Stripe Domains and First-Order Phase Transition in the Vortex Matter of Anisotropic High-Temperature Superconductors

V. K. Vlasko-Vlasov; J. R. Clem; A. E. Koshelev; U. Welp; W. K. Kwok

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.157001

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Stripe Domains and First-Order Phase Transition in the Vortex Matter of Anisotropic High-Temperature Superconductors

V. K. Vlasko-Vlasov, J. R. Clem, A. E. Koshelev, U. Welp, W. K. Kwok

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.157001 · Physical Review Letters

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Abstract

We report the direct imaging of a novel modulated flux striped domain phase in a nearly twin-free YBCO crystal. These domains arise from instabilities in the vortex structure within a narrow region of tilted magnetic fields at small angles from the in-plane direction. By comparing the experimental and theoretically derived vortex phase diagrams we infer that the stripe domains emerge from a first-order phase transition of the vortex structure. The size of domains containing vortices of certain orientations is controlled by the balance between the vortex stray field energy and the positive energy of the domain boundaries. Our results confirm the existence of the kinked vortex chain phase in an anisotropic high temperature superconductor and reveal a sharp transition in the state of this phase resulting in regular vortex domains.

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.	92.4	Pressure not reported	onset
MgB2 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown