- Editors' Suggestion
- Letter
Visualizing vortex cluster dynamics in the weakly type-II superconductor
Phys. Rev. B 114, L140504 – Published 28 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/gj5m-ntpz
Abstract
Scanning superconducting quantum interference device imaging of reveals dense vortex clusters with enhanced boundary susceptibility and suppressed internal vortex motion, features that are inconsistent with both isolated-vortex and flux tube behaviors. These measurements provide a local visualization of magnetic dynamics within vortex clusters in a weakly pinned superconductor, offering an alternative route to probe nonmonotonic vortex-vortex interactions that are typically expected in single-band type-II/1 or multiband type-1.5 superconductors. Although the superfluid density follows a single-gap BCS model, vortex clustering and spatially inhomogeneous dynamics are clearly observed in a regime where reported Ginzburg-Landau parameters place near the type-I/type-II boundary.