Disorder, History Dependence and Phase Transitions in a Flux Lattice

TL;DR

This paper investigates how disorder and pinning influence phase transitions in the vortex lattice of type II superconductors, revealing a disorder-induced transition and a generic magnetic phase diagram.

Contribution

It provides new experimental insights into the effects of pinning on the phase boundary and introduces a generic magnetic phase diagram for type II superconductors.

Findings

Pinning alters the phase boundary between ordered and disordered vortex states.

A novel disorder-induced transition is identified.

The results lead to a generic magnetic phase diagram.

Abstract

The vortex lattice is an ideal system to study the competition and interplay between interaction and disorder. New results on 2H-NbSe_2 (in samples of progressively increasing pinning) elucidate how pinning alters the phase boundary separating the "ordered" and "disordered" states of the flux lines and causes a novel disorder-induced transition. A generic magnetic phase diagram of a type II superconductor.