Vortex matter in layered superconductors without Josephson coupling : numerical simulations within a mean-field approach.

Journal Article · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2003 · Phys. Rev. B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.67.174508· OSTI ID:961117

Fangohr, H; Koshelev, A E; Dodgson, M J. W.

We study vortex matter in layered superconductors in the limit of zero Josephson coupling. The long range of the interaction between pancake vortices in the c direction allows us to employ a mean-field method: all attractive interlayer interactions are reduced to an effective substrate potential, which pancakes experience in addition to the same-layer pancake repulsion. We perform numerical simulations of this mean-field model using two independent numerical implementations with different simulation methods (Monte Carlo sampling and Langevin molecular dynamics). The substrate potential is updated self-consistently from the averaged pancake density. Depending on temperature, this potential converges to a periodic profile (crystal) or vanishes (liquid). We compute thermodynamic properties of the system, such as the melting line, the instability line of the crystal, and the entropy jump across the melting transition. The simulation results are in good agreement with approximate analytical calculations.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
• Sponsoring Organization: SC
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 961117
• Report Number(s): ANL/MSD/JA-44763
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. B, Journal Name: Phys. Rev. B Journal Issue: May 1, 2003 Vol. 67; ISSN 1098-0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: ENGLISH

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
COUPLING
JOSEPHSON JUNCTIONS
MATTER
MEAN-FIELD THEORY
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
SIMULATION
SUPERCONDUCTORS
VORTICES