Two-dimensional vortices in superconductors

Bo Chen; W. P. Halperin; Prasenjit Guptasarma; D. G. Hinks; V. F. Mitrović; A. P. Reyes; P. L. Kuhns

doi:10.1038/nphys540

Two-dimensional vortices in superconductors

Bo Chen, W. P. Halperin^*, Prasenjit Guptasarma, D. G. Hinks, V. F. Mitrović, A. P. Reyes, P. L. Kuhns

^*Corresponding author for this work

Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Superconductors have two key characteristics: they expel magnetic field and they conduct electrical current with zero resistance. However, both properties are compromised in high magnetic fields, which can penetrate the material and create a mixed state of quantized vortices. The vortices move in response to an electrical current, dissipating energy and destroying the zero-resistance state. One of the central problems for applications of high-temperature superconductivity is the stabilization of vortices to ensure zero electrical resistance. We find that vortices in the anisotropic superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ (Bi-2212) have a phase transition from a liquid state, which is inherently unstable, to a two-dimensional vortex solid. We show that at high field the transition temperature is independent of magnetic field, as was predicted theoretically for the melting of an ideal two-dimensional vortex lattice. Our results indicate that the stable solid phase can be reached at any field, as may be necessary for applications involving superconducting magnets. The vortex solid is disordered, as suggested by previous studies at lower fields. But its evolution with increasing magnetic field exhibits unexpected threshold behaviour that needs further investigation.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	239-242
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nature Physics
Volume	3
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys540
State	Published - Apr 6 2007

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge discussions with L. I. Glazman, A. E. Koshelev, D. C. Larbalastier, J. A. Sauls and E. Zeldov and contributions from E. E. Sigmund and P. Sengupta. We are grateful to Robert Smith for a detailed study of the satellites of O(1) in the vortex solid state. This work was supported by the Department of Energy, grant DE-FG02-05ER46248, and was carried out in part at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory supported by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida. P.G. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation, grant DMR 0449969. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to W.P.H.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Physics and Astronomy

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10.1038/nphys540

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title = "Two-dimensional vortices in superconductors",

abstract = "Superconductors have two key characteristics: they expel magnetic field and they conduct electrical current with zero resistance. However, both properties are compromised in high magnetic fields, which can penetrate the material and create a mixed state of quantized vortices. The vortices move in response to an electrical current, dissipating energy and destroying the zero-resistance state. One of the central problems for applications of high-temperature superconductivity is the stabilization of vortices to ensure zero electrical resistance. We find that vortices in the anisotropic superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ (Bi-2212) have a phase transition from a liquid state, which is inherently unstable, to a two-dimensional vortex solid. We show that at high field the transition temperature is independent of magnetic field, as was predicted theoretically for the melting of an ideal two-dimensional vortex lattice. Our results indicate that the stable solid phase can be reached at any field, as may be necessary for applications involving superconducting magnets. The vortex solid is disordered, as suggested by previous studies at lower fields. But its evolution with increasing magnetic field exhibits unexpected threshold behaviour that needs further investigation.",

author = "Bo Chen and Halperin, {W. P.} and Prasenjit Guptasarma and Hinks, {D. G.} and Mitrovi{\'c}, {V. F.} and Reyes, {A. P.} and Kuhns, {P. L.}",

note = "Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge discussions with L. I. Glazman, A. E. Koshelev, D. C. Larbalastier, J. A. Sauls and E. Zeldov and contributions from E. E. Sigmund and P. Sengupta. We are grateful to Robert Smith for a detailed study of the satellites of O(1) in the vortex solid state. This work was supported by the Department of Energy, grant DE-FG02-05ER46248, and was carried out in part at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory supported by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida. P.G. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation, grant DMR 0449969. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to W.P.H.",

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AU - Reyes, A. P.

AU - Kuhns, P. L.

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PY - 2007/4/6

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N2 - Superconductors have two key characteristics: they expel magnetic field and they conduct electrical current with zero resistance. However, both properties are compromised in high magnetic fields, which can penetrate the material and create a mixed state of quantized vortices. The vortices move in response to an electrical current, dissipating energy and destroying the zero-resistance state. One of the central problems for applications of high-temperature superconductivity is the stabilization of vortices to ensure zero electrical resistance. We find that vortices in the anisotropic superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ (Bi-2212) have a phase transition from a liquid state, which is inherently unstable, to a two-dimensional vortex solid. We show that at high field the transition temperature is independent of magnetic field, as was predicted theoretically for the melting of an ideal two-dimensional vortex lattice. Our results indicate that the stable solid phase can be reached at any field, as may be necessary for applications involving superconducting magnets. The vortex solid is disordered, as suggested by previous studies at lower fields. But its evolution with increasing magnetic field exhibits unexpected threshold behaviour that needs further investigation.

AB - Superconductors have two key characteristics: they expel magnetic field and they conduct electrical current with zero resistance. However, both properties are compromised in high magnetic fields, which can penetrate the material and create a mixed state of quantized vortices. The vortices move in response to an electrical current, dissipating energy and destroying the zero-resistance state. One of the central problems for applications of high-temperature superconductivity is the stabilization of vortices to ensure zero electrical resistance. We find that vortices in the anisotropic superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ (Bi-2212) have a phase transition from a liquid state, which is inherently unstable, to a two-dimensional vortex solid. We show that at high field the transition temperature is independent of magnetic field, as was predicted theoretically for the melting of an ideal two-dimensional vortex lattice. Our results indicate that the stable solid phase can be reached at any field, as may be necessary for applications involving superconducting magnets. The vortex solid is disordered, as suggested by previous studies at lower fields. But its evolution with increasing magnetic field exhibits unexpected threshold behaviour that needs further investigation.

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Two-dimensional vortices in superconductors

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