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Vortex liquid state in an electron irradiated untwinned YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7[minus][delta]] crystal

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters; (United States)
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  1. Materials Science Division and Science and Technology Center for Superconductivity, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

We report on the temperature and field dependencies of the resistivity of an untwinned YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7[minus][delta]] single crystal before and after 1 MeV electron irradiation in fields up to 8 T. We show, for the first time, direct suppression of the first order vortex liquid-to-solid phase transition due to the controlled introduction of point defects, and that transport in the vortex liquid is dominated by viscosity rather than by single vortex pinning. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the first order vortex transition can be recovered by reducing the density of point defects through subsequent annealing of the sample.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6458261
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters; (United States), Journal Name: Physical Review Letters; (United States) Vol. 74:7; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English