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Sample records for disorder-induced phase transition

  1. Stratification-induced order--disorder phase transitions in molecularly thin confined films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schoen, M.; Diestler, D.J.; Cushman, J.H.

    1994-01-01

    By means of grand canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulations of a monatomic film confined between unstructured (i.e., molecularly smooth) rigidly fixed solid surfaces (i.e., walls), we investigate the mechanism of molecular stratification, i.e., the tendency of atoms to arrange themselves in layers parallel with the walls. Stratification is accompanied by a heretofore unnoticed order--disorder phase transition manifested as a maximum in density fluctuations at the transition point. The transition involves phases with different transverse packing characteristics, although the number of layers accommodated between the walls remains unchanged during the transition, which occurs periodically as the film thickens. However, with increasing thickness, an increasingly smaller proportion of the film is structurally affected by the transition. Thus, the associated maximum in density fluctuations diminishes rapidly with film thickness

  2. Pressure-induced decoupling of the order-disorder and displacive contributions to the phase transition in diguanidinium tetrachlorostannate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Szafranski, M.; Ståhl, Kenny

    2000-01-01

    The crystals of diguanidinium tetrachlorostannate [C(NH2)(3)](2)(+).SnCl4-2, were studied by single-crystal x-ray diffraction at various temperatures and by calorimetric and dielectric measurements at ambient and high hydrostatic pressures. At room temperature the crystal structure is orthorhombic......) cations. At ambient pressure the crystals undergo two first-order phase transitions at 354.8 and 395.4 K. The former, between two orthorhombic phases (Pbca --> Cmca), is characterized by antiphase displacement of the double sheets along the b direction of the low-temperature unit cell which is coupled...... to dynamical disordering of G(2) and transformation of its hydrogen bonding scheme. At elevated pressures the coupling between the displacive and order-disorder contributions is modified and its breaking near a triple point at 180 MPa and 270 K results in a pressure-induced phase observed between Pbca and Cmca...

  3. Quantum phase transitions of a disordered antiferromagnetic topological insulator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baireuther, P.; Edge, J. M.; Fulga, I. C.; Beenakker, C. W. J.; Tworzydło, J.

    2014-01-01

    We study the effect of electrostatic disorder on the conductivity of a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic insulator (a stack of quantum anomalous Hall layers with staggered magnetization). The phase diagram contains regions where the increase of disorder first causes the appearance of surface conduction (via a topological phase transition), followed by the appearance of bulk conduction (via a metal-insulator transition). The conducting surface states are stabilized by an effective time-reversal symmetry that is broken locally by the disorder but restored on long length scales. A simple self-consistent Born approximation reliably locates the boundaries of this so-called "statistical" topological phase.

  4. Disorder-induced localization in crystalline phase-change materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegrist, T; Jost, P; Volker, H; Woda, M; Merkelbach, P; Schlockermann, C; Wuttig, M

    2011-03-01

    Localization of charge carriers in crystalline solids has been the subject of numerous investigations over more than half a century. Materials that show a metal-insulator transition without a structural change are therefore of interest. Mechanisms leading to metal-insulator transition include electron correlation (Mott transition) or disorder (Anderson localization), but a clear distinction is difficult. Here we report on a metal-insulator transition on increasing annealing temperature for a group of crystalline phase-change materials, where the metal-insulator transition is due to strong disorder usually associated only with amorphous solids. With pronounced disorder but weak electron correlation, these phase-change materials form an unparalleled quantum state of matter. Their universal electronic behaviour seems to be at the origin of the remarkable reproducibility of the resistance switching that is crucial to their applications in non-volatile-memory devices. Controlling the degree of disorder in crystalline phase-change materials might enable multilevel resistance states in upcoming storage devices.

  5. Disorder-induced transitions in resonantly driven Floquet topological insulators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Titum, Paraj; Lindner, Netanel H.; Refael, Gil

    2017-08-01

    We investigate the effects of disorder in Floquet topological insulators (FTIs) occurring in semiconductor quantum wells. Such FTIs are induced by resonantly driving a transition between the valence and conduction bands. We show that when disorder is added, the topological nature of such FTIs persists as long as there is a mobility gap at the resonant quasienergy. For strong enough disorder, this gap closes and all the states become localized as the system undergoes a transition to a trivial insulator. Interestingly, the effects of disorder are not necessarily adverse: we show that in the same quantum well, disorder can also induce a transition from a trivial to a topological system, thereby establishing a Floquet topological Anderson insulator (FTAI). We identify the conditions on the driving field necessary for observing such a transition.

  6. Contribution to the investigation of phase transitions induced by irradiation in insulating crystalline ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simeone, D.

    2003-01-01

    The author gives a rather detailed overview of his research activities on the behaviour of ceramics subjected to irradiations by charged or not-charged particles. He reports the development of a new application of low incidence X ray diffraction to assess the evolutions within irradiated solids. Coupling this technique with Raman spectroscopy studies enabled the monitoring of order parameter evolution in these solids. He shows that, in some oxides, irradiation effects entail order-disorder type transitions and, more surprisingly, displacive phase transitions. From this experimental work, he developed a modelling of these phase transitions induced by irradiation. Quantitative data obtained on the evolutions of order parameters enabled these phase transitions to be explained within the frame of the thermodynamics of off-equilibrium phenomena

  7. Shear induced phase transitions induced in edible fats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzanti, Gianfranco; Welch, Sarah E.; Marangoni, Alejandro G.; Sirota, Eric B.; Idziak, Stefan H. J.

    2003-03-01

    The food industry crystallizes fats under different conditions of temperature and shear to obtain products with desired crystalline phases. Milk fat, palm oil, cocoa butter and chocolate were crystallized from the melt in a temperature controlled Couette cell. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction studies were conducted to examine the role of shear on the phase transitions seen in edible fats. The shear forces on the crystals induced acceleration of the alpha to beta-prime phase transition with increasing shear rate in milk fat and palm oil. The increase was slow at low shear rates and became very strong above 360 s-1. In cocoa butter the acceleration between beta-prime-III and beta-V phase transition increased until a maximum of at 360 s-1, and then decreased, showing competition between enhanced heat transfer and viscous heat generation.

  8. Features of order-disorder phase transformation in nonstoichiometric transition metals carbides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Emel'yanov, A.N.

    1996-01-01

    Measurements of temperature and electric conductivity of nonstoichiometric transition metals carbides TiC χ and NbC χ in the area of order-disorder phase transformation are carried out. There are certain peculiarities on the temperature and electric conductivity curves of the carbides, connected with the carbon sublattice disordering. On the basis of the anomalies observed on the curves of the temperature conductivity of nonstoichiometric carbides of transition metals above the temperature of the order-disorder transition the existence of the second structural transition is supposed

  9. Pressure-induced anomalous phase transitions and colossal enhancement of piezoelectricity in PbTiO3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zhigang; Cohen, Ronald E

    2005-07-15

    We find an unexpected tetragonal-to-monoclinic-to-rhombohedral-to-cubic phase transition sequence induced by pressure, and a morphotropic phase boundary in a pure compound using first-principles calculations. Huge dielectric and piezoelectric coupling constants occur in the transition regions, comparable to those observed in the new complex single-crystal solid-solution piezoelectrics such as Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3-PbTiO3, which are expected to revolutionize electromechanical applications. Our results show that morphotropic phase boundaries and giant piezoelectric effects do not require intrinsic disorder, and open the possibility of studying this effect in simple systems.

  10. Solid-solid phase transitions in Fe nanowires induced by axial strain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandoval, Luis; Urbassek, Herbert M

    2009-01-01

    By means of classical molecular-dynamics simulations we investigate the solid-solid phase transition from a bcc to a close-packed crystal structure in cylindrical iron nanowires, induced by axial strain. The interatomic potential employed has been shown to be capable of describing the martensite-austenite phase transition in iron. We study the stress versus strain curves for different temperatures and show that for a range of temperatures it is possible to induce a solid-solid phase transition by axial strain before the elasticity is lost; these transition temperatures are below the bulk transition temperature. The two phases have different (non-linear) elastic behavior: the bcc phase softens, while the close-packed phase stiffens with temperature. We also consider the reversibility of the transformation in the elastic regimes, and the role of the strain rate on the critical strain necessary for phase transition.

  11. Pressure induced phase transitions in ceramic compounds containing tetragonal zirconia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sparks, R.G.; Pfeiffer, G.; Paesler, M.A.

    1988-12-01

    Stabilized tetragonal zirconia compounds exhibit a transformation toughening process in which stress applied to the material induces a crystallographic phase transition. The phase transition is accompanied by a volume expansion in the stressed region thereby dissipating stress and increasing the fracture strength of the material. The hydrostatic component of the stress required to induce the phase transition can be investigated by the use of a high pressure technique in combination with Micro-Raman spectroscopy. The intensity of Raman lines characteristic for the crystallographic phases can be used to calculate the amount of material that has undergone the transition as a function of pressure. It was found that pressures on the order of 2-5 kBar were sufficient to produce an almost complete transition from the original tetragonal to the less dense monoclinic phase; while a further increase in pressure caused a gradual reversal of the transition back to the original tetragonal structure.

  12. Phase transitions induced by the Aharonov-Bohm field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krive, I.V.; Naftulin, S.A.

    1990-07-01

    The influence of the Aharonov-Bohm flux (φ) on the order parameters of the 3-dimensional Gross-Neveu model and CP N -model in R 2 xS 1 space is considered. It is shown that the variation of flux causes the order parameter oscillations and for the small enough length of circular coordinate l c these oscillations attended with re-ordering phase transitions (i.e. the repeating transitions between the ordered and the disordered phases of the models in question). (author). 22 refs, 3 figs

  13. Pressure induced phase transition behaviour in -electron based ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The present review on the high pressure phase transition behaviour of ... For instance, closing of energy gaps lead to metal–insulator transitions [4], shift in energy ... systematic study of the pressure induced structural sequences has become ...

