We overview several recent experimental and numerical observations, which are at odds with the vortex glass theory of the freezing of disordered vortex matter. To reinvestigate the issue, we performed numerical simulations of the overdamped London-Langevin model, and use finite size scaling to analyze the data. Upon approaching the transition the initial vortex-glass-type criticality is arrested at some crossover temperature. Below this temperature the time scales continue growing very quickly, consistent with the Vogel-Fulcher form, while the spatial correlation length $\xi$ stops exhibiting any observable divergence. We call this mode of freezing the vortex molasses scenario.

• Received 26 July 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.1994