Abstract: The mechanical response of the flux-line lattice has been measured with a low-frequency forced pendulum in ceramic YBa2Cu3O7. A dissipation peak observed in temperature sweeps is frequency-independent between 1 mHz and 5 Hz. Dissipation depends strongly on applied torque, and for fixed temperatures this dependence is well fitted by a rheological model of extended dry friction. If the model is extended to take account of thermal activation, however, it does not agree with the measured frequency independence, which is hard to explain within simple models of thermal activation.

Abstract: Abstract
This paper provides a systematic analysis of the morphology and the superconducting critical temperature obtained in very thin GdBa2Cu3O7−δ films grown on (0 0 1) SrTiO3 substrates by DC sputtering. We find that the use of a very thin SrTiO3 buffer layer (≈2 nm) modify the nucleation of GdBa2Cu3O7−δ on the surface of the substrate reducing the formation of 3 dimensional clusters. Our results demonstrate that 16 nm thick GdBa2Cu3O7−δ films with an average root-mean-square (RMS) smaller than 1 nm and large surface areas (up 10 μm2) free of 3 dimensional topological defects can be obtained. In films thinner than 24 nm the onset (zero resistance) of superconducting transition of the films is reduced, being close to liquid nitrogen. This fact can be associated with stress reducing the orthorhombicity and slightly drop in oxygen stoichiometry.

Abstract: We report on a novel magnetic field dependence of the critical current density of M.B.E. grown Ge/Pb insulator/superconductor multilayers. When the magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the layers, the critical current density Jc drops to a minimum, followed by a broad maximum before finally decaying monotonously to zezero with increasing magnetic field. The dependence of this effect on pinning strength, temperature, and layer thickness suggests either a thermally driven coupling/decoupling transition, or melting of the vortex lattice.

Abstract: Measurement of the response of the flux-line lattice in NbSe2 and La1.825Sr0.075CuO4 show important differences between these two materials. In particular, we have studied the magnetic-field and angular dependence of the response of a high-Q mechanical oscillator in fields of up to 1 T. The features seen in NbSe2 seem to be well explained in terms of a change in the pinning regime, usually termed the “peak effect” in the critical current, using the collective-pinning model of Larkin and Ovchivnikov within Ginzburg-Landau anisotropic theory. On the other hand the behavior found in the high-Tc material LSCO seems to fall naturally into a description which takes into account the possibility of phase transitions in the vortex lattice and the quasi-two-dimensional character of the superconductivity.

Abstract: Superconducting current densities js and dynamic relaxation rates Q ? d ln js/d ln (dBe/dt) in an oxygen deficient YBa2Cu3O7-? epitaxial film were measured as a function of temperature (1.5K < T < Tirr) in magnetic fields up to 7 T by means of high sensitivity capacitance torquemeters. Below 5 K, the relaxation rate remains high and does not extrapolate to Q = 0 at T = 0K. This is associated to the quantum tunneling of vortices through the energy barrier separating two adjacent vortex configurations. In the case of ohmic dissipation the quantum creep rate is proportional to the normal state resistivity ?{variant}n(0) at T = 0 K. In order to check this theoretical prediction we measured Q as a function of the oxygen content of the sample. The quantum creep rate increases systematically with increasing ?{variant}n(0). However, Q remains finite even when ?{variant}n = 0.