  14. Role of oxygen disorder in the ferroelectric phase transitions for various materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasciak, Marek; Goossens, Darren J.; Welberry, Richard T.

    2009-01-01

    Full text: The nature of ferroelectric phase transitions in many materials have been questioned for many years. Whereas some methods provide definitive evidence of mode softening, other methods, such as local structure probes, indicate the existence of disorder in the paraelectric phase [1]. It is now widely accepted, that the ferroelectric phase transition usually has two components - soft-mode displacive and order-disorder. The latter leads inevitably to some form of pretransitional clusters in the paraelectric phase [2]. In relaxor ferroelectrics, in which disorder drives the transformation, such polar clusters can exist over a wide range of temperatures. Diffuse scattering is a powerful tool for studying such disorder and also for studying short-range order correlations in atomic displacements [3]. In this work we concentrate on the role of oxygens in various materials. By different means of molecular simulations we build models in which the oxygens constitute a framework for short range order correlations. This leads to a discussion of the differences between x-ray and neutron diffuse scattering patterns that may arise due to the disorder of oxygens.

  15. Density of phonon-fracton states of disordered solids in the vicinity of percolation phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korzhenevskii, A.L.; Luzhkov, A.A.

    1991-01-01

    The development of a theory of phase transitions in disordered materials is still one of the central problems in solid-state physics. The model of a percolation phase transition plays the same role among the models put forward to account for phase transitions in disordered media as does the Ising model for second-order phase transitions in ideal crystals. In addition to the clear picture of the processes occurring in the course of a percolation phase transition, a scaling theory has been developed and various techniques have been used to calculate the critical exponents describing the thermodynamics of a medium in the vicinity of the percolation threshold. The authors adopt a field-theoretic approach in a study of acoustic properties of disordered solids undergoing percolation phase transitions characterized by h ∼ 1. Among these transitions they concentrate on the case with the simplest type of striction interaction when the solution of a stochastic vector differential equation of motion describing the behavior of an elastic medium in the critical region can be reduced to a scalar equation. The results of their calculations by the field renormalization group method confirmed the existence of the scaling relationships between the critical exponents and also the conclusion on the nature of short- and long-wavelength vibrations near the percolation threshold, which follow from phenomenological considerations of the scaling theory. The values of the upper critical dimensionality and of the critical exponents of the problem are shown to differ from the values applicable to percolation phase transitions characterized by h much-lt 1

  16. Rounding by disorder of first-order quantum phase transitions: emergence of quantum critical points.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goswami, Pallab; Schwab, David; Chakravarty, Sudip

    2008-01-11

    We give a heuristic argument for disorder rounding of a first-order quantum phase transition into a continuous phase transition. From both weak and strong disorder analysis of the N-color quantum Ashkin-Teller model in one spatial dimension, we find that, for N > or =3, the first-order transition is rounded to a continuous transition and the physical picture is the same as the random transverse field Ising model for a limited parameter regime. The results are strikingly different from the corresponding classical problem in two dimensions where the fate of the renormalization group flows is a fixed point corresponding to N-decoupled pure Ising models.

  17. Translation-rotation coupling, phase transitions, and elastic phenomena in orientationally disordered crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lynden-Bell, R.M.; Michel, K.H.

    1994-01-01

    Many of the properties of orientationally disordered crystals are profoundly affected by the coupling (known as translation-rotation coupling) between translation displacements and molecular orientation. The consequences of translation-rotation coupling depend on molecular and crystal symmetry, and vary throughout the Brillouin zone. One result is an indirect coupling between the orientations of different molecules, which plays an important role in the order/disorder phase transition, especially in ionic orientationally disordered crystals. Translation-rotation coupling also leads to softening of elastic constants and affects phonon spectra. This article describes the theory of the coupling from the point of view of the microscopic Hamiltonian and the resulting Landau free energy. Considerable emphasis is placed on the restrictions due to symmetry as these are universal and can be used to help one's qualitative understanding of experimental observations. The application of the theory to phase transitions is described. The softening of elastic constants is discussed and shown to be universal. However, anomalies associated with the order/disorder phase transition are shown to be restricted to cases in which the symmetry of the order parameter satisfies certain conditions. Dynamic effects on phonon spectra are described and finally the recently observed dielectric behavior of ammonium compounds is discussed. Throughout the article examples from published experiments are used to illustrate the application of the theory including well known examples such as the alkali metal cyanides and more recently discovered orientationally disordered crystals such as the fullerite, C 60

  18. Noise-and delay-induced phase transitions of the dimer–monomer surface reaction model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng Chunhua; Wang Hua

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We study the dimer–monomer surface reaction model. ► We show that noise induces first-order irreversible phase transition (IPT). ► Combination of noise and time-delayed feedback induce first- and second-order IPT. ► First- and second-order IPT is viewed as noise-and delay-induced phase transitions. - Abstract: The effects of noise and time-delayed feedback in the dimer–monomer (DM) surface reaction model are investigated. Applying small delay approximation, we construct a stochastic delayed differential equation and its Fokker–Planck equation to describe the state evolution of the DM reaction model. We show that the noise can only induce first-order irreversible phase transition (IPT) characteristic of the DM model, however the combination of the noise and time-delayed feedback can simultaneously induce first- and second-order IPT characteristics of the DM model. Therefore, it is shown that the well-known first- and second-order IPT characteristics of the DM model may be viewed as noise-and delay-induced phase transitions.

  19. Fermionic phase transition induced by the effective impurity in holography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Li-Qing [IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Department of Physics and Astronomy,Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); School of Physics and Electronic Information, Shangrao Normal University,Shangrao 334000 (China); Kuang, Xiao-Mei [Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens,GR-15780 Athens (Greece); Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso,Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile); Wang, Bin [IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Department of Physics and Astronomy,Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Wu, Jian-Pin [Institute of Gravitation and Cosmology, Department of Physics,School of Mathematics and Physics, Bohai University, Jinzhou 121013 (China); State Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)

    2015-11-20

    We investigate the holographic fermionic phase transition induced by the effective impurity in holography, which is introduced by massless scalar fields in Einstein-Maxwell-massless scalar gravity. We obtain a phase diagram in (α,T) plane separating the Fermi liquid phase and the non-Fermi liquid phase.

  20. Hydrostatic-pressure induced phase transition of phonons in single-walled nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng Peng; Meng Qingchao

    2009-01-01

    We study the effect of the hydrostatic pressure on the phonons in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in a magnetic field. We calculate the magnetic moments of the phonons using a functional integral technique, and find that the phonons in SWNTs undergo a pressure-induced phase transition from the paramagnetic phase to the diamagnetic phase under hydrostatic pressure 2 GPa. We explain the mechanism of generating this phase transition.

  1. Order-disorder antiferroelectric phase transition in a hybrid inorganic-organic framework with the perovskite architecture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Prashant; Dalal, Naresh S; Toby, Brian H; Kroto, Harold W; Cheetham, Anthony K

    2008-08-13

    [(CH3)2NH2]Zn(HCOO)3, 1, adopts a structure that is analogous to that of a traditional perovskite, ABX3, with A = [(CH3)2NH2], B = Zn, and X = HCOO. The hydrogen atoms of the dimethyl ammonium cation, which hydrogen bond to oxygen atoms of the formate framework, are disordered at room temperature. X-ray powder diffraction, dielectric constant, and specific heat data show that 1 undergoes an order-disorder phase transition on cooling below 156 K. We present evidence that this is a classical paraelectric to antiferroelectric phase transition that is driven by ordering of the hydrogen atoms. This sort of electrical ordering associated with order-disorder phase transition is unprecedented in hybrid frameworks and opens up an exciting new direction in rational synthetic strategies to create extended hybrid networks for applications in ferroic-related fields.

  2. Pressure-induced phase transitions in nanocrystalline ReO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biswas, Kanishka; Muthu, D V S; Sood, A K; Kruger, M B; Chen, B; Rao, C N R

    2007-01-01

    Pressure-induced phase transitions in the nanocrystals of ReO 3 with an average diameter of ∼12 nm have been investigated in detail by using synchrotron x-ray diffraction and the results compared with the literature data of bulk samples of ReO 3 . The study shows that the ambient-pressure cubic I phase (space group Pm3-barm) transforms to a monoclinic phase (space group C 2/c), then to a rhombohedral I phase (space group R3-barc), and finally to another rhombohedral phase (rhombohedral II, space group R3-barc) with increasing pressure over the 0.0-20.3 GPa range. The cubic I to monoclinic transition is associated with the largest volume change (∼5%), indicative of a reconstructive transition. The transition pressures are generally lower than those known for bulk ReO 3 . The cubic II (Im3-bar) or tetragonal (P4/mbm) phases do not occur at lower pressures. The nanocrystals are found to be more compressible than bulk ReO 3 . On decompression to ambient pressure, the structure does not revert back to the cubic I structure

  3. Phase Behavior of Diblock Copolymer–Homopolymer Ternary Blends: Congruent First-Order Lamellar–Disorder Transition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hickey, Robert J.; Gillard, Timothy M.; Irwin, Matthew T.; Morse, David C.; Lodge, Timothy P.; Bates, Frank S. (UMM)

    2016-10-13

    We have established the existence of a line of congruent first-order lamellar-to-disorder (LAM–DIS) transitions when appropriate amounts of poly(cyclohexylethylene) (C) and poly(ethylene) (E) homopolymers are mixed with a corresponding compositionally symmetric CE diblock copolymer. The line of congruent transitions, or the congruent isopleth, terminates at the bicontinuous microemulsion (BμE) channel, and its trajectory appears to be influenced by the critical composition of the C/E binary homopolymer blend. Blends satisfying congruency undergo a direct LAM–DIS transition without passing through a two-phase region. We present complementary optical transmission, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy (DMS) results that establish the phase behavior at constant copolymer volume fraction and varying C/E homopolymer volume ratios. Adjacent to the congruent composition at constant copolymer volume fraction, the lamellar and disordered phases are separated by two-phase coexistence windows, which converge, along with the line of congruent transitions, at an overall composition in the phase prism coincident with the BμE channel. Hexagonal and cubic (double gyroid) phases occur at higher diblock copolymer concentrations for asymmetric amounts of C and E homopolymers. These results establish a quantitative method for identifying the detailed phase behavior of ternary diblock copolymer–homopolymer blends, especially in the vicinity of the BμE.

