Nonmonotonic behavior of magnetoresistance, R(H) hysteresis, and low-temperature heat capacity of the BaPb0.75Bi0.25O3 superconductor in a magnetic field: Possible manifestations of phase separation

The transport properties (R(T) and R(H) dependences at various values of the transport current in magnetic fields up to 65 kOe) and low-temperature heat capacity in magnetic fields up to 90 kOe of the BaPb_0.75Bi_0.25O₃ superconductor (T _C ≈ 11.3 K) are investigated with the goal of clarifying the mechanisms determining the nonmonotonic behavior and hysteresis of its magnetoresistance R(H). The type of R(H) hysteretic dependences for BaPb_0.75Bi_0.25O₃ is analogous to that observed in granular high-T _c superconductors (HTSCs); however, unlike classical HTSC systems, the field width of the magnetoresistance hysteresis loop for polycrystalline BaPb_0.75Bi_0.25O₃ depends on the transport current. This means that although the mechanisms responsible for the magnetoresistance hysteresis (the influence of the magnetic flux trapped in superconducting regions on the effective field in Josephson interlayers) are identical in these objects, the transport current in BaPb_0.75Bi_0.25O₃ may considerably affect the diamagnetic response of the superconductor. A considerable effect of transport current on the field in which the R(H) dependences have a peak and exhibit hysterestic properties is observed. Such a behavior can be adequately interpreted using the model of the spatially inhomogeneous superconductor-insulator state proposed by Gorbatsevich et al. JETP Lett. 52, 95 (1990)]. The nonmonotonic dependence of quantity C/T (C is the heat capacity) on the magnetic field discovered in the present study also agrees with the conclusions based on this model.