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Phase fluctuation phenomena in superconductors

Andreas Andersson

Published Jan 1, 2012• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We revisit the scaling properties of the resistivity and the current-voltage characteristics at and below the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, both in zero and nonzero magnetic field. The scaling properties are derived by integrating the renormalization group flow equations up to a scale where they can be reliably matched to simple analytic expressions. The vortex fugacity turns out to be dangerously irrelevant for these quantities below $T_c$, thereby altering the scaling behavior. We derive the possible crossover effects as the current, magnetic field or system size is varied, and find a strong multiplicative logarithmic correction near $T_c$, all which is necessary to account for when interpreting experiments and simulation data. Our analysis clarifies a longstanding discrepancy between the finite size dependence found in many simulations and the current-voltage characteristics of experiments. We further show that the logarithmic correction can be avoided by approaching the transition in a magnetic field, thereby simplifying the scaling analysis. We confirm our results by large scale numerical simulations, and calculate the dynamic critical exponent $z$, for relaxational Langevin dynamics and for resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junction dynamics.

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We revisit the scaling properties of the resistivity and the current-voltage characteristics at and below the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, both in zero and nonzero magnetic fields. The scaling properties are derived by integrating the renormalization group flow equations up to a scale where they can be reliably matched to simple analytic expressions. The vortex fugacity turns out to be dangerously irrelevant for these quantities below ${T}_{c}$, thereby altering the scaling behavior. We derive the possible crossover effects as the current, magnetic field, or system size is varied, and find a strong multiplicative logarithmic correction near ${T}_{c}$, all of which is necessary to account for when interpreting experiments and simulation data. Our analysis clarifies a longstanding discrepancy between the finite size dependence found in many simulations and the current-voltage characteristics of experiments. We further show that the logarithmic correction can be avoided by approaching the transition in a magnetic field, thereby simplifying the scaling analysis. We confirm our results by large-scale numerical simulations, and calculate the dynamic critical exponent $z$, for relaxational Langevin dynamics and for resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junction dynamics.

