Vortex dynamics in disordered type-II superconductors

A field theoretical method is developed which permits us to study the dynamics of vortices in disordered environments. In particular, we obtain a self-consistent system of equations for disorder averaged quantities. Making use of a Hartree-type approximation, we calculate the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in the flux flow regime. In order to probe incipient melting of the vortex lattice we propose an experiment where interference steps in the I-V characteristics are observed, which arise when a small ac field is superimposed on the constant voltage.