Flux Motion and Dissipation in Cuprate Superconductors
25 October 1989
Magnetic flux motion in cuprate superconductors poses challenging conceptual questions and is closely related to properties of practical importance. We have studied the systematics of dissipation below T sub c in all classes of high T sub c compounds and find highest dissipation in superconductors with largest electronic anisotropy. Activation energies for flux motion of order kT are observed in large portions of the H-T phase space, which makes thermally activated dynamics a dominant phenomenon in cuprate superconductors. This is in marked contrast to traditional superconductors.