Alternate-current dynamic reorganization and nonequilibrium phase transition in driven vortex matter

Abstract

Externally driven glassy systems may undergo nonequilibrium phase transitions (NEPTs). In particular, acdriven systems display special features, such as those observed in the vortex matter of NbSe 2 , where oscillatory drives reorganize the system into partially ordered vortex lattices. We provide experimental evidence for this dynamic reorganization and we show an unambiguous signature of its connection with an NEPT driven by ac forces. We perform a scaling analysis and we estimate critical exponents for this transition. Our results share similarities with some glass-to-viscous-liquid NEPTs and invite a search for similar physics in other elastic disordered media.

AC dynamic reorganization and critical phase transitions in superconducting vortex matter

“…On the other hand, the dynamics of these systems driven by alternating (AC) forces has received increasing attention. An amount of work, carried out during the last two decades, showed that AC driven systems display particular characteristics [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46], which are not directly an extension from the corresponding DC regimes, and may be dynamically reorganized into different configurations.…”

Jamming, fragility and pinning phenomena in superconducting vortex systems

“…Driven vortices also exhibit many memory effects, in which the depinning threshold is strongly affected by the manner in which the pinned vortex configuration was created [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] . More recently it was shown that vortices can exhibit reversible to irreversible transitions or organize to specific dynamical states under periodic drives [44][45][46][47] , similar to the behavior found in colloidal systems and amorphous jammed systems [48][49][50][51][52][53] , suggesting that vortices can have properties resembling those in other systems that exhibit jamming or fragility.…”

Jamming, Fragility and Pinning Phenomena in Superconducting Vortex Systems

“…Driven vortices also exhibit many memory effects, in which the depinning threshold is strongly affected by the manner in which the pinned vortex configuration was created [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. More recently it was shown that vortices can exhibit reversible to irreversible transitions or organize to specific dynamical states under periodic drives [44][45][46][47], similar to the behavior found in colloidal systems and amorphous jammed…”