  4. Order-disorder phase transition in ZrV2Dsub(3.6)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Didisheim, J.-J.; Yvon, K.; Tissot, P.

    1981-01-01

    The deuterated C15-type Laves phase ZrV 2 Dsub(3.6) undergoes a structural phase transition near room temperature (T of the order of 325 K). In the cubic high-temperature phase the deuterium atoms are disordered over two types of tetrahedral interstices, the centres of which are 1.3 A apart. In the tetragonal low-temperature phase the D atoms are ordered and occupy only the energetically more favourable interstices. The tetragonal structure is isotypic with the low-temperature phase of HfV 2 D 4 . The shortest D-D distance is 2.1 A. (author)

  5. Continuous solid-state phase transitions in energy storage materials with orientational disorder – Computational and experimental approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Harpreet; Talekar, Anjali; Chien, Wen-Ming; Shi, Renhai; Chandra, Dhanesh; Mishra, Amrita; Tirumala, Muralidhar; Nelson, Daryl J.

    2015-01-01

    We report on TES (thermal energy storage) in new CT (continuous phase transitions) in multicomponent tetrahederally configured (orientationally disordered) crystals of NPG-neopentylglycol-C 5 H 12 O 2 , PG-pentaglycerine-C 5 H 12 O 3 , and PE-pentaerythritol-C 5 H 12 O 4 . This discovery is applicable in thermal energy storage in many systems which do not require conventional isothermal first-order phase transition energy storage. The above compounds exhibit polymorphs of orientationally disordered phases in which O–H…O bond rotation around the C–C bond stores significant amount of energy; for example, in PE 41.26 kJ/mol are absorbed isothermally during solid–solid transitions. In this paper we show, anisothermal continuous phase transitions (CT), due to compositional changes with changes in temperature, associated with a measurable amount of energy, not reported earlier. The correlation of phase stability regions in pseudo-binaries, calculated from ternary NPG–PG–PE phase diagrams, is validated by experimental ternary DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) and in-situ x-ray diffraction data. We established equations for determining the CT in a temperature range, and their respective enthalpies of transitions for any composition of the ternaries. Thermodynamic calculations of the Gibbs energies of the solution phases are modeled as substitutional solid solutions, in which the excess Gibbs energies are expressed by the Redlich–Kister–Muggianu polynomial. There is excellent agreement between the experimental and CALPHAD calculated data. - Highlights: • Continuous phase transition (CT) thermal energy storage in organic ternary system. • Anisothermal temperature ramping leads to CT transitions as per lever rule. • Orientationally disordered phases store energy in O–H…O bond rotation/oscillation. • Validated calculated data with measured thermodynamic properties in ternary system. • Used CALPHAD methodology to calculate Gibbs energies of

  6. Composition-induced structural phase transitions in the (Ba1-xLax)2In2O5+x (0=

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tenailleau, C.; Pring, A.; Moussa, S.M.; Liu, Y.; Withers, R.L.; Tarantino, S.; Zhang, M.; Carpenter, M.A.

    2005-01-01

    Composition-induced structural phase changes across the high temperature, fast oxide ion conducting (Ba 1-x La x ) 2 In 2 O 5+x , 0= orthorhombic transition, while the cubic->tetragonal transition could be continuous. Differences between the variation with composition of spectral parameters and of macroscopic strain parameters are consistent with a substantial order/disorder component for the transitions. There is also evidence for precursor effects within the cubic structure before symmetry is broken

  7. Unusual metal-insulator transition in disordered ferromagnetic films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muttalib, K.A.; Wölfle, P.; Misra, R.; Hebard, A.F.

    2012-01-01

    We present a theoretical interpretation of recent data on the conductance near and farther away from the metal-insulator transition in thin ferromagnetic Gd films of thickness b≈2-10 nm. For increasing sheet resistances a dimensional crossover takes place from d=2 to d=3 dimensions, since the large phase relaxation rate caused by scattering of quasiparticles off spin wave excitations renders the dephasing length L φ ≲b at strong disorder. The conductivity data in the various regimes obey fractional power-law or logarithmic temperature dependence. One observes weak localization and interaction induced corrections at weaker disorder. At strong disorder, near the metal-insulator transition, the data show scaling and collapse onto two scaling curves for the metallic and insulating regimes. We interpret this unusual behavior as proof of two distinctly different correlation length exponents on both sides of the transition.

  8. Kinetics and mechanism of the pressure-induced lamellar order/disorder transition in phosphatidylethanolamine: a time-resolved X-ray diffraction study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mencke, A P; Caffrey, M

    1991-03-05

    By using synchrotron radiation, a movie was made of the X-ray scattering pattern from a biological liquid crystal undergoing a phase transition induced by a pressure jump. The system studied includes the fully hydrated phospholipid dihexadecylphosphatidylethanolamine in the lamellar gel (L beta') phase at a temperature of 68 degrees C and a pressure of 9.7 MPa (1400 psig). Following the rapid release of pressure to atmospheric the L beta' phase transforms slowly into the lamellar liquid crystal (L alpha) phase. The pressure perturbation is applied with the intention of producing a sudden phase disequilibrium followed by monitoring the system as it relaxes to its new equilibrium condition. Remarkably, the proportion of sample in the L alpha phase grows linearly with time, taking 37 s to totally consume the L beta' phase. The time dependencies of radius, peak intensity, and width of the powder diffraction ring of the low-angle (001) lamellar reflections were obtained from the movie by image processing. The concept of an "effective pressure" is introduced to account for the temperature variations that accompany the phase transition and to establish that the observed large transit time is indeed intrinsic to the sample and not due to heat exchange with the environment. The reverse transformation, L alpha to L beta', induced by a sudden jump from atmospheric pressure to 9.7 MPa, is complete in less than 13 s. These measurements represent a new approach for studying the kinetics of lipid phase transitions and for gaining insights into the mechanism of the lamellar order/disorder transition.

  9. Molecular dynamics simulation of the rotational order-disorder phase transition in calcite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawano, Jun; Miyake, Akira; Shimobayashi, Norimasa; Kitamura, Masao

    2009-01-01

    Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of calcite was carried out with the interatomic potential model based on ab initio calculations to elucidate the phase relations for calcite polymorphs and the mechanism of the rotational order-disorder transition of calcite at high temperature at the atomic scale. From runs of MD calculations with increasing temperature within a pressure range of 1 atm and 2 GPa, the transition of calcite with R3-barc symmetry into a high-temperature phase with R3-barm symmetry was reproduced. In the high-temperature R3-barm phase, CO 3 groups vibrate with large amplitudes either around the original positions in the R3-barc structure or around other positions rotated ± 60 deg., and their positions change continuously with time. Moreover, contrary to the suggestion of previous investigators, the motion of CO 3 groups is not two-dimensional. At 1 atm, the transition between R3-barc and R3-barm is first order in character. Upon increasing temperature at high pressure, however, first a first-order isosymmetric phase transition between the R3-barc phases occurs, which corresponds to the start of ± 120 deg. flipping of CO 3 groups. Then, at higher temperatures, the transition of R3-barc to R3-barm phases happens, which can be considered second order. This set of two types of transitions at elevated pressure can be characterized by the appearance of an 'intermediate' R3-barc phase between the stable region of calcite and the high-temperature R3-barm phase, which may correspond to the CaCO 3 -IV phase.

  10. Quantum phase transition with dissipative frustration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maile, D.; Andergassen, S.; Belzig, W.; Rastelli, G.

    2018-04-01

    We study the quantum phase transition of the one-dimensional phase model in the presence of dissipative frustration, provided by an interaction of the system with the environment through two noncommuting operators. Such a model can be realized in Josephson junction chains with shunt resistances and resistances between the chain and the ground. Using a self-consistent harmonic approximation, we determine the phase diagram at zero temperature which exhibits a quantum phase transition between an ordered phase, corresponding to the superconducting state, and a disordered phase, corresponding to the insulating state with localized superconducting charge. Interestingly, we find that the critical line separating the two phases has a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of the dissipative coupling strength. This result is a consequence of the frustration between (i) one dissipative coupling that quenches the quantum phase fluctuations favoring the ordered phase and (ii) one that quenches the quantum momentum (charge) fluctuations leading to a vanishing phase coherence. Moreover, within the self-consistent harmonic approximation, we analyze the dissipation induced crossover between a first and second order phase transition, showing that quantum frustration increases the range in which the phase transition is second order. The nonmonotonic behavior is reflected also in the purity of the system that quantifies the degree of correlation between the system and the environment, and in the logarithmic negativity as an entanglement measure that encodes the internal quantum correlations in the chain.

