Time-resolved stroboscopic neutron scattering of vortex lattice dynamics in superconducting niobium

S. Mühlbauer; C. Pfleiderer; P. Böni; E. M. Forgan; E. H. Brandt; A. Wiedenmann; U. Keiderling; G. Behr

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.83.184502

← Back to search

Time-resolved stroboscopic neutron scattering of vortex lattice dynamics in superconducting niobium

S. Mühlbauer, C. Pfleiderer, P. Böni, E. M. Forgan, E. H. Brandt, A. Wiedenmann, U. Keiderling, G. Behr

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.184502 · Physical Review B

T1

Active bibliographic source — not scientific approval

Bibliographic access preserves source history; it does not approve extracted materials or validate reported claims. Review warnings on each occurrence separately.

Abstract

Superconducting vortex lattices, glasses, and liquids attract great interest as model systems of crystallization and as a source of microscopic information of the nature of superconductivity. We report direct microscopic measurements of the vortex lattice tilt modulus c44 in ultrapure niobium using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering. Aside from a general trend to faster vortex lattice dynamics for increasing temperatures, we observe a dramatic changeover of the relaxation process associated with the nontrivial vortex lattice morphology in the intermediate mixed state. This changeover is attributed to a Landau branching of the Shubnikov domains at the surface of the sample. Our study represents a showcase for how to access directly vortex lattice melting and the formation of vortex matter states for other systems.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
Nb Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
NbSe2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
MgB2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
URu2Si2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown