Vortices in high-temperature superconductors

• Published in: Reviews of modern physics 1994-10, Vol.66 (4), p.1125-1388
• Main Authors: Blatter, G., Feigel'man, M. V., Geshkenbein, V. B., Larkin, A. I., Vinokur, V. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 665411 > Basic Superconductivity Studies-- (1992-); ANISOTROPY; CHALCOGENIDES; CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; CREEP; CRITICALITY; CURRENT DENSITY; DIAGRAMS; DIFFUSION; ELASTICITY; FLUCTUATIONS; GINZBURG-LANDAU THEORY; HAMILTONIANS; HIGH-TC SUPERCONDUCTORS; MATHEMATICAL MODELS; MATHEMATICAL OPERATORS; MECHANICAL PROPERTIES; MECHANICS; NUCLEAR MODELS; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; PHASE DIAGRAMS; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; QUANTUM OPERATORS; SCALING LAWS; STATISTICAL MECHANICS; SUPERCONDUCTORS; SUPERFLUID MODEL; TENSILE PROPERTIES; THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES; TYPE-II SUPERCONDUCTORS; VARIATIONS 665410 > Superconductivity-- (1992-); VORTICES
• ISSN: 0034-6861; 1539-0756
• DOI: 10.1103/RevModPhys.66.1125

The terms glass'' and liquid'' are defined in a dynamic sense, with a sublinear response [rho]=[partial derivative][ital E]/[partial derivative][ital j][vert bar][sub [ital j][r arrow]0] characterizing the truly superconducting vortex glass and a finite resistivity [rho]([ital j][r arrow]0)[gt]0 being the signature of the liquid phase. The smallness of [ital j][sub [ital c]]/[ital j][sub o] allows one to discuss the influence of quenched disorder in terms of the weak collective pinning theory. Supplementing the traditional theory of weak collective pinning to take into account thermal and quantum fluctuations, as well as the new scaling concepts for elastic media subject to a random potential, this modern version of the weak collective pinning theory consistently accounts for a large number of novel phenomena, such as the broad resistive transition, thermally assisted flux flow, giant and quantum creep, and the glassiness of the solid state. The strong layering of the oxides introduces additional new features into the thermodynamic phase diagram, such as a layer decoupling transition, and modifies the mechanism of pinning and creep in various ways. The presence of strong (correlated) disorder in the form of twin boundaries or columnar defects not only is technologically relevant but also provides the framework for the physical realization of novel thermodynamic phases such as the Bose glass. On a macroscopic scale the vortex system exhibits self-organized criticality, with both the spatial and the temporal scale accessible to experimental investigations.