Van der Waals interaction between flux lines in high-Tc superconductors: A variational approach

A. Volmer*, M. Schwartz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

In pure anisotropic or layered superconductors thermal fluctuations induce a van der Waals attraction between flux lines. This attraction together with the entropic repulsion has interesting consequences for the low field phase diagram; in particular, a first order transition from the Meissner phase to the mixed state is induced. We introduce a new variational approach that allows for the calculation of the effective free energy of the flux line lattice on the scale of the mean flux line distance a, which is based on an expansion of the free energy around the regular triangular Abrikosov lattice. Using this technique, the low field phase diagram of these materials may be explored. The results of this technique are compared with a recent functional RG treatment of the same system.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)211-218
Number of pages8
JournalEuropean Physical Journal B
Volume7
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Jan 1999

Keywords

  • 74.60.Ec Mixed state, critical fields, and surface sheath
  • 74.72.Hs Bi-based cuprates

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