Melting of Moving Vortex Lattices With Periodic Pinning

TL;DR

This paper investigates how temperature influences the structural phases of moving vortex lattices in superconductors with periodic pinning, revealing transitions from ordered channels to liquid states.

Contribution

It provides a numerical analysis of temperature-induced phase transitions in vortex lattices interacting with periodic pinning arrays.

Findings

Vortex lattices form a hexatic structure at low temperatures.

A transition to a smectic state occurs at intermediate temperatures.

At high temperatures, the vortex lattice melts into an isotropic liquid.

Abstract

We study numerically the effects of temperature on moving vortex lattices interacting with periodic pinning arrays. For low temperatures the vortex lattice flows in channels, forming a hexatic structure with long range transverse and longitudinal ordering. At higher temperatures, a transition to a smectic state occurs where vortices wander between channels and longitudinal order is lost while transverse order remains. At the highest temperatures the vortex lattice melts into an isotropic liquid.