  11. Eigenstate Phase Transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Bo

    Phase transitions are one of the most exciting physical phenomena ever discovered. The understanding of phase transitions has long been of interest. Recently eigenstate phase transitions have been discovered and studied; they are drastically different from traditional thermal phase transitions. In eigenstate phase transitions, a sharp change is exhibited in properties of the many-body eigenstates of the Hamiltonian of a quantum system, but not the thermal equilibrium properties of the same system. In this thesis, we study two different types of eigenstate phase transitions. The first is the eigenstate phase transition within the ferromagnetic phase of an infinite-range spin model. By studying the interplay of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis and Ising symmetry breaking, we find two eigenstate phase transitions within the ferromagnetic phase: In the lowest-temperature phase the magnetization can macroscopically oscillate by quantum tunneling between up and down. The relaxation of the magnetization is always overdamped in the remainder of the ferromagnetic phase, which is further divided into phases where the system thermally activates itself over the barrier between the up and down states, and where it quantum tunnels. The second is the many-body localization phase transition. The eigenstates on one side of the transition obey the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis; the eigenstates on the other side are many-body localized, and thus thermal equilibrium need not be achieved for an initial state even after evolving for an arbitrary long time. We study this many-body localization phase transition in the strong disorder renormalization group framework. After setting up a set of coarse-graining rules for a general one dimensional chain, we get a simple "toy model'' and obtain an almost purely analytical solution to the infinite-randomness critical fixed point renormalization group equation. We also get an estimate of the correlation length critical exponent nu

  12. Ultrafast Hot Electron Induced Phase Transitions in Vanadium Dioxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haglund R. F.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The Au/Cr/VO2/Si system was investigated in pump–probe experiments. Hot-electrons generated in the Au were found to penetrate into the underlying VO2 and couple with its lattice inducing a semiconductor-to-metal phase transition in ~2 picoseconds.

  13. Dipolar-induced interplay between inter-level physics and macroscopic phase transitions in triple-well potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Aixia; Xue Jukui

    2012-01-01

    We propose a scheme to reveal the interplay between dipole–dipole interaction (DDI), inter-level coupling and macroscopic phase transitions in dipolar condensates. By considering a macroscopic sample of dipolar bosons in triple-well potentials, DDI-induced coupling between the inter-level physics and the macroscopic phase transitions is presented. When the DDI exceeds certain thresholds, the degeneracy of the two lowest energy levels and the excitation of new eigenstates occur, respectively. Interestingly, these thresholds give the boundaries of various quantum phase transitions. That is, the quantum phase transitions are the consequence of the levels' degeneracy and the new eigenstates' excitation. Furthermore, DDI-induced long-range macroscopic Josephson oscillations are observed and long-range coherent quantum transportation is achieved. Our results give clear proof of the interplay between the multi-level physics and quantum phase transitions, and also provide a way for designing the long-range coherent quantum transportation. (paper)

  14. Mechanically induced atomic disorder and phase transformations. Doctoral thesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Limei, D

    1992-11-30

    The study shows the possibilities of preparing alloys in various metastable configurations by the simple technique of ball milling. Firstly, chapter 2 gives the description of experimental techniques. In chapter 3, evidence of atomic anti-site disordering in A15-structure superconducting compounds Nb3Sn and Nb3Au during an early stage of milling is demonstrated. Chapter 4 represents the experimental results on the B2-structure magnetic compounds CoGa and CoAl upon mechanical impact. These compounds are well known for their particular type of atomic disorder, namely triple-defect disorder. Various examples of experimental evidence of phase transformations induced by mechanical grinding are presented in chapter 5. Section 5.2 gives an example of amorphization induced by mechanical attrition in the intermetallic compound Ni3Sn. Section 5.3 shows the milling experiment of the intermetallic compound V3 Ga. In section 5.4, for the first time, the observation of a phase transformation to a high-temperature phase with a complex structure will be demonstrated for the intermetallic compound Co3Sn2. In the last chapter, detailed studies on the intermetallic Nb-Au binary compounds for a variety of compositions are presented.

  15. Real-Time Observation of Order-Disorder Transformation of Organic Cations Induced Phase Transition and Anomalous Photoluminescence in Hybrid Perovskites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Bin; Ming, Wenmei; Du, Mao-Hua; Keum, Jong K; Puretzky, Alexander A; Rouleau, Christopher M; Huang, Jinsong; Geohegan, David B; Wang, Xiaoping; Xiao, Kai

    2018-05-01

    A fundamental understanding of the interplay between the microscopic structure and macroscopic optoelectronic properties of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials is essential to design new materials and improve device performance. However, how exactly the organic cations affect the structural phase transition and optoelectronic properties of the materials is not well understood. Here, real-time, in situ temperature-dependent neutron/X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal a transformation of the organic cation CH 3 NH 3 + from order to disorder with increasing temperature in CH 3 NH 3 PbBr 3 perovskites. The molecular-level order-to-disorder transformation of CH 3 NH 3 + not only leads to an anomalous increase in PL intensity, but also results in a multidomain to single-domain structural transition. This discovery establishes the important role that organic cation ordering has in dictating structural order and anomalous optoelectronic phenomenon in hybrid perovskites. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Ultrafast studies of shock-induced melting and phase transitions at LCLS

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, Malcolm

    The study of shock-induced phase transitions, which is vital to the understanding of material response to rapid pressure changes, dates back to the 1950s, when Bankcroft et al reported a transition in iron. Since then, many transitions have been reported in a wide range of materials, but, due to the lack of sufficiently bright x-ray sources, the structural details of these new phases has been notably lacking. While the development of nanosecond in situ x-ray diffraction has meant that lattice-level studies of such phenomena have become possible, including studies of the phase transition reported 60 years ago in iron, the quality of the diffraction data from such studies is noticeably poorer than that obtained from statically-compressed samples on synchrotrons. The advent of x-ray free electron lasers (XFELs), such as the LCLS, has resulted in an unprecedented improvement in the quality of diffraction data that can be obtained from shock-compressed matter. Here I describe the results from three recent experiment at the LCLS that looked at the solid-solid and solid-liquid phase transitions in Sb, Bi and Sc using single 50 fs x-ray exposures. The results provide new insight into the structural changes and melting induced by shock compression. This work is supported by EPSRC under Grant No. EP/J017051/1. Use of the LCLS, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515.

  17. Pressure-induced phase transitions of multiferroic BiFeO3

    OpenAIRE

    XiaoLi, Zhang; Ye, Wu; Qian, Zhang; JunCai, Dong; Xiang, Wu; Jing, Liu; ZiYu, Wu; DongLiang, Chen

    2013-01-01

    Pressure-induced phase transitions of multiferroic BiFeO3 have been investigated using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction with diamond anvil cell technique at room temperature. Present experimental data clearly show that rhombohedral (R3c) phase of BiFeO3 first transforms to monoclinic (C2/m) phase at 7 GPa, then to orthorhombic (Pnma) phase at 11 GPa, which is consistent with recent theoretical ab initio calculation. However, we observe another peak at 2{\\theta}=7{\\deg} in the pressure ...

  18. Photo-induced phase transition: from where it comes and to where it goes?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koshihara, Shin-ya

    2005-01-01

    It is an attractive target for materials science to find a system which shows the phase transition triggered by external stimulation of light. The purpose of our study is to review experimental evidences indicating that the photo-injected local excitation can really trigger the cooperative phenomena in solids. In this sense, this unique photo-induced effect can be named as photo-induced phase transition (PIPT). Here, I will also make brief review on the experimental research on PIPT combining with a development of ultra-fast quantum electronics technology

  19. Photo-induced charge-transfer phase transition of rubidium manganese hexacyanoferrate in ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tokoro, Hiroko; Hashimoto, Kazuhito; Ohkoshi, Shin-ichi

    2007-01-01

    A charge transfer phase transition with thermal hysteresis loop is observed in a series of rubidium manganese hexacyanoferrates, RbMn[Fe(China) 6 ] (1), Rb 0.88 Mn[Fe(China) 6 ] 0.96 .0.6H 2 O (2), and Rb 0.97 Mn[Fe(China) 6 ] 0.99 .0.2H 2 O (3). This phase transition is accompanied by a structural change from cubic (F4-bar 3m) to tetragonal (I4-bar m2). Its high-temperature (HT) and low-temperature (LT) phases are composed of Mn II (S=2/5)NC-Fe III (S=1/2) and Mn III (S=2)-NC-Fe II (S=0), respectively. The phase transition is caused by a metal-to-metal charge transfer from Mn II to Fe III and a Jahn-Teller distortion of the produced Mn III ion. At the ferromagnetic state in LT phase of 2, the photo-induced phase transition is observed, i.e., magnetization is quenched by the irradiation with only one shot of laser pulse. This phenomenon is caused by a photo-induced phase transition from the LT phase to the HT phase. In 3, optical switching between LT and HT phases at room temperature in paramagnetic region is observed

  20. Magnetic phase transition induced by electrostatic gating in two-dimensional square metal-organic frameworks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yun-Peng; Li, Xiang-Guo; Liu, Shuang-Long; Fry, James N.; Cheng, Hai-Ping

    2018-03-01

    We investigate theoretically magnetism and magnetic phase transitions induced by electrostatic gating of two-dimensional square metal-organic framework compounds. We find that electrostatic gating can induce phase transitions between homogeneous ferromagnetic and various spin-textured antiferromagnetic states. Electronic structure and Wannier function analysis can reveal hybridizations between transition-metal d orbitals and conjugated π orbitals in the organic framework. Mn-containing compounds exhibit a strong d -π hybridization that leads to partially occupied spin-minority bands, in contrast to compounds containing transition-metal ions other than Mn, for which electronic structure around the Fermi energy is only slightly spin split due to weak d -π hybridization and the magnetic interaction is of the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida type. We use a ferromagnetic Kondo lattice model to understand the phase transition in Mn-containing compounds in terms of carrier density and illuminate the complexity and the potential to control two-dimensional magnetization.

  1. Pressure induced structural phase transition of OsB2: First-principles calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren Fengzhu; Wang Yuanxu; Lo, V.C.

    2010-01-01

    Orthorhombic OsB 2 was synthesized at 1000 deg. C and its compressibility was measured by using the high-pressure X-ray diffraction in a Diacell diamond anvil cell from ambient pressure to 32 GPa [R.W. Cumberland, et al. (2005)]. First-principles calculations were performed to study the possibility of the phase transition of OsB 2 . An analysis of the calculated enthalpy shows that orthorhombic OsB 2 can transfer to the hexagonal phase at 10.8 GPa. The calculated results with the quasi-harmonic approximation indicate that this phase transition pressure is little affected by the thermal effect. The calculated phonon band structure shows that the hexagonal P 6 3 /mmc structure (high-pressure phase) is stable for OsB 2 . We expect the phase transition can be further confirmed by the experimental work. - Abstract: Graphical Abstract Legend (TOC Figure): Table of Contents Figure Pressure induced structural phase transition from the orthorhombic structure to the hexagonal one for OsB 2 takes place under 10.8 GPa (0 K), 10.35 GPa (300, 1000 K) by the first-principles predictions.

