Quantum statistical mechanics of vortices in high-temperature superconductors

Starting from the vortex equation of motion, we construct an effective Euclidean action and formulate the quantum statistical mechanics of the vortex system. The formalism is applied to the calculation of various thermodynamic quantities such as the specific heat and the magnetic susceptibility of the vortex lattice. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of quantum fluctuations on the vortex-lattice melting transition.