Simulation of high field induced first-order phase transition in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

Abstract The occurrence and nature of first-order transitions (FOT) in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 (BSCCO) are still open issues, although results from a number of experiments do support a FOT both at low and high fields. We present a FOT obtained via Monte Carlo simulations using the Lawrence–Doniach model for layered superconductors, focusing on a clean 3D sample of BSCCO, with dc field applied perpendicular to the CuO 2 planes. Our results confirm Nelson's predictions for the random-walk-like diffusion of melted lines, contrarily to some recent suggestions. Further results for the z -dependent density–density correlation function indicate that in the high field regime the CuO 2 planes decouple along with line melting, in agreement with experimental observations in BSCCO.