Two-Dimensional Vortex Lattice Melting
arXiv:cond-mat/9305011 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.432
Abstract
We report on a Monte-Carlo study of two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau superconductors in a magnetic field which finds clear evidence for a first-order phase transition characterized by broken translational symmetry of the superfluid density. A key aspect of our study is the introduction of a quantity proportional to the Fourier transform of the superfluid density which can be sampled efficiently in Landau gauge Monte-Carlo simulations and which satisfies a useful sum rule. We estimate the latent heat per vortex of the melting transition to be where is the melting temperature.
10 pages (4 figures available on request), RevTex 3.0, IUCM93-009