Interfacial phase transitions in twinning-plane superconductors

F. Clarysse; J. O. Indekeu

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.65.094515

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Interfacial phase transitions in twinning-plane superconductors

F. Clarysse, J. O. Indekeu

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.65.094515 · Physical Review B

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Abstract

Within the framework of Ginzburg-Landau theory we study the rich variety of interfacial phase transitions in twinning-plane superconductors. We show that the phase behavior strongly depends on the transparency of the twinning plane for electrons measured by means of the coupling parameter αTP. By analyzing the solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equations in the limit of perfectly transparent twinning planes, we predict a first-order interface delocalization transition for all type-I materials. We further perform a detailed study of the other limit in which the twinning plane is opaque. The phase diagram proves to be very rich and fundamentally different from the transparent case, recovering many of the results for a system with an external surface. In particular both first-order and critical delocalization transitions are found to be possible, accompanied by a first-order depinning transition. We provide a comparison with experimental results and discuss the relevance of our findings for type-II materials.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
Sn Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
In Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
Nb Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
Re Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
Tl Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
YBa2Cu3O7-δ Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
HoBa2Cu3O7-δ Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown