Neutron Diffraction by the Flux Line Lattice in YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ Single Crystals

Small-angle neutron diffraction was used to image the mixed state in a large superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ single crystal. The flux line lattice was observed in fields up to 2 T at various temperatures from 2.4 to 80 K. The integrated intensity I of the (10) reflection was calculated as a function of temperature for three different fields (0.8, 1 and 2 T). From these I(T) curves, the magnetic penetration depth λ(T) was obtained on an absolute scale. This quantity is of particular interest, since it provides information on the nature of the pairing mechanism in the superconductor, i.e. the symmetry of the wavefunction of the electron pairs. The results are discussed in terms of BCS theory (s-wave pairing) and of d-wave pairing with and without impurity scattering.