First order phase transition from the vortex liquid to an amorphous solid
arXiv:cond-mat/0210623 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.147001
Abstract
We present a systematic study of the topology of the vortex solid phase in superconducting Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ samples with low doses of columnar defects. A new state of vortex matter imposed by the presence of geometrical contours associated with the random distribution of columns is found. The results show that the first order liquid-solid transition in this vortex matter does not require a structural symmetry change.
4 pages, 5 figures