Vortex clustering: The origin of the second peak in the magnetisation loops of type-two superconductors
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: We study vortex clustering in type-II superconductors. We demonstrate that the “second peak” observed in magnetisation loops may be a dynamical effect associated with a density-driven instability of the vortex system. At the microscopic level the instability shows up as the clustering of individual vortices at (rare) preferential regions of the pinning potential. In the limit of quasi-static ramping the instability is related to a phase transition in the equilibrium vortex system.
Source: Europhysics Letters (EPL)
Institutions: Imperial College London, University of Edinburgh
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1988646841