  2. Electric field-induced phase transitions in Li-modified Na{sub 0.5}K{sub 0.5}NbO{sub 3} at the polymorphic phase boundary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iamsasri, Thanakorn; Jones, Jacob L., E-mail: jacobjones@ncsu.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (United States); Tutuncu, Goknur [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (United States); Uthaisar, Chunmanus; Pojprapai, Soodkhet [School of Ceramic Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakorn Ratchasima 30000 (Thailand); Wongsaenmai, Supattra [Program in Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Maejo University, Chiang Mai 50290 (Thailand)

    2015-01-14

    The electric field-induced phase transitions in Li-modified Na{sub 0.5}K{sub 0.5}NbO{sub 3} at the polymorphic phase boundary (PPB) were observed using in situ X-ray diffraction. The ratio of monoclinic to tetragonal phase fraction was used as an indicator of the extent and reversibility of the phase transitions. The reversibility of the phase transition was greater in compositions further from the PPB. These results demonstrate that the field-induced phase transition is one of the origins of high piezoelectric properties in lead-free ferroelectric materials.

  3. Photo-Induced Phase Transitions to Liquid Crystal Phases: Influence of the Chain Length from C8E4 to C14E4

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone Techert

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Photo-induced phase transitions are characterized by the transformation from phase A to phase B through the absorption of photons. We have investigated the mechanism of the photo-induced phase transitions of four different ternary systems CiE4/alkane (i with n = 8, 10, 12, 14; cyclohexane/H2O. We were interested in understanding the effect of chain length increase on the dynamics of transformation from the microemulsion phase to the liquid crystal phase. Applying light pump (pulse/x-ray probe (pulse techniques, we could demonstrate that entropy and diffusion control are the driving forces for the kind of phase transition investigated.

  4. Pressure-induced phase transition of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [bmim][PF6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takekiyo, Takahiro; Hatano, Naohiro; Imai, Yusuke; Abe, Hiroshi; Yoshimura, Yukihiro

    2011-03-01

    We have investigated the pressure-induced Raman spectral change of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]) using Raman spectroscopy. The relative Raman intensity at 590 cm-1 of the CH2 rocking band assigned to the gauche conformer of the NCCC dihedral angle of the butyl group in the [bmim]+ cation increases when the pressure-induced liquid-crystalline phase transition occurs, while that at 610 cm-1 assigned to the trans conformer decreases. Our results show that the high-pressure phase transition of [bmim][PF6] causes the increase of the gauche conformer of the [bmim]+ cation.

  5. The investigation of order–disorder transition process of ZSM-5 induced by spark plasma sintering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Liang [State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang, Shanghai 201620 (China); Wang, Lianjun, E-mail: wanglj@dhu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang, Shanghai 201620 (China); Jiang, Wan [Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glasses Manufacturing Technology, MOE, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Songjiang, Shanghai 201620 (China); Lin, He, E-mail: linhe@sinap.ac.cn [Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 239 Zhangheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai 200120 (China)

    2014-04-01

    Based on the amorphization of zeolites, an order–disorder transition method was used to prepare silica glass via Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). In order to get a better understanding about the mechanism of amorphization induced by SPS, the intermediate products in this process were prepared and characterized by different characterization techniques. X-ray diffraction and High-energy synchrotron X-ray scattering show a gradual transformation from ordered crystal to glass. Local structural changes in glass network including Si–O bond length, O–Si–O bond angle, size of rings, coordination were detected by Infrared spectroscopy and {sup 29}Si magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Topologically ordered, amorphous material with a different intermediate-range structure can be obtained by precise control of intermediate process which can be expected to optimize and design material. - Graphical abstract: Low-density, ordered zeolites collapse to the rigid amorphous glass through spark plasma sintering. The intermediate-range structure formed in the process of order–disorder transition may give rise to specific property. - Highlights: • Order–disorder transition process of ZSM-5 induced by spark plasma sintering was investigated using several methods including XRD, High-energy synchrotron X-ray scattering, SAXS, IR, NMR, ect. • Order–disorder transition induced by SPS was compared with TIA and PIA. • Three stages has been divided during the whole process. • The collapse temperature range which may give rise to intermediate-range structure has been located.

  6. Pressure-induced phase transitions in acentric BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mączka, Mirosław, E-mail: m.maczka@int.pan.wroc.pl [Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1410, 50-950 Wrocław 2 (Poland); Szymborska-Małek, Katarzyna [Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1410, 50-950 Wrocław 2 (Poland); Sousa Pinheiro, Gardenia de [Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Teresina, PI 64049-550 (Brazil); Cavalcante Freire, Paulo Tarso [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza CE-60455-970 (Brazil); Majchrowski, Andrzej [Institute of Applied Physics, Military University of Technology, 2 Kaliskiego Street, 00-908 Warszawa (Poland)

    2015-08-15

    High-pressure Raman scattering studies revealed that BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} is more compressible than calcite-type orthoborates and calcite, aragonite or dolomite carbonates. It undergoes a first-order reversible pressure-induced phase transition in the 3.9–4.4 GPa pressure range. Second structural change is observed at 9.2 GPa. The intermediate phase is most likely trigonal. However, Raman results suggest increase in the number of distinct BO{sub 3} groups from two in the ambient pressure phase to at least three in the intermediate phase. This intermediate phase is also strongly compressible and strong pressure dependence of the lattice modes proves that the main changes under pressure occur within the layers built from BaO{sub 6} and HfO{sub 6} octahedra. The second phase transition leads most likely to lowering of the trigonal symmetry, as evidenced by significant increase of the number of observed bands. The pressure coefficients of the Raman bands of the high-pressure phase are relatively small, suggesting more dense arrangement of the metal–oxygen polyhedra and BO{sub 3} groups in this phase. It is worth noting that the high-pressure phase was not reached in the second compression experiment up to 10 GPa. This behavior can be most likely attributed to worse hydrostatic conditions of the first experiment. - Graphical abstract: Raman spectra of BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} recorded at different pressures during compression showing onset of pressure-induced phase transitions. - Highlights: • High-pressure Raman spectra were measured for BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2.} • BaHf(BO{sub 3}){sub 2} undergoes a reversible first-order phase transition at 3.9–4.4 GPa into a trigonal phase. • The intermediate trigonal phase is strongly compressible second structural transformation is observed at 9.2 GPa under non-perfect hydrostatic conditions.

  7. Ab initio molecular dynamics study of pressure-induced phase transition in ZnS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, Israel; Durandurdu, Murat

    2006-01-01

    The pressure-induced phase transition in zinc sulfide is studied using a constant-pressure ab initio technique. The reversible phase transition from the zinc-blende structure to a rock-salt structure is successfully reproduced through the simulations. The transformation mechanism at the atomistic level is characterized and found to be due to a monoclinic modification of the simulation cell, similar to that obtained in SiC. This observation supports the universal transition state of high-pressure zinc-blende to rock-salt transition in semiconductor compounds. We also study the role of stress deviations on the transformation mechanism and find that the system follows the same transition pathway under nonhydrostatic compressions as well

  8. Phase Transitions in Geomorphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz, C. P.; Jerolmack, D. J.

    2015-12-01

    Landscapes are patterns in a dynamic steady-state, due to competing processes that smooth or sharpen features over large distances and times. Geomorphic transport laws have been developed to model the mass-flux due to different processes, but are unreasonably effective at recovering the scaling relations of landscape features. Using a continuum approximation to compare experimental landscapes and the observed landscapes of the earth, one finds they share similar morphodynamics despite a breakdown of classical dynamical similarity between the two. We propose the origin of this effectiveness is a different kind of dynamic similarity in the statistics of initiation and cessation of motion of groups of grains, which is common to disordered systems of grains under external driving. We will show how the existing data of sediment transport points to common signatures with dynamical phase transitions between "mobile" and "immobile" phases in other disordered systems, particularly granular materials, colloids, and foams. Viewing landscape evolution from the lens of non-equilibrium statistical physics of disordered systems leads to predictions that the transition of bulk measurements such as particle flux is continuous from one phase to another, that the collective nature of the particle dynamics leads to very slow aging of bulk properties, and that the dynamics are history-dependent. Recent results from sediment transport experiments support these predictions, suggesting that existing geomorphic transport laws may need to be replaced by a new generation of stochastic models with ingredients based on the physics of disordered phase transitions. We discuss possible strategies for extracting the necessary information to develop these models from measurements of geomorphic transport noise by connecting particle-scale collective dynamics and space-time fluctuations over landscape features.

  9. Pressure-induced phase transitions of multiferroic BiFeO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xiaoli; Dong Juncai; Liu Jing; Chen Dongliang; Wu Ye; Zhang Qian; Wu Xiang; Wu Ziyu

    2013-01-01

    Pressure-induced phase transitions of multiferroic BiFeO 3 have been investigated using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction with diamond anvil cell technique at room temperature. Present experimental data clearly show that rhombohedral (R3c) phase of BiFeO 3 first transforms to monoclinic (C2/m) phase at 7 GPa, then to orthorhombic (Pnma) phase at 11 GPa, which is consistent with recent theoretical ab initio calculation. However, we observe another peak at 2θ=7° in the pressure range of 5-7 GPa that has not been reported previously. Further analysis reveals that this reflection peak is attributed to the orthorhombic (Pbam) phase, indicating the coexistence of monoclinic phase with orthorhombic phase in low pressure range. (authors)

  10. Theoretical potential for low energy consumption phase change memory utilizing electrostatically-induced structural phase transitions in 2D materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehn, Daniel A.; Li, Yao; Pop, Eric; Reed, Evan J.

