A universal phase diagram for weakly pinned low-T-c type-II superconductors
is revisited and extended with new proposals. The low-temperature "Bragg g
lass" phase is argued to transform first into a disordered, glassy phase up
on heating. This glassy phase, a continuation of the high-field equilibrium
vortex glass phase, then melts at higher temperatures into a liquid. This
proposal provides an explanation for the anomalies observed in the peak eff
ect regime of 2H-NbSe2 and several other low-T-c materials which is indepen
dent of the microscopic mechanisms of superconductivity in these systems. (
C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.