Defective Vortex Lattices in Layered Superconductors with Point Pins at the Extreme Type-II Limit

Abstract

The mixed phase of layered superconductors with no magnetic screening is studied through a partial duality analysis of the corresponding frustrated XY model in the presence of weak random point pins. Isolated layers exhibit a defective vortex lattice at low temperature that is phase coherent. Sufficiently weak Josephson coupling between adjacent layers results in an entangled vortex solid that exhibits weak superconductivity across layers. The corresponding vortex liquid state shows an inverted specific heat anomaly that we propose accounts for that seen in YBCO. A three-dimensional vortex lattice with dislocations occurs at stronger coupling. This crossover sheds light on the apparent discrepancy concerning the observation of a vortex-glass phase in recent Monte Carlo simulations of the same XY model.

4 pages, 1 figure. To appear in PRB, rapid communication

References in corpus (1)

• Vortex glass transition in a frustrated 3D XY model with disorder

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Dynamics of vortex glass phase in strongly type II superconductors
• Macroscopic Phase Coherence of Defective Vortex Lattices in Two Dimensions
• Dynamics of glass phases in the two-dimensional gauge glass model
• Collective pinning of the vortex lattice by columnar defects in layered superconductors
• Phase Diagram of Vortices in High-Tc Superconductors from Lattice Defect Model with Pinning
• Long-Range Order of Vortex Lattices Pinned by Point Defects in Layered Superconductors
• Reply to "Comment on "Effects of Point Defects on the Phase Diagram of Vortex States in High-Tc Superconductors in the B//c Axis""
• Anomalous Nernst Effect in the Vortex-Liquid Phase of High-Temperature Superconductors by Layer Decoupling