    2018-01-01

    Structural phase-change materials are of great importance for applications in information storage devices. Thermally driven structural phase transitions are employed in phase-change memory to achieve lower programming voltages and potentially lower energy consumption than mainstream nonvolatile memory technologies. However, the waste heat generated by such thermal mechanisms is often not optimized, and could present a limiting factor to widespread use. The potential for electrostatically driven structural phase transitions has recently been predicted and subsequently reported in some two-dimensional materials, providing an athermal mechanism to dynamically control properties of these materials in a nonvolatile fashion while achieving potentially lower energy consumption. In this work, we employ DFT-based calculations to make theoretical comparisons of the energy required to drive electrostatically-induced and thermally-induced phase transitions. Determining theoretical limits in monolayer MoTe2 and thin films of Ge2Sb2Te5, we find that the energy consumption per unit volume of the electrostatically driven phase transition in monolayer MoTe2 at room temperature is 9% of the adiabatic lower limit of the thermally driven phase transition in Ge2Sb2Te5. Furthermore, experimentally reported phase change energy consumption of Ge2Sb2Te5 is 100-10,000 times larger than the adiabatic lower limit due to waste heat flow out of the material, leaving the possibility for energy consumption in monolayer MoTe2-based devices to be orders of magnitude smaller than Ge2Sb2Te5-based devices.

  11. Laser-induced microscopic phase-transition on an ionic liquid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iguchi, Natsuki; Datta, Alokmay; Yoshikawa, Kenichi; Ma Yue

    2009-01-01

    Nematic-isotropic transition is induced in a 5 μm 'droplet' within an oriented bulk of a mixture of a liquid crystalline material with a room-temperature ionic liquid, by a laser working at 532 nm with an output power of 200 mW and a beam diameter of 1 μm. No microscopic phase transition is observed either in absence of the ionic liquid or at the other wavelength of 1064 nm, available to the Nd-YAG laser. This indicates the essential role on a resonant transfer of energy to the ionic liquid from the laser radiation, which is subsequently transferred to the liquid crystal. Spectroscopy of the pure liquid crystal and ionic liquid samples confirms this concept. Spatio-temporal image of the droplet growth shows, however, that the phase transition remains confined within the microscopic domain for the first 50 s, and then spreads out rapidly. Since resonant, quantum transitions between molecular levels takes place in less than microseconds, the about seven orders of magnitude slowing down of energy transfer observed here suggests unique hierarchical dynamics including the coupling between the intra-molecular motions in the ionic liquid and the inter-molecular forces between ionic liquid and liquid crystal.

  12. Magnetic properties of Gd5(Si1.5Ge2.5) near the temperature and magnetic field induced first order phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levin, E.M.; Gschneidner, K.A.; Pecharsky, V.K.

    2001-01-01

    The temperature (from 5 to 300 K) and DC magnetic field (from 0 to 90 kOe) dependencies of the DC magnetization and magnetic susceptibility, and the temperature (from 5 to 350 K) dependency of the AC magnetic susceptibility of Gd 5 (Si 1.5 Ge 2.5 ) have been studied. The temperature and/or magnetic field induced magnetic phase transition in Gd 5 (Si 1.5 Ge 2.5 ) is a first order ferromagnet-paramagnet transition. The temperature of the magnetic transition in low AC magnetic field is 206 and 217 K for cooling and heating, respectively. The DC magnetic field increases the transition temperature by ∼0.36 K/kOe indicating that the paramagnetic phase can be reversibly transformed into the ferromagnetic phase. When the magnetic field is removed, the ferromagnetic phase transforms into the paramagnetic phase showing a large remanence-free hysteresis. The magnetic phase diagram based on the isothermal magnetic field dependence of the DC magnetization at various temperatures for Gd 5 (Si 1.5 Ge 2.5 ) is proposed. The magnetic field dependence of the magnetization in the vicinity of the first order phase transition shows evidence for the formation of a magnetically heterogeneous system in the volume of Gd 5 (Si 1.5 Ge 2.5 ) specimen where the magnetically ordered (ferromagnetic) and disordered (paramagnetic) phases co-exist

  13. Phase coherence induced by correlated disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Hyunsuk; O'Keeffe, Kevin P; Strogatz, Steven H

    2016-02-01

    We consider a mean-field model of coupled phase oscillators with quenched disorder in the coupling strengths and natural frequencies. When these two kinds of disorder are uncorrelated (and when the positive and negative couplings are equal in number and strength), it is known that phase coherence cannot occur and synchronization is absent. Here we explore the effects of correlating the disorder. Specifically, we assume that any given oscillator either attracts or repels all the others, and that the sign of the interaction is deterministically correlated with the given oscillator's natural frequency. For symmetrically correlated disorder with zero mean, we find that the system spontaneously synchronizes, once the width of the frequency distribution falls below a critical value. For asymmetrically correlated disorder, the model displays coherent traveling waves: the complex order parameter becomes nonzero and rotates with constant frequency different from the system's mean natural frequency. Thus, in both cases, correlated disorder can trigger phase coherence.

  14. Light-induced ultrafast phase transitions in VO2 thin film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lysenko, S.; Rua, A.J.; Vikhnin, V.; Jimenez, J.; Fernandez, F.; Liu, H.

    2006-01-01

    Vanadium dioxide shows a passive and reversible change from a monoclinic insulator phase to a metallic tetragonal rutile structure when the sample temperature is close to and over 68 deg. C. As a kind of functional material, VO 2 thin films deposited on fused quartz substrates were successfully prepared by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. With laser illumination at 400 nm on the obtained films, the phase transition (PT) occurred. The observed light-induced PT was as fast as the laser pulse duration of 100 fs. Using a femtosecond laser system, the relaxation processes in VO 2 were studied by optical pump-probe spectroscopy. Upon a laser excitation an instantaneous response in the transient reflectivity and transmission was observed followed by a relatively longer relaxation process. The alteration is dependent on pump power. The change in reflectance reached a maximum value at a pump pulse energy between 7 and 14 mJ/cm 2 . The observed PT is associated with the optical interband transition in VO 2 thin film. It suggests that with a pump laser illuminating on the film, excitation from the d θ,ε - state of valence band to the unoccupied excited mixed d θ,ε -π* - state of the conduction band in the insulator phase occurs, followed by a resonant transition to an unoccupied excited mixed d θ,ε -π* - state of the metallic phase band

  15. Gravitationally self-induced phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novello, M.; Duque, S.L.S.

    1990-01-01

    We propose a new mechanism by means of which a phase transition can be stimulated by self-gravitating matter. We suggest that this model could be used to explain the observed isotropy of the Universe. (orig.)

  16. Pressure-induced transition in Tl2MoO4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Machon, Denis; Friese, Karen; Breczewski, Tomasz; Grzechnik, Andrzej

    2010-01-01

    Tl 2 MoO 4 has been studied under high-pressure by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and optical absorption measurements. A first-order phase transition is observed at 3.5±0.5 GPa. The nature (ordered vs. disordered) of the high-pressure phase strongly depends on the local hydrostatic conditions. Optical absorption measurements tend to show that this transition is concomitant with an electronic structure transformation. Prior to the transition, single crystal X-ray diffraction shows that pressure induces interactions between MoO 4 fragments and the Mo coordination number tends to increase. In addition, the stereoactivity of the lone-pair electrons on the three symmetrically independent Tl-sites is not uniform; while for two sites the stereoactivity decreases with increasing pressures for the third site the stereoactivity increases. - Graphical Abstract: (up) Structural evolutions of Tl 2 MoO 4 in the low-pressure phase. (Down) Optical properties of the high-pressure phase as a function of pressure. Display Omitted

  17. Strain-induced topological quantum phase transition in phosphorene oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Seoung-Hun; Park, Jejune; Woo, Sungjong; Kwon, Young-Kyun

    Using ab initio density functional theory, we investigate the structural stability and electronic properties of phosphorene oxides (POx) with different oxygen compositions x. A variety of configurations are modeled and optimized geometrically to search for the equilibrium structure for each x value. Our electronic structure calculations on the equilibrium configuration obtained for each x reveal that the band gap tends to increase with the oxygen composition of x 0.5. We further explore the strain effect on the electronic structure of the fully oxidized phosphorene, PO, with x = 1. At a particular strain without spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is observed a band gap closure near the Γ point in the k space. We further find the strain in tandem with SOC induces an interesting band inversion with a reopened very small band gap (5 meV), and thus gives rise to a topological quantum phase transition from a normal insulator to a topological insulator. Such a topological phase transition is confirmed by the wave function analysis and the band topology identified by the Z2 invariant calculation.

  18. Large magnetoresistance dips and perfect spin-valley filter induced by topological phase transitions in silicene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prarokijjak, Worasak; Soodchomshom, Bumned

    2018-04-01

    Spin-valley transport and magnetoresistance are investigated in silicene-based N/TB/N/TB/N junction where N and TB are normal silicene and topological barriers. The topological phase transitions in TB's are controlled by electric, exchange fields and circularly polarized light. As a result, we find that by applying electric and exchange fields, four groups of spin-valley currents are perfectly filtered, directly induced by topological phase transitions. Control of currents, carried by single, double and triple channels of spin-valley electrons in silicene junction, may be achievable by adjusting magnitudes of electric, exchange fields and circularly polarized light. We may identify that the key factor behind the spin-valley current filtered at the transition points may be due to zero and non-zero Chern numbers. Electrons that are allowed to transport at the transition points must obey zero-Chern number which is equivalent to zero mass and zero-Berry's curvature, while electrons with non-zero Chern number are perfectly suppressed. Very large magnetoresistance dips are found directly induced by topological phase transition points. Our study also discusses the effect of spin-valley dependent Hall conductivity at the transition points on ballistic transport and reveals the potential of silicene as a topological material for spin-valleytronics.

