Supercooling of the high field vortex phase in single crystalline BSCCO

TL;DR

This paper investigates the supercooling of the high-field vortex phase in single-crystalline BSCCO, revealing hysteresis and metastability associated with the second magnetization peak through magneto-optical imaging.

Contribution

It demonstrates the metastable persistence of the high-field vortex phase down to lower fields using rapid quenching techniques.

Findings

Hysteresis observed at the second magnetization peak

High-field vortex phase can be metastably retained at lower fields

Magneto-optical imaging reveals phase transition dynamics

Abstract

Time resolved magneto-optical images show hysteresis associated with the transition at the so-called ``second magnetization peak'' at B_sp in single-crystalline Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8+d. By rapid quenching of the high-field phase, it can be made to persist metastably in the sample down to fields that are nearly half B_sp.