Vortex avalanches at one thousandth the superconducting transition temperature

R. J. Zieve; T. F. Rosenbaum; H. M. Jaeger; G. T. Seidler; G. W. Crabtree; U. Welp

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.53.11849

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Vortex avalanches at one thousandth the superconducting transition temperature

R. J. Zieve, T. F. Rosenbaum, H. M. Jaeger, G. T. Seidler, G. W. Crabtree, U. Welp

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.53.11849 · Physical Review B

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Abstract

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of vortex motion at millikelvin temperatures in untwinned single crystals of YBa2Cu3O7−δ. Above threshold fields of many tesla, flux jumps appear in the magnetic hysteresis B(H). These jumps correspond to a change of 750 vortices, on average, under our micrometer-sized Bi Hall probes. Not only are the threshold fields large, but they, and the characteristics of the flux jumps themselves, are essentially independent of magnet ramp rate or sample thickness, militating against a thermally triggered instability. Moreover, the threshold differs significantly on the ascending and descending branches of the hysteresis loop. We argue for a dynamical origin for these vortex avalanches and invoke a sandpile analogy to guide our detailed explorations of the H-T plane. © 1996 The American Physical Society.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
YBa2Cu3O7-δ Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	92	Pressure not reported	onset
YBa2Cu3O7 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	92	Pressure not reported	onset