Influence of nonlocal electrodynamics on the anisotropic vortex pinning in YNi2B2C

Abstract

We have studied the pinning force density F-p of YNi2B2C superconductors for various field orientations. We observe anisotropies both between the c axis and the basal plane and within the plane that cannot be explained by the usual mass anisotropy. For magnetic field H parallel toc, the reorientation structural transition in the vortex lattice due to nonlocality, which occurs at a field H(1)similar to1 kOe, manifests itself as a kink in F-p(H). When H perpendicular toc, F-p is much larger and has a quite different H dependence, indicating that other pinning mechanisms are present. In this case the signature of nonlocal effects is the presence of a fourfold periodicity of F-p within the basal plane.