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We revisit the scaling properties of the resistivity and the current-voltage characteristics at and below the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, both in zero and nonzero magnetic field. The scaling properties are derived by integrating the renormalization group flow equations up to a scale where they can be reliably matched to simple analytic expressions. The vortex fugacity turns out to be dangerously irrelevant for these quantities below TcT_cTc​, thereby altering the scaling behavior. We derive the possible crossover effects as the current, magnetic field or system size is varied, and find a strong multiplicative logarithmic correction near TcT_cTc​, all which is necessary to account for when interpreting experiments and simulation data. Our analysis clarifies a longstanding discrepancy between the finite size dependence found in many simulations and the current-voltage characteristics of experiments. We further show that the logarithmic correction can be avoided by approaching the transition in a magnetic field, thereby simplifying the scaling analysis. We confirm our results by large scale numerical simulations, and calculate the dynamic critical exponent zzz, for relaxational Langevin dynamics and for resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junction dynamics.
We revisit the scaling properties of the resistivity and the current-voltage characteristics at and below the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, both in zero and nonzero magnetic fields. The scaling properties are derived by integrating the renormalization group flow equations up to a scale where they can be reliably matched to simple analytic expressions. The vortex fugacity turns out to be dangerously irrelevant for these quantities below Tc{T}_{c}Tc​, thereby altering the scaling behavior. We derive the possible crossover effects as the current, magnetic field, or system size is varied, and find a strong multiplicative logarithmic correction near Tc{T}_{c}Tc​, all of which is necessary to account for when interpreting experiments and simulation data. Our analysis clarifies a longstanding discrepancy between the finite size dependence found in many simulations and the current-voltage characteristics of experiments. We further show that the logarithmic correction can be avoided by approaching the transition in a magnetic field, thereby simplifying the scaling analysis. We confirm our results by large-scale numerical simulations, and calculate the dynamic critical exponent zzz, for relaxational Langevin dynamics and for resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junction dynamics.
It has been suggested [Pierson et al., Phys. Rev. B 60, 1309 (1999); Ammirata et al., Physica C 313, 225 (1999)] that for two-dimensional (2D) superconductors there exists a phase transition with the dynamic critical exponent $z\ensuremath{\approx}5.6.$ We perform simulations for the 2D resistively-shunted-junction model and compare the results with the experimental data in Repaci et al. obtained for an ultrathin YBCO sample [Phys. Rev. B 54, R9674 (1996)]. We then use a different method of analyzing dynamic scaling than in Pierson et al., and conclude that both the simulations and the experiments are consistent with a conventional Kosterlitz Thouless (KT) transition in the thermodynamic limit for which z=2.z=2.z=2. For finite systems, however, we find both in simulations and experiments that the change in the current-voltage $(I\ensuremath{-}V)$ characteristics caused by the finite size shows a scaling property with an exponent $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\approx}1/6,$ seemingly suggesting a vanishing resistance at a temperature for which $z={\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}.$ It is pointed out that the dynamic critical exponent found in Pierson et al. corresponds to the exponent ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}.$ It is emphasized that this scaling property does not represent any true phase transition since in reality the resistance vanishes only at zero temperature. Nevertheless, the observed scaling behavior associated with $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\approx}1/6$ appears to be a common and intriguing feature for the finite size caused change in the $I\ensuremath{-}V$ characteristics around the KT transition.
A new approach to the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition in the two-dimensional Coulomb gas model is explored by Monte Carlo simulation and finite size scaling. The usual mapping of a neutral two-dimensional superconductor in zero magnetic field to a Coulomb gas leads to an unscreened logarithmic interaction between the vortices, and with periodic boundary conditions vortex configurations are always vorticity neutral with an equal number of plus and minus vortices. We demonstrate that relaxing the neutrality condition has certain advantages. It leads to non-neutral vortex configurations that can appear in real systems with open boundary conditions and permits calculation of the compressibility, which for thin film superconductors corresponds to the magnetic permeability. The vortex-number fluctuation has remarkable scaling properties at and below the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition. The fugacity variable becomes dangerously irrelevant in the low-temperature phase and leads to a multiplicative scaling correction to the mean-square vortex-number fluctuation and to the magnetic permeability. This multiplicative correction strongly affects the scaling properties of the vorticity fluctuation at and below the transition. Consequences of these findings are demonstrated using Monte Carlo simulations. Inclusion of the next-higher order correction to scaling is found to play an important role in the analysis of numerical data for the vortex number fluctuation and permits accurate determination of the critical properties.
In recent years many groups have used Fisher, Fisher and Huse (FFH) dynamical scaling to investigate and demonstrate details of the superconducting phase transition. Some attention has been focused on two dimensions where the phase transition is of the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii (KTB) type. Pierson et al. used FFH dynamical scaling almost exclusively to suggest that the dynamics of the two-dimensional superconducting phase transition may be other than KTB-like. In this work we investigate the ability of scaling behavior by itself to yield useful information on the nature of the transition. We simulate current-voltage (IV) curves for two-dimensional Josephson junction arrays with and without finite-size-induced resistive tails. We find that, for the finite-size effect data, the values of the scaling parameters, specifically the transition temperature and the dynamical scaling exponent z, depend critically on the magnitude of the contribution that the resistive tails make to the IV curves. In effect, the values of the scaling parameters depend on the noise floor of the measuring system.
Dynamical simulations and scaling arguments are used to study the current-voltage $(I\ensuremath{-}V)$ characteristics of a two-dimensional model of resistively shunted Josephson-junction arrays in presence of percolative disorder, at zero external field. Two different limits of the Josephson-coupling concentration ppp are considered, where pc{p}_{c}pc​ is the percolation threshold. For p>pcp>{p}_{c}p>pc​ and zero temperature, the $I\ensuremath{-}V$ curves show power-law behavior above a disorder-dependent critical current. The power-law behavior and critical exponents are consistent with a simple scaling analysis. At pc{p}_{c}pc​ and finite temperature T,T,T, the results show the scaling behavior of a T=0T=0T=0 superconducting transition. The resistance is linear but vanishes for decreasing TTT with an apparent exponential behavior. Crossover to nonlinearity appears at currents proportional to ${T}^{1+{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{T}},$ with a thermal-correlation length exponent ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{T}$ consistent with the corresponding value for the diluted XY\mathrm{XY}XY model at pc.{p}_{c}.pc​.
There has been ongoing debate over the critical behavior of two-dimensional superconductors; in particular for high Tc{T}_{c}Tc​ superconductors. The conventional view is that a Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition occurs as long as finite size effects do not obscure the transition. However, there have been recent suggestions that a different transition actually occurs which incorporates aspects of both the dynamic scaling theory of Fisher, Fisher, and Huse and the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition. Of general interest is that this modified transition apparently has a universal dynamic critical exponent. Some have countered that this apparent universal behavior is rooted in a newly proposed finite-size scaling theory; one that also incorporates scaling and conventional two-dimensional theory. To investigate these issues we study dc voltage versus current data of a 12-\AA{}-thick ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{7\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}$ film. We find that the newly proposed scaling theories have intrinsic flexibility that is relevant to the analysis of the experiments. In particular, the data scale according to the modified transition for arbitrarily defined critical temperatures between 0 and 19.5 K, and the temperature range of a successful scaling collapse is related directly to the sensitivity of the measurement. This implies that the apparent universal exponent is due to the intrinsic flexibility rather than some real physical property. To address this intrinsic flexibility, we propose a criterion which would give conclusive evidence for phase transitions in two-dimensional superconductors. We conclude by reviewing results to see if our criterion is satisfied.