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Peak Effect and the Transition from Elastic to Plastic Depinning

Min-Chul Cha·H. A. Fertig
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Abstract

We demonstrate for the first time an observation of the peak effect in simulations of magnetic vortices in a superconductor. The shear modulus $c_{66}$ of the vortex lattice is tuned by adding a fictitious {attractive} short range potential to the usual long-range repulsion between vortices. The peak effect is found to be most pronounced in low densities of pinning centers, and is always associated with a transition from elastic to plastic depinning. The simulations suggest in some situations that over a range of values of $c_{66}$ the production of lattice defects by a driving force enhances the pinning of the lattice.

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Min-Chul Cha, H. A. Fertig. 1998-03-04. Peak Effect and the Transition from Elastic to Plastic Depinning. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.80.3851

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