  19. Quantum phase transitions in random XY spin chains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bunder, J.E.; McKenzie, R.H.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: The XY spin chain in a transverse field is one of the simplest quantum spin models. It is a reasonable model for heavy fermion materials such as CeCu 6-x Au x . It has two quantum phase transitions: the Ising transition and the anisotropic transition. Quantum phase transitions occur at zero temperature. We are investigating what effect the introduction of randomness has on these quantum phase transitions. Disordered systems which undergo quantum phase transitions can exhibit new universality classes. The universality class of a phase transition is defined by the set of critical exponents. In a random system with quantum phase transitions we can observe Griffiths-McCoy singularities. Such singularities are observed in regions which have no long range order, so they are not classified as critical regions, yet they display phenomena normally associated with critical points, such as a diverging susceptibility. Griffiths-McCoy phases are due to rare regions with stronger than! average interactions and may be present far from the quantum critical point. We show how the random XY spin chain may be mapped onto a random Dirac equation. This allows us to calculate the density of states without making any approximations. From the density of states we can describe the conditions which should allow a Griffiths-McCoy phase. We find that for the Ising transition the dynamic critical exponent, z, is not universal. It is proportional to the disorder strength and inversely proportional to the energy gap, hence z becomes infinite at the critical point where the energy gap vanishes

  20. Microstructure processes induced by phase transitions in a CuAu alloy as studied by acoustic emission and optical cinematography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Masek, P.; Chmelik, F.; Sima, V. [Charles Univ., Prague (Czech Republic). Dept. of Metal Physics; Brinck, A.; Neuhaeuser, H. [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Metallphysik und Nukleare Festkoerperphysik

    1999-01-15

    Combined acoustic emission measurements and surface cinematography observations have been applied to determine the structure evolution during thermal loading of the CuAu alloy. Thermal history and the fashion of thermal loading have been shown to affect considerably the structure response of the CuAu alloy on temperature changes. On thermal loading, intense plastic deformation occurs in certain temperature intervals due to the relaxation of internal stresses induced by phase transitions and structure anisotropy. The main mechanism is twinning taking place most probably in (110) planes. Dislocation glide and grain-boundary sliding have also been observed as minor mechanisms. A shape-restoration effect associated with the order-disorder transition is revealed. Thermal cycling with upper temperatures over 500 C may also result in structural damage.

  1. Experimental and theoretical study of phase transitions under ball milling; Etude experimentale et modelisation des changements de phases sous broyage a haute energie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pochet, P

    1998-12-31

    The aim of this work was to determine how phase transition s under ball-milling depend on the milling conditions and to find out if one can rationalize such transitions with the theory of driven alloys. We have chosen two phase transitions: the order-disorder transition in Fe Al and the precipitation-dissolution NiGe. In the case of Fe Al we have found that the steady-state long range order parameter achieved under ball milling intensity; moreover the same degree of order is achieved starting from an ordered alloy or a disordered solid solution. On the way to fully disordered state the degree of order either decreases monotonically or goes through a short lived transient state. This behaviour is reminiscent of a first order transition while the equilibrium transition is second order. All the above features are well reproduced by a simple model of driven alloys, which was originally build for alloys under irradiation. The stationary degree of order results of two competitive atomic jump mechanisms: the forced displacements induced by the shearing of the grains, and the thermally activated jumps caused by vacancies migrations. Finally we have performed atomistic simulations with a Monte Carlo kinetic algorithm, which revealed the role of the fluctuations in the intensity of the forcing. Moreover we have shown that specific atomistic mechanisms are active in a dilute NiGe solid solution which might lead to ball milling induced precipitation in under-saturated solid solution. (author). 149 refs.

  2. Experimental and theoretical study of phase transitions under ball milling; Etude experimentale et modelisation des changements de phases sous broyage a haute energie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pochet, P

    1997-12-31

    The aim of this work was to determine how phase transition s under ball-milling depend on the milling conditions and to find out if one can rationalize such transitions with the theory of driven alloys. We have chosen two phase transitions: the order-disorder transition in Fe Al and the precipitation-dissolution NiGe. In the case of Fe Al we have found that the steady-state long range order parameter achieved under ball milling intensity; moreover the same degree of order is achieved starting from an ordered alloy or a disordered solid solution. On the way to fully disordered state the degree of order either decreases monotonically or goes through a short lived transient state. This behaviour is reminiscent of a first order transition while the equilibrium transition is second order. All the above features are well reproduced by a simple model of driven alloys, which was originally build for alloys under irradiation. The stationary degree of order results of two competitive atomic jump mechanisms: the forced displacements induced by the shearing of the grains, and the thermally activated jumps caused by vacancies migrations. Finally we have performed atomistic simulations with a Monte Carlo kinetic algorithm, which revealed the role of the fluctuations in the intensity of the forcing. Moreover we have shown that specific atomistic mechanisms are active in a dilute NiGe solid solution which might lead to ball milling induced precipitation in under-saturated solid solution. (author). 149 refs.

  3. Electroweak phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, G.W.

    1991-01-01

    An analytic treatment of the one Higgs doublet, electroweak phase transition is given. The phase transition is first order, occurs by the nucleation of thin walled bubbles and completes at a temperature where the order parameter, left-angle φ right-angle T is significantly smaller than it is when the origin becomes absolutely unstable. The rate of anomalous baryon number violation is an exponentially function of left-angle φ right-angle T . In very minimal extensions of the standard model it is quite easy to increase left-angle φ right-angle T so that anomalous baryon number violation is suppressed after completion of the phase transition. Hence baryogenesis at the electroweak phase transition is tenable in minimal of the standard model. In some cases additional phase transitions are possible. For a light Higgs boson, when the top quark mass is sufficiently large, the state where the Higgs field has a vacuum expectation value left-angle φ right-angle = 246 GeV is not the true minimum of the Higgs potential. When this is the case, and when the top quark mass exceeds some critical value, thermal fluctuations in the early universe would have rendered the state left-angle φ right-angle = 246 GeV unstable. The requirement that the state left-angle φ right-angle = 246 GeV is sufficiently long lived constrains the masses of the Higgs boson and the top quark. Finally, we consider whether local phase transitions can be induced by heavy particles which act as seeds for deformations in the scalar field

  4. Isotropic–Nematic Phase Transitions in Gravitational Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roupas, Zacharias; Kocsis, Bence [Institute of Physics, Eötvös University, Pázmány P. s. 1/A, Budapest, 1117 (Hungary); Tremaine, Scott [Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States)

    2017-06-20

    We examine dense self-gravitating stellar systems dominated by a central potential, such as nuclear star clusters hosting a central supermassive black hole. Different dynamical properties of these systems evolve on vastly different timescales. In particular, the orbital-plane orientations are typically driven into internal thermodynamic equilibrium by vector resonant relaxation before the orbital eccentricities or semimajor axes relax. We show that the statistical mechanics of such systems exhibit a striking resemblance to liquid crystals, with analogous ordered-nematic and disordered-isotropic phases. The ordered phase consists of bodies orbiting in a disk in both directions, with the disk thickness depending on temperature, while the disordered phase corresponds to a nearly isotropic distribution of the orbit normals. We show that below a critical value of the total angular momentum, the system undergoes a first-order phase transition between the ordered and disordered phases. At a critical point, the phase transition becomes second order, while for higher angular momenta there is a smooth crossover. We also find metastable equilibria containing two identical disks with mutual inclinations between 90° and 180°.

  5. The dynamics of the laser-induced metal-semiconductor phase transition of samarium sulfide (SmS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaempfer, Tino

    2009-01-01

    The present thesis is dedicated to the experimental study of the metal-semiconductor phase transition of samarium sulfide (SmS): Temperature- and time-resolved experiments on the characterization of the phase transition of mixed-valence SmS samples (M-SmS) are presented. The measurement of the dynamics of the laser-induced phase transition pursues via time-resolved ultrashort-time microscopy and by X-ray diffraction with sub-picosecond time resolution. The electronic and structural processes, which follow an excitation of M-SmS with infrared femtosecond laser pulses, are physically interpreted on the base of the results obtained in this thesis and model imaginations. [de

  6. Order-disorder phase transition in the peroxidovanadium complex NH4[VO(O2)2(NH3)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwendt, Peter; Gyepes, Róbert; Chrappová, Jana; Němec, Ivan; Vaněk, Přemysl

    2018-07-05

    Complex NH 4 [VO(O 2 ) 2 (NH 3 )] (1) undergoes an order-disorder phase transition at T c ~258K. This transition is accompanied by change in the space group of the orthorhombic lattice and also by significant structural rearrangements of the constituent molecules, which are pertinent mostly to their NH 4 + ions and their ammonia ligands. The low-temperature solid state IR and Raman spectra of 1 were corroborated by solid-state computations that employed Gaussian functions as the basis set. Results of these computations yielded excellent agreement with experimental data. On the curves of temperature dependence of vibrational modes, the phase transition is expressed by an abrupt change of the slope above T c . Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. The d-band of disordered Cu3Au as determined by constant initial state photoemission spectroscopy: a search for the origins of the disorder/order phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stampfl, A.P.J.; Riley, J.D.; Leckey, R.C.G.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: Binary alloys must either order or phase separate as the temperature is lowered. Substitutionally disordered Cu 3 Au is known to order below a transition temperature of T c =390 deg C. The driving force (of ordering) is believed to be the lowering of free energy as a result of changes to the electronic and compositional structure. Details of the role that particular electronic levels play and the amount of coupling between the electronic and phonon structures, is as yet not fully understood. Gyorffy and Stocks have indeed suggested that instabilities in the electronic structure of the Fermi surface of Cu-Pd alloys may be the driving force for the disorder/order phase transition. It is expected, however, that the Fermi surfaces of ordered and disordered Cu 3 Au to be nearly similar. Our work on the Fermi surface of disordered Cu 3 Au supports this view. Large differences, however, are observed in the d-band region between the ordered and disordered phases and it has been suggested that these states may exhibit a type of electronic instability upon approaching T c . We present our initial study of the d-band region of disordered Cu 3 Au using a constant initial state spectroscopy technique which we previously developed to map the Fermi surface of Cu. Our technique allows the accurate k-space mapping of very flat bands such as d-levels. The k-space shape of the d-bands are compared to calculation and a discussion is given as to their likely role in the phase transition

