Issue |
Europhys. Lett.
Volume 35, Number 8, September II 1996
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 597 - 602 | |
Section | Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic and optical properties | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/epl/i1996-00157-x | |
Published online | 01 September 2002 |
Peak effect in superconductors: melting of Larkin domains
1
NEC Research Institute, 4 Independence Way, Princeton,
NJ 08540, USA
2
Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton,
NJ 08544, USA
Received:
13
May
1996
Accepted:
12
July
1996
Motivated by the recent observations of the peak effect in high-Tc YBCO superconductors, we re-examine the origin of this unusual phenomenon. We propose that the sharp peak in the critical current as a function of temperature or magnetic field is an interesting manifestation of vortex-lattice melting in the presence of weak random pinning. Specifically, the rise of the critical current with increasing temperature or field is a result of a crossover from the Larkin pinning length to a length scale set by thermal fluctuations.
PACS: 74.60.Jg – Critical currents / 74.60.Ge – Flux pinning, flux creep, and flux-line lattice dynamics / 64.70.Dv – Solid-liquid transitions
© EDP Sciences, 1996
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