Dynamics and non-equilibrium phase transitions in superconducting vortex lattices

It is interesting to study how elastic objects respond to external shearing forces and are driven over a random potential. This study will lead to new insights into friction and plastic motion of solids, which are widely observed in nature. It is also interesting how many particles escape from the pinning potential and self-organize into ordered structures. I show that superconducting vortices are a suitable model system to study such phenomena and novel non-equilibrium transitions. (author)