Superconducting switch permits measurement of small voltages at cryogenic temperatures

Dual-coil, superconducting, on-off switch measures small, thermoelectrically generated voltages produced by thermocouples in a liquid helium bath. Placed in a shunt configuration between the thermocouple and the measuring device, the measuring device sees the sum of the voltage to be measured and the spurious thermoelectric voltages

Measurements of thermoelectric power in annealed and quenched gold-platinum alloys

Report gives measurements of absolute thermoelectric powers of dilute gold-platinum alloys and influence of quenched-in lattice vacancies on their thermoelectric powers. It investigates phonon-drag component of thermoelectric power as a function of platinum concentration, and change in phonon-drag thermoelectric power by lattice vacancies

Dynamic Formation of Metastable Intermediate State Patterns in Type-I Superconductors

Structure of the intermediate state in type-I superconducting lead (Pb) is shown to be very sensitive to the ramp rate of an applied magnetic field. The configurations of resulting static patterns depend sensitively on the shape of the specimen. In particular, geometric barrier, present in the samples with rectangular cross-section, plays an important role in determining the sharp boundary between the phases of different topology. We propose that seemingly laminar (stripe) pattern obtained as a result of the fast field ramp is simply an imprint left behind by the fast-moving flux tubes. Our results confirm that flux tube phase is topologically favorable.Comment: to be presented at LT-25 (Amsterdam, 2008

Experimental search for anisotropic flux flow resistivity in the a-b plane of optimally doped epitaxial thin films of YBCO

Transport measurements along the node and anti-node directions in the a-b plane of optimally doped and epitaxial thin films of YBCO are reported. Low bias magnetoresistance measurements near and below T_c show that the flux flow resistivity along the node and anti-node directions versus magnetic field are indistinguishable. This result suggests that within the experimental error of our measurements, no correspondence is found between the flux pinning properties in YBCO and the d-wave nature of the order parameter.Comment: 5 figure

Nernst effect, quasiparticles, and d-density waves in cuprates

We examine the possibility that the large Nernst signal observed in the pseudogap regime of hole-doped cuprates originates from quasiparticle transport in a state with d-density wave (DDW) order, proposed by S. Chakravarty et al. [Phys. Rev. B 63, 094503 (2001)]. We find that the Nernst coefficient can be moderately enhanced in magnitude by DDW order, and is generally of negative sign. Thus, the quasiparticles of the DDW state cannot account for the large and positive Nernst signal observed in the pseudogap phase of the cuprates. However, the general considerations outlined in this paper may be of broader relevance, in particular to the recent measurements of Bel et al. in NbSe_2 and CeCoIn_5 [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 066602 (2003); ibid. 92, 217002 (2004)].Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; published versio

Impeded Growth of Magnetic Flux Bubbles in the Intermediate State Pattern of Type I Superconductors

Normal state bubble patterns in Type I superconducting Indium and Lead slabs are studied by the high resolution magneto-optical imaging technique. The size of bubbles is found to be almost independent of the long-range interaction between the normal state domains. Under bubble diameter and slab thickness proper scaling, the results gather onto a single master curve. On this basis, in the framework of the "current-loop" model [R.E. Goldstein, D.P. Jackson and A.T. Dorsey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 3818 (1996)], we calculate the equilibrium diameter of an isolated bubble resulting from the competition between the Biot-and-Savart interaction of the Meissner current encircling the bubble and the superconductor-normal interface energy. A good quantitative agreement with the master curve is found over two decades of the magnetic Bond number. The isolation of each bubble in the superconducting matrix and the existence of a positive interface energy are shown to preclude any continuous size variation of the bubbles after their formation, contrary to the prediction of mean-field models.Comment: \'{e}quipe Nanostructures Quantique

Quasiparticle scattering time in superconducting films: from dirty to clean limit

We study the quasiparticle energy relaxation processes in superconducting Nb films of different thicknesses corresponding to different electron mean free paths in a state far from equilibrium, that is the highly dissipative flux-flow state driven up to the instability point. From the measured current-voltage curves we derive the vortex critical velocity $v^{*}$ for several temperatures. From the $v^{*}(T)$ values, the quasiparticle energy relaxation time $\tau_{\epsilon}$ is evaluated within the Larkin-Ovchinnikov model and numerical calculations of the quasiparticle energy relaxation rates are carried out to support the experimental findings. Besides the expected constant behavior of $\tau_{\epsilon}(T)$ for the dirty samples, we observe a strong temperature dependence of the quasiparticle energy relaxation time in the clean samples. This feature is associated with the increasing contribution from the electron-phonon scattering process as the dirty limit is approached from the clean regime

Dynamics of stripe patterns in type-I superconductors subject to a rotating field

The evolution of stripe patterns in type-I superconductors subject to a rotating in-plane magnetic field is investigated magneto-optically. The experimental results reveal a very rich and interesting behavior of the patterns. For small rotation angles, a small parallel displacement of the main part of the stripes and a co-rotation of their very ends is observed. For larger angles, small sideward protrusions develop, which then generate a zigzag instability, ultimately leading to a breaking of stripes into smaller segments. The short segments then start to co-rotate with the applied field although they lag behind by approximately $10^\circ$. Very interestingly, if the rotation is continued, also reconnection of segments into longer stripes takes place. These observations demonstrate the importance of pinning in type-I superconductors.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.

Numerical simulations of two dimensional magnetic domain patterns

I show that a model for the interaction of magnetic domains that includes a short range ferromagnetic and a long range dipolar anti-ferromagnetic interaction reproduces very well many characteristic features of two-dimensional magnetic domain patterns. In particular bubble and stripe phases are obtained, along with polygonal and labyrinthine morphologies. In addition, two puzzling phenomena, namely the so called `memory effect' and the `topological melting' observed experimentally are also qualitatively described. Very similar phenomenology is found in the case in which the model is changed to be represented by the Swift-Hohenberg equation driven by an external orienting field.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Equilibrium topology of the intermediate state in type-I superconductors of different shapes

High-resolution magneto-optical technique was used to analyze flux patterns in the intermediate state of bulk Pb samples of various shapes - cones, hemispheres and discs. Combined with the measurements of macroscopic magnetization these results allowed studying the effect of bulk pinning and geometric barrier on the equilibrium structure of the intermediate state. Zero-bulk pinning discs and slabs show hysteretic behavior due to geometric barrier that results in a topological hysteresis -- flux tubes on penetration and lamellae on flux exit. (Hemi)spheres and cones do not have geometric barrier and show no hysteresis with flux tubes dominating the intermediate field region. It is concluded that flux tubes represent the equilibrium topology of the intermediate state in reversible samples, whereas laminar structure appears in samples with magnetic hysteresis (either bulk or geometric). Real-time video is available in http://www.cmpgroup.ameslab.gov/supermaglab/video/Pb.html NOTE: the submitted images were severely downsampled due to Arxiv's limitations of 1 Mb total size