Characterization of relaxation processes in interacting vortex matter through a time-dependent correlation length

TL;DR

This study uses Monte Carlo simulations to analyze the relaxation dynamics of vortex lines in type-II superconductors, revealing how correlation lengths evolve over time to distinguish between different types of pinning defects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to characterize relaxation processes in vortex matter by analyzing the time-dependent correlation length, differentiating point-like from columnar pinning centers.

Findings

Correlation length exhibits distinct time dependence for different defect types.

The method effectively distinguishes between point-like and extended pinning centers.

Simulation results provide insights into non-equilibrium relaxation regimes.

Abstract

Vortex lines in type-II superconductors display complicated relaxation processes due to the intricate competition between their mutual repulsive interactions and pinning to attractive point or extended defects. We perform extensive Monte Carlo simulations for an interacting elastic line model with either point-like or columnar pinning centers. From measurements of the space- and time-dependent height-height correlation function for lateral flux line fluctuations, we extract a characteristic correlation length that we use to investigate different non-equilibrium relaxation regimes. The specific time dependence of this correlation length for different disorder configurations displays characteristic features that provide a novel diagnostic tool to distinguish between point-like pinning centers and extended columnar defects.