Damping of dHvA oscillations and vortex-lattice disorder in the peak-effect region of strong type-II superconductors

The phenomenon of magnetic quantum oscillations in the superconducting state poses several questions that still defy satisfactory answers. A key controversial issue concerns the additional damping observed in the vortex state. Here, we show results of \mu SR, dHvA, and SQUID magnetization measurements on borocarbide superconductors, indicating that a sharp drop observed in the dHvA amplitude just below H_{c2} is correlated with enhanced disorder of the vortex lattice in the peak-effect region, which significantly enhances quasiparticle scattering by the pair potential.