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Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 833–836 (1998)

Structure and Correlations of the Flux Line Lattice in Crystalline Nb through the Peak Effect

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P. L. Gammel, U. Yaron*, A. P. Ramirez, D. J. Bishop, A. M. Chang†, R. Ruel, L. N. Pfeiffer, and E. Bucher
Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, 700 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974

G. D'Anna
Institut de Génie Atomique, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

D. A. Huse
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

K. Mortensen and M. R. Eskildsen
Risø National Laboratory, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark

P. H. Kes
Leiden University, Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, P.O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

Received 15 August 1997; published in the issue dated 26 January 1998

We have measured the structure of the field cooled flux line lattice (FLL) in single crystal Nb using small angle neutron scattering. Augmented by transport and thermodynamic data, a scenario for the dramatic disordering of the FLL near the peak effect emerges. A precursor to the peak effect is an hexatic FLL as positional order is lost. As the critical current rises, the orientational and longitudinal correlation lengths also fall, leading to an amorphous array of lines at the critical current maximum.

© 1998 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.833
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.833
PACS:
74.60.Ec, 74.25.Dw, 74.60.Ge, 74.60.Jg

*Present address: Biosense Ltd., Tirat HaCarmel, 39101 Israel.

†Present address: Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907.

 
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