Flux line lattice reorientation in the borocarbide superconductors with H ∥ a

Small angle neutron scattering studies of the flux line lattice in LuNi2B2C and ErNi2B2C induced by a held parallel to the a axis reveal a first order flux Line lattice reorientation transition. Below the transition the Bur line lattice nearest neighbor direction is parallel to the b axis, and above the transition it is parallel to the c axis. This transition cannot be explained using nonlocal corrections to the London model. In addition, the anisotropy of the penetration depth lambda and the coherence length xi change at the transition.