Microwave spectroscopy of vortex dynamics in ortho-II YBa2Cu3O6.52

TL;DR

This study investigates vortex dynamics in a high-quality ortho-II YBa2Cu3O6.52 superconductor using microwave spectroscopy, revealing unconventional dissipation mechanisms linked to quasiparticles outside vortex cores.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed microwave frequency-dependent measurements of vortex properties in YBa2Cu3O6.52, challenging traditional models of vortex dissipation.

Findings

Vortex viscosity shows strong frequency dependence.

Dissipation is dominated by quasiparticles outside vortex cores.

Flux-flow resistivity exhibits a logarithmic temperature dependence.

Abstract

We present measurements of the vortex-state surface impedance, Z_s = R_s + i X_s, of a high quality, ortho-II-ordered single crystal of the cuprate high temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.52 (T_c = 59K). Measurements have been made at four microwave frequencies (\omega/2\pi = 2.64, 4.51, 9.12 and 13.97 GHz), for magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 7 T. From these data we obtain the field, frequency and temperature dependence of the vortex viscosity, pinning constant, depinning frequency and flux-flow resistivity. The vortex viscosity, \eta(\omega,T), has a surprisingly strong frequency dependence and bears a striking resemblance to the zero-field quasiparticle conductivity, \sigma_qp(\omega,T), suggesting that the dominant dissipative mechanism for the flux lines is induced electric fields coupling to bulk, long-lived d-wave quasiparticles outside the vortex cores. This is in sharp contrast to the conventional Bardeen-Stephen picture, in which dissipation takes place inside quasi-normal vortex cores. The strong frequency dependence of the vortex viscosity in the microwave range requires us to treat it as a complex response function, with an imaginary part that is predicted to contribute to the apparent pinning force on the vortices. Measurements of the frequency dependence of the pinning force confirm that this term is present, and in a form consistent with the requirements of causality. At low temperatures the flux-flow resistivity, \rho_ff \propto 1/\eta, has the form \rho_ff(T) = \rho_0 + \rho_1 \ln(1/T), reminiscent of the DC resistivity of cuprates in the pseudogap regime.