Non-linear magnetization effects within the Kosterlitz-Thouless theory

Recent experiments in cuprate superconductors have attracted the attention on the role of vortex fluctuations. Measurements of the field-induced magnetization showed that the correlation length diverge exponentially, as predicted within the Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) theory. However, it is somehow puzzling thepersistence of strong non-linear magnetization effects at low field. Here we address this issue by means of a new theoretical approach to the KT transition at finite magnetic field, based on the sine-Gordon model. This approach is particularly useful in two respects. First, it leads to a straightforward definition of the field-induced magnetization as a function of the external magnetic field $H$ instead of the magnetic induction $B$, which is crucial to get a consistent description of the Meissner phase. Second, it allows us to identify the cross-over field $H_{cr}$ from linear to non-linear magnetization both below and above the transition. Above $T_{KT}$ $H_{cr}$ turns out to scale as the inverse correlation length, so that it decreases as the transition is approached. As a consequence, the fact that only the non-linear regime is accessible experimentally should be interpreted as a typical signature of the fast divergence of the correlation length within the KT theory. L.Benfatto, C.Castellani and T.Giamarchi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 207002 (2007)