Effect of pinning on the vortex-lattice melting line in type-II superconductors

Abstract

The vortex-lattice melting line in three-dimensional type-II superconductors with pinning is derived by equating the free energies of the vortex system in the solid and liquid phases. We account for the elastic and pinning energies and the entropy change that originates from the disappearance of the phonon shear modes in the liquid. The pinning is assumed to be caused by point defects and to be not too strong so that the melting line lies inside the so-called bundle-pinning region. We show that the derived equation for the melting line is equivalent to some Lindemann criterion, which however differs from that used previously. Estimating the effect of pinning on the entropy jump at melting, we find the upper critical point of the melting line from the condition that this jump vanishes. We also consider the H-T phase diagrams of type-II superconductors for different strengths and types of pinning and analyze the two recently discussed scenarios how the melting line and the order--disorder line merge.

15 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Melting of the vortex lattice in high $T_c$ superconductors

Cited by in corpus (22)

• The Ginzburg-Landau Theory of Type II superconductors in magnetic field
• Anisotropic thermodynamic and transport properties of single crystalline CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$
• Flux pinning in (1111) iron-pnictide superconducting crystals
• Equilibrium First-Order Melting and Second-Order Glass Transitions of the Vortex Matter in Bi${}_2$Sr${}_2$CaCu${}_2$O${}_8$
• How the vortex lattice of a superconductor becomes disordered: a study by scanning tunneling spectroscopy
• Interplay of Anisotropy and Disorder in the Doping-Dependent Melting and Glass Transitions of Vortices in Bi${}_2$Sr${}_2$CaCu${}_2$O${}_{8+\delta }$
• Supercooled vortex liquid and quantitative theory of melting of the flux line lattice in type II superconductors
• Vortex-lattice melting and paramagnetic depairing in the nematic superconductor FeSe
• Grain boundaries in vortex matter
• The magnetization of PrFeAsO${}_{0.60}$F$_{0.12} sueprconductor
• Vortex dynamics and second magnetization peak in PrFeAsO${}_{0.60}$F${}_{0.12}$ superconductor
• The Absence of Vortex Lattice Melting in a Conventional Superconductor
• Scaling of the physical properties in Ba(Fe,Ni)2As2 single crystals: Evidence for quantum fluctuations
• Muon Spin Rotation and the Vortex Lattice in Superconductors
• Defect induced melting of vortices in high-${\mathbf{T}}_{\mathbf{c}}$ superconductors: A model based on continuum elasticity theory
• Transport Properties of Vortex Matter Governed by the Edge Inductance of Superconducting Bi${}_2$Sr${}_2$CaCu${}_2$O${}_8$ Single Crystals
• Thermodynamics of the vortex liquid in heavy ion-irradiated superconductors
• Multiple Changes of Order of the Vortex Melting Transition in BSCCO with Dilute Columnar Defects
• Phase Diagram of Vortices in High-Tc Superconductors from Lattice Defect Model with Pinning
• Unified Phase Diagram for the Three-Dimensional XY Model of a Point Disordered Type-II Superconductor
• Reply to "Comment on "Effects of Point Defects on the Phase Diagram of Vortex States in High-Tc Superconductors in the B//c Axis""
• Enhancement of vortex liquid phase and reentrant behavior in NiBi3 single crystals