Dk. Jackson et al., Vortex clustering: The origin of the second peak in the magnetisation loops of type-two superconductors, EUROPH LETT, 52(2), 2000, pp. 210-216
We study vortex clustering in type-II superconductors. We demonstrate that
the "second peak" observed in magnetisation loops may be a dynamical effect
associated with a density-driven instability of the vortex system. At the
microscopic level the instability shows up as the clustering of individual
vortices at (rare) preferential regions of the pinning potential. In the li
mit of quasi-static ramping the instability is related to a phase transitio
n in the equilibrium vortex system.