Effects of columnar defects on vortices in high-Tc superconductors
Abstract
We used the Multilevel Monte Carlo method to simulate and investigate the phases of vortex matter in anisotropic superconductors with extended columnar defects. Introducing low amounts of defects, Bφ = 50 G, we found that the vortex melting process proceeded in two stages. Vortices in the nanocrystalline phase melted into the nanoliquid phase, via a first-order phase transition, and then into the homogeneous liquid phase as the temperature was raised.