A closer look at the low frequency dynamics of vortex matter

TL;DR

This study uses advanced microscopy and simulations to explore the low-frequency dynamics of individual vortices in a superconductor, revealing non-uniform vortex shaking and lattice reorganization at specific excitation amplitudes.

Contribution

It provides new experimental insights into vortex dynamics and validates phenomenological models through detailed molecular dynamics simulations.

Findings

Linear ac-susceptibility observed between 0.3 and 2.6 Oe

Vortex shaking is strongly non-uniform at low amplitudes

Lattice defects heal and vortices become more uniform above 0.8 Oe

Abstract

Using scanning susceptibility microscopy, we shed new light on the dynamics of individual superconducting vortices and examine the hypotheses of the phenomenological models traditionally used to explain the macroscopic ac electromagnetic properties of superconductors. The measurements, carried out on a 2H-NbSe$_2$ single crystal at relatively high temperature $T=6.8$ K, show a linear amplitude dependence of the global ac-susceptibility for excitation amplitudes between 0.3 and 2.6 Oe. We observe that the low amplitude behavior, typically attributed to the shaking of vortices in a potential well defined by a single, relaxing, Labusch constant, corresponds actually to strongly non-uniform vortex shaking. This is particularly accentuated in the field-cooled disordered phase, which undergoes a dynamic reorganization above 0.8 Oe as evidenced by the healing of lattice defects and a more uniform oscillation of vortices. These observations are corroborated by molecular dynamics simulations when choosing the microscopic input parameters from the experiments. The theoretical simulations allow us to reconstruct the vortex trajectories providing deeper insight in the thermally induced hopping dynamics and the vortex lattice reordering.