Statistical Mechanics of Vortices in Type-II Superconductors

TL;DR

This paper reviews how thermal fluctuations and disorder influence vortex phases in high-Tc superconductors, highlighting phase transitions and transport properties in various regimes.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of phase transitions and vortex phases considering thermal fluctuations and disorder effects in high-Tc superconductors.

Findings

Thermal fluctuations cause melting of the vortex lattice into a vortex liquid.

Disorder induces novel vortex glass phases at low temperatures.

Transport properties vary significantly across different vortex phases.

Abstract

Thermal fluctuations and disorder play an essential role in high-T$_c$ superconductors. After reviewing the mean-field phase diagram we describe significant modifications that result when the effects of finite temperature and disorder are incorporated. Thermal fluctuations cause the melting of the Abrikosov flux line lattice into a vortex liquid at high temperatures, and disorder produces novel glass phases at low temperatures. We analyze phase transitions between these new phases and describe transport properties in various regimes.