Co-imaging of static and dynamical vortex motion in thin film cuprate superconductor

The dynamics of quantized magnetic vortices in unconventional superconductors reveal rich, complex phase behavior. In this work, we leverage nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond as a powerful and non-invasive probe to investigate the vortex motion in thin-film Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ (BSCCO), revealing distinct phenomena within the superconducting phase. By measuring the NV relaxation time (T₁) under a bias field, we observe a broad and asymmetric reduction near the critical temperature T_c, unveiling the fast dynamics in vortex liquid phase. Concurrently, measurements of NV coherence time (T₂) are sensitive to slower frequency dynamics, showing a distinct reduction well below T_c that signals the complex motion in vortex solid phase. Finally, we combine the noise spectroscopy with static widefield NV magnetometry to directly image the vortex motion, establishing a connection between the static vortex configuration and its complex dynamical response.