OBSERVATION OF A COMMENSURATE ARRAY OF FLUX CHAINS IN TILTED FLUX LATTICES IN BI-SR-CA-CU-O SINGLE-CRYSTALS

We report the observation of a novel flux-lattice structure, a commensurate array of flux-line chains. Our experiments consist of the magnetic decoration of the flux lattices in single crystals of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O where the magnetic field is applied at an angle with respect to the conducting planes. For a narrow range of angles, the equilibrium structure is one with uniformly spaced chains with a higher line density of vortices than the background lattice. Our observations are in qualitative agreement with theories which suggest that in strongly anisotropic materials, the vortices develop an attractive interaction in tilted magnetic fields.