Angular dependence of the critical current in layered superconductors

Abstract
We investigate the collective pinning of vortices in highly anisotropic superconductors. At low temperatures, flux-creep phenomena are determined by the movement of kinks. The critical current has a sharp maximum at a parallel to the layers orientation of the external magnetic field B. In a broad range of angles θ between the magnetic field and layers, the critical current is a function of B sinθ and it is independent on the in-plane direction of the current.