Vortex lock-in transition coinciding with the 3D to 2D crossover in YBa2Cu3O7

Abstract: A vortex lock-in transition was directly detected by torque magnetometry in an overdoped YBa2Cu3O7 single crystal of low anisotropy (\approx 7). The locked-in state was observed below the 3D to 2D crossover temperature Tcr = 76 K, independently of extrinsic pinning effects thanks to a high quality clean crystal and the use of a vortex shaking technique. The shape of the torque signal as a function of the angle between the applied magnetic field and the crystallographic c-axis is in very good agreement with the model developped by Feinberg and Ettouhami [Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 7, 2085 (1993)] for quasi-2D superconductors, despite the low anisotropy of the material.