Abstract
We present evidence for entangled solid vortex matter in a glassy state in a layered superconductor containing randomly splayed linear defects. The interlayer phase coherence—probed by the Josephson plasma resonance—is enhanced at high temperatures, reflecting the recoupling of vortex liquid by the defects. At low temperatures in the vortex solid state, the interlayer coherence follows a boomerang-shaped reentrant temperature path with an unusual low-field decrease in coherence, indicative of meandering vortices. We uncover a distinct temperature scaling between in-plane and out-of-plane critical currents with opposing dependencies on field and time, consistent with the theoretically proposed “splayed-glass” state.
- Received 2 April 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.027003
©2008 American Physical Society