_{eq}(T,H)$ of the pinned and unpinned FLL leads to the observed step-like change $\Delta M_{eq}(T,H)$. We demonstrate that the experimentally obtained $\Delta M_{eq}(T,H)$ can be well accounted for by a variation of the pinning efficiency of vortices along the $H_j(T)$ boundary.

8 pages, 1 Figure

References in corpus (4)

• Characteristics of First-Order Vortex Lattice Melting: Jumps in Entropy and Magnetization
• Flux-Line Lattice Structures in Untwinned YBa2Cu3O
• Second magnetization peak in flux lattices: the decoupling scenario
• Thermal Suppression of Strong Pinning

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Vortex Lattice in Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8+δ} Well Above the First-Order Phase-Transition Boundary