Slow motion of pinned superconducting vortices, commonly through thermally activated escape over energy barriers. It permits magnetic relaxation and a small dissipative voltage even below an ideal static depinning force. The barrier depends on current and pinning structure; a universal sharp transport threshold should not be assumed.
Motion of a previously pinned Abrikosov vortex when drive, thermal activation or other fluctuations overcome its trapping. The resulting flux motion can generate an electric field, so a transport critical current depends on the measurement's voltage and time criteria.
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Flux pinning is a phenomenon observed in type-II superconductors where magnetic flux lines (or vortices) are "pinned" in place within the superconducting material. This occurs due to defects, impurities, or microstructures within the superconductor that impede the movement of these magnetic vortices. In type-II superconductors, when exposed to a magnetic field above a certain critical level, the material allows magnetic flux to penetrate in discrete packets known as flux vortices.