We study the effects of rapid temperature and magnetic field changes on the non-equilibrium relaxation dynamics of magnetic vortex lines in disordered type-II superconductors by employing an elastic line model and performing Langevin molecular dynamics simulations. In a previously equilibrated system, either the temperature is suddenly changed, or the magnetic field is instantaneously altered which is reflected in adding or removing flux lines to or from the system. The subsequent aging properties are investigated in samples with either randomly distributed point-like or extended columnar defects, which allows to distinguish the complex relaxation features that result from either type of pinning centers. One-time observables such as the radius of gyration and the fraction of pinned line elements are employed to characterize steady-state properties, and two-time correlation functions such as the vortex line height autocorrelations and their mean-square displacement are analyzed to study the non-linear stochastic relaxation dynamics in the aging regime.

We discuss the use of Langevin molecular dynamics in the investigation of the non-equilibrium properties of disordered vortex matter. Our special focus is set on values of system parameters that are realistic for disordered high-Tc superconductors such as YBCO. Using a discretized elastic line model, we study different aspects of vortices far from thermal equilibrium. On the one hand we investigate steady-state properties of driven magnetic flux lines in a disordered environment, namely the current-voltage characteristics, the gyration radius, and the pinning time statistics. On the other hand we study the complex relaxation processes and glassy-like dynamics that emerge in type-II superconductors due to the intricate competition between the long-range vortex-vortex repulsion and flux pinning due to randomly placed point defects. To this end we consider different types of sudden perturbations: temperature, magnetic field, and external current quenches.

We investigate the relaxation dynamics of magnetic vortex lines in type-II superconductors following rapid changes of the external driving current by means of an elastic line model simulated with Langevin molecular dynamics. A system of flux vortices in a sample with randomly distributed point-like defects is subjected to an external current of appropriate strength for a sufficient period of time so as to be in a moving non-equilibrium steady state. The current is then instantaneously lowered to a value that pertains to either the moving or pinned regime. The ensuing relaxation of the flux lines is studied via one-time observables such as their mean velocity and radius of gyration. We have in addition measured the two-time flux line height autocorrelation function to investigate dynamical scaling and aging behavior in the system, which in particular emerge after quenches into the glassy pinned state.

We utilize Langevin molecular dynamics simulations to study dynamical critical behavior of magnetic flux lines near the depinning transition in type-II superconductors subject to randomly distributed attractive point defects. We employ a coarse-grained elastic line Hamiltonian for the mutually repulsive vortices and purely relaxational kinetics. In order to infer the stationary-state critical exponents for the continuous non-equilibrium depinning transition at zero temperature T = 0 and at the critical driving current density jc, we explore two-parameter scaling laws for the flux lines' gyration radius and mean velocity as functions of the two relevant scaling fields T and j − jc. We also investigate critical aging scaling for the two-time height auto-correlation function in the early-time non-equilibrium relaxation regime to independently measure critical exponents. We provide numerical exponent values for the distinct universality classes of non-interacting and repulsive vortices.

We explore the dynamics of driven magnetic flux lines in disordered type-II superconductors in the presence of twin boundaries oriented parallel to the direction of the applied magnetic field, using a three-dimensional elastic line model simulated with Langevin molecular dynamics. The lines are driven perpendicular to the planes to model the effect of an electric current applied parallel to the planes and perpendicular to the magnetic field. A study of the long-time non-equilibrium steady states for varying sample orientation and thickness reveals a rich collection of dynamical regimes spanning the depinning crossover region that separates the pinned and moving-lattice states of vortex matter. We observe the emergence of a preferred direction for the ordering of the Abrikosov lattice in the free-flowing vortex regime due to asymmetric pinning by the planar defects. We have performed novel direct measurements of flux line excitations such as half-loops and double kinks to aid the characterization of the topologically rich flux flow profile.