Glass transitions in monodisperse cluster-forming ensembles : vortex matter in type-1.5 superconductors
Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Physical Society
Abstract
At low enough temperatures and high densities, the equilibrium configuration of an ensemble of ultrasoft particles is a self-assembled, ordered, cluster crystal. In the present Letter, we explore the out-of-equilibrium dynamics for a two-dimensional realization, which is relevant to superconducting materials with multiscale intervortex forces. We find that, for small temperatures following a quench, the suppression of the thermally activated particle hopping hinders the ordering. This results in a glass transition for a monodispersed ensemble, for which we derive a microscopic explanation in terms of an “effective polydispersity” induced by multiscale interactions. This demonstrates that a vortex glass can form in clean systems of thin films of “type-1.5” superconductors. An additional setup to study this physics can be layered superconducting systems, where the shape of the effective vortex-vortex interactions can be engineered.
Description
CITATION: Diaz-Mendez, R., et al. 2017. Glass transitions in monodisperse cluster-forming ensembles : vortex matter in type-1.5 superconductors. Physical Review Letters, 118(6):1-5, doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.067001.
The original publication is available at https://journals.aps.org/prl
The original publication is available at https://journals.aps.org/prl
Keywords
Glass transition, Vortex matter, Cluster formation, Superconductors
Citation
Diaz-Mendez, R., et al. 2017. Glass transitions in monodisperse cluster-forming ensembles : vortex matter in type-1.5 superconductors. Physical Review Letters, 118(6):1-5, doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.067001