APS » PROLA » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 82 » Issue 24

Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4926 - 4929 (1999)

Evidence for a Two-Stage Melting Transition of the Vortex Matter in Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8+δ Single Crystals Obtained by Muon Spin Rotation

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T. Blasius1, Ch. Niedermayer1, J. L. Tallon2, D. M. Pooke2, A. Golnik3, and C. Bernhard3
1Universität Konstanz, Fakultät für Physik, D-78434 Konstanz, Germany
2New Zealand Institute for Industrial Research, P.O. Box 31310, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
3Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany

Received 29 June 1998

From muon spin rotation measurements on under- to overdoped Bi-2212 crystals we obtain evidence for a two-stage transition of the vortex matter as a function of temperature. The first transition is well known and related to the irreversibility line (IL). The second one is located below the IL and has not been previously observed. It occurs for all three sets of crystals and is unrelated to the vortex mobility. Our data is consistent with a two-stage melting scenario where the intraplanar melting of the vortex lattice and the interplanar decoupling of the vortex lines occur independently.


©1999 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v82/p4926
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.4926
PACS: 74.60.Ge, 74.25.Dw, 74.72.Hs, 76.75.+i

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