Abstract
The first-order vortex-lattice phase transition was observed in single crystals ( ). A scaling law, , was found to universally hold for the phase transition lines not only in the present system but also in and . Here and are the anisotropy factor and the superconducting layer spacing. This remarkable scaling provides sound evidence that the first-order phase transition in high- superconductors manifests itself as the vortex-lattice sublimation rather than melting.
- Received 16 October 1997
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.4297
©1998 American Physical Society