Effect of the misalignment between the applied and internal magnetic fields on the critical currents in tilted superconducting thin films

The analysis of critical current density ($J_c$) as a function of the orientation of the applied magnetic field (\textbf{H}) provides a very effective way to identify and discriminate the various pinning mechanisms in high temperature superconductors. In thin and/or anisotropic superconductors, the vortices may decrease their free energy by tilting their orientation with respect to \textbf{H}, therefore producing a misalignment between the applied and internal magnetic fields. We present $J_c$ angular studies in films with the crystallographic axis tilted with respect to the sample surface. This results in a rich behavior, characterized by an asymmetric angular dependence and a shift of the $J_c$ $ab$-planes maxima position as function of the magnetic field. We show under which conditions the misalignment must be taken into account and quantify the magnitude of the shift.