Pinning features of the magnetic flux trapped by YBCO single crystals in weak constant magnetic fields

Abstract

The dynamics of Abrikosov vortices and their bundles was experimentally investigated in weak constant magnetic fields, in the range of Earth's magnetic field. Characteristics of the isothermal magnetization relaxation in YBCO single-crystal samples with strong pinning centers were studied for different sample-field orientation. The obtained values of normalized relaxation rate S allowed us to estimate the effective pinning potential U in the bulk of the YBCO sample and its temperature dependence, as well as the critical current density Jc. A comparison between the data obtained and the results of similar measurements in significantly higher magnetic fields was performed. To compare different techniques for evaluation of Jc, the magnetization loop measurements M(H), which relate the loop width to the critical current, were carried out. These measurements provided important parameters of the samples under study (penetration field Hp and first critical field Hc1), which involve the geometrical configuration of the samples.