| The high-temperature superconductors, discovered in 1986, are able to maintain superconductivity under extreme conditions of temperature and magnetic field. However, they are unable to carry large currents without resistance returning to the material. This is due to the flow of magnetic vortices, which induce electric fields and create resistance. These vortices can be pinned in place by defects in the crystal structure of the material, increasing the “critical currents” of these materials. Extended defects aligned with the applied magnetic field have been found to provide good pinning, but slightly angled defects have been found to produce even larger critical currents. In this work, the results of molecular dynamics simulations of vortex motion are presented which examine this issue. |
