First-order transition in the magnetic vortex matter in superconducting MgB₂ tuned by disorder

The field-driven transition from an ordered Bragg glass to a disordered vortex phase in single-crystalline MgB₂ is tuned by an increasing density of point defects, introduced by electron irradiation. The discontinuity observed in magnetization attests to the first-order nature of the transition. The temperature and defect density dependences of the transition field point to vortex pinning mediated by fluctuations in the quasiparticle mean free path, and reveal the mechanism of the transition in the absence of complicating factors such as layeredness or thermal fluctuations.