Electrical transport, magnetic, and structural properties of the vortex lattice of V3Si in the vicinity of the peak effect

Abstract

The peak effect in critical current density Jc is investigated by studying the flux dynamics in V3Si using bulk magnetometry, small-angle neutron scattering, and transport measurements on clean single-crystal samples from the same ingot. For a field-cooled history, well-defined structure in the vortex lattice was found for fields and temperatures (H,T) below the peak-effect line Hp(T); above this line, the structure disappeared. History-dependent, metastable disorder is found only for (H,T) below Hp(T) but the vortex system is reproducibly re-ordered either by field cooling or a low-frequency, pulsed "shaking" transport current. The latter is shown to attain Bardeen-Stephen flux flow. In addition, flux flow is observed at Hp(T) at high current levels. The results support the traditional picture of Hp(T) as an order-disorder transition due to the competition between elasticity and pinning.

Source or Periodical Title

Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

ISSN

1631829

Page

1045161-1045167

Document Type

Article

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