Supercooled vortex liquid and superheated vortex solid in type II superconductors

Abstract

metastable homogeneous state exists down to zero temperature in systems of repelling objects. Zero "fluctuation temperature" liquid state therefore serves as a (pseudo) "fixed point" controlling the properties of vortex liquid below and even around melting point. There exists Madelung constant for the liquid in the limit of zero temperature which is higher than that of the solid by an amount approximately equal to the latent heat of melting. On the other hand, the superheated solid exists until the spinodal line. This picture is supported by an exactly solvable large N Ginzburg - Landau model in magnetic field and it is confirmed by the recent experiment.