Possible critical point in phase diagrams of interlayer Josephson-vortex systems in high-Tc superconductors

A critical value in the product of the anisotropy parameter and the magnetic field is observed in interlayer Josephson-vortex systems by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Below/above this critical value the thermodynamic phase transition between the normal and the superconducting states upon temperature sweeping is first/second order. The origin is the intrinsic pinning effect of the layered structure of high-Tc superconductors.