  8. Magnetostrictive hypersound generation by spiral magnets in the vicinity of magnetic field induced phase transition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bychkov, Igor V. [Chelyabinsk State University, 129 Br. Kashirinykh Str., Chelyabinsk 454001 (Russian Federation); South Ural State University (National Research University), 76 Lenin Prospekt, Chelyabinsk 454080 (Russian Federation); Kuzmin, Dmitry A., E-mail: kuzminda@csu.ru [Chelyabinsk State University, 129 Br. Kashirinykh Str., Chelyabinsk 454001 (Russian Federation); South Ural State University (National Research University), 76 Lenin Prospekt, Chelyabinsk 454080 (Russian Federation); Kamantsev, Alexander P.; Koledov, Victor V.; Shavrov, Vladimir G. [Kotelnikov Institute of Radio-engineering and Electronics of RAS, Mokhovaya Street 11-7, Moscow 125009 (Russian Federation)

    2016-11-01

    In present work we have investigated magnetostrictive ultrasound generation by spiral magnets in the vicinity of magnetic field induced phase transition from spiral to collinear state. We found that such magnets may generate transverse sound waves with the wavelength equal to the spiral period. We have examined two types of spiral magnetic structures: with inhomogeneous exchange and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions. Frequency of the waves from exchange-caused spiral magnetic structure may reach some THz, while in case of Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction-caused spiral it may reach some GHz. These waves will be emitted like a sound pulses. Amplitude of the waves is strictly depends on the phase transition speed. Some aspects of microwaves to hypersound transformation by spiral magnets in the vicinity of phase transition have been investigated as well. Results of the work may be interesting for investigation of phase transition kinetics as well, as for various hypersound applications. - Highlights: • Magnetostrictive ultrasound generation by spiral magnets at phase transition (PT) is studied. • Spiral magnets during PT may generate transverse sound with wavelength equal to spiral period. • Amplitude of the sound is strictly depends on the phase transition speed. • Microwave-to-sound transformation in the vicinity of PT is investigated as well.

  9. Phase transitions in surfactant monolayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casson, B.D.

    1998-01-01

    Two-dimensional phase transitions have been studied in surfactant monolayers at the air/water interface by sum-frequency spectroscopy and ellipsometry. In equilibrium monolayers of medium-chain alcohols C n H 2n+1 OH (n = 9-14) a transition from a two-dimensional crystalline phase to a liquid was observed at temperatures above the bulk melting point. The small population of gauche defects in the solid phase increased only slightly at the phase transition. A model of the hydrocarbon chains as freely rotating rigid rods allowed the area per molecule and chain tilt in the liquid phase to be determined. The area per molecule, chain tilt and density of the liquid phase all increased with increasing chain length, but for each chain length the density was higher than in a bulk liquid hydrocarbon. In a monolayer of decanol adsorbed at the air/water interface a transition from a two-dimensional liquid to a gas was observed. A clear discontinuity in the coefficient of ellipticity as a function of temperature showed that the transition is first-order. This result suggests that liquid-gas phase transitions in surfactant monolayers may be more widespread than once thought. A solid-liquid phase transition has also been studied in mixed monolayers of dodecanol with an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate) and with a homologous series of cationic surfactants (alkyltrimethylammonium bromides: C n TABs, n = 12, 14, 16). The composition and structure of the mixed monolayers was studied above and below the phase transition. At low temperatures the mixed monolayers were as densely packed as a monolayer of pure dodecanol in its solid phase. At a fixed temperature the monolayers under-went a first-order phase transition to form a phase that was less dense and more conformationally disordered. The proportion of ionic surfactant in the mixed monolayer was greatest in the high temperature phase. As the chain length of the C n TAB increased the number of conformational defects

  10. Order-disorder transition of vortex matter in Mg0.95B2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, A.A.M.; Sharma, P.A.; Hur, N.; Cheong, S-W.; Ortiz, W.A.

    2008-01-01

    Third-harmonic susceptibility has been employed to probe the order-disorder transition of vortex matter of a good-quality sample of MgB 2 with random disorder. In the major part of the temperature interval, the measured boundary line can be adjusted by a power-law function, in accordance with theoretical models for the melting of the ordered phase of a 3D vortex-glass. For larger temperatures, however, thermally-induced depinning anticipates disorder, which is also predictable for the vortex matter behavior of a clean system with small amounts of randomly distributed disorder, as is the case of the Mg 0.95 B 2 sample studied here

  11. Signatures of topological phase transitions in mesoscopic superconducting rings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pientka, Falko; Romito, Alessandro; Duckheim, Mathias; Oppen, Felix von; Oreg, Yuval

    2013-01-01

    We investigate Josephson currents in mesoscopic rings with a weak link which are in or near a topological superconducting phase. As a paradigmatic example, we consider the Kitaev model of a spinless p-wave superconductor in one dimension, emphasizing how this model emerges from more realistic settings based on semiconductor nanowires. We show that the flux periodicity of the Josephson current provides signatures of the topological phase transition and the emergence of Majorana fermions (MF) situated on both sides of the weak link even when fermion parity is not a good quantum number. In large rings, the MF hybridize only across the weak link. In this case, the Josephson current is h/e periodic in the flux threading the loop when fermion parity is a good quantum number but reverts to the more conventional h/2e periodicity in the presence of fermion-parity changing relaxation processes. In mesoscopic rings, the MF also hybridize through their overlap in the interior of the superconducting ring. We find that in the topological superconducting phase, this gives rise to an h/e-periodic contribution even when fermion parity is not conserved and that this contribution exhibits a peak near the topological phase transition. This signature of the topological phase transition is robust to the effects of disorder. As a byproduct, we find that close to the topological phase transition, disorder drives the system deeper into the topological phase. This is in stark contrast to the known behavior far from the phase transition, where disorder tends to suppress the topological phase. (paper)

  12. Critical Phenomena of the Disorder Driven Localization-Delocalization Transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marc Ruehlaender

    2001-01-01

    Metal-to-insulator transitions are generally linked to two phenomena: electron-electron correlations and disorder. Although real systems are usually responding to a mixture of both, they can be classified as undergoing a Mott-transition, if the former process dominates, or an Anderson-transition, if the latter dominates. High-T c superconductors, e.g., are a candidate for the first class. Materials in which disorder drives the metal-to-insulator transition include doped semiconductors and amorphous materials. After briefly reviewing the previous research on transport in disordered materials and the disorder-induced metal-to-insulator transition, a summary of the model and the methods used in subsequent chapters is given

  13. Dynamics of a quantum phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zurek, W.H.

    2005-01-01

    We present two approaches to the non-equilibrium dynamics of a quench-induced phase transition in quantum Ising model. First approach retraces steps of the standard calculation to thermodynamic second order phase transitions in the quantum setting. The second calculation is purely quantum, based on the Landau-Zener formula for transition probabilities in processes that involve avoided level crossings. We show that the two approaches yield compatible results for the scaling of the defect density with the quench rate. We exhibit similarities between them, and comment on the insights they give into dynamics of quantum phase transitions. (author)

  14. Order-disorder phase transitions in Au-Cu nanocubes: from nano-thermodynamics to synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza-Cruz, R; Bazán-Diaz, L; Velázquez-Salazar, J J; Samaniego-Benitez, J E; Ascencio-Aguirre, F M; Herrera-Becerra, R; José-Yacamán, M; Guisbiers, G

    2017-07-13

    Catalysts have been widely used in industries and can be optimized by tuning the composition and chemical ordering of the elements involved in the nano-alloy. Among bi-metallic alloys, the Au-Cu system is of particular interest because it exhibits ordered phases at low temperatures. Nevertheless, the temperature at which these ordered structures are formed is totally unknown at the nanoscale. Consequently, to speed up the development of these catalysts, this paper theoretically predicts the structural phase transitions between ordered and disordered phases for the Au-Cu system by using nano-thermodynamics. Following the predictions, the suggested annealing temperatures have been carefully chosen and consequently, Au-Cu ordered nanocubes have been successfully synthesized through a solventless protocol. The results are fully supported by electron microscopy observations.

  15. Mechanism of the monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transition induced in zirconia and hafnia by swift heavy ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benyagoub, Abdenacer

    2005-01-01

    Recent results demonstrated that defect formation or amorphization are not the only structural changes induced by swift heavy ions in crystalline materials and that under certain circumstances crystalline-to-crystalline phase transitions can also occur. For instance, it was found that both zirconia and hafnia transform from the monoclinic to the tetragonal phase with a kinetics involving a double ion impact process. In order to understand the origin of this ion-beam induced phase transition, the behavior of these twin oxides was analyzed and compared. In fact, the likeness of these materials offered the unique opportunity to impose drastic constraints on the possible models proposed to explain the creation of atomic displacements in the wake of swift heavy ions. This comparison clearly suggests that the thermal spike is the most appropriate process which governs the transition from the monoclinic to the tetragonal phase in zirconia and hafnia

  16. Pressure-induced phase transitions in organic molecular crystals: a combination of x-ray single-crystal and powder diffraction, raman and IR-spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boldyreva, E V; Goryainov, S V; Seryotkin, Y V; Kolesnik, E N; Shakhtshneider, T P; Ivashevskaya, S N; Drebushchak, T N; Sowa, H; Ahsbahs, H; Chernyshev, V V; Dmitriev, V P

    2008-01-01

    The contribution summarizes the results of recent studies of phase transitions induced by high pressure in a number of molecular organic crystals, such as polymorphs of paracetamol, chlorpropamide, polymorphs of glycine, L- and DL-serine, β-alanine. The main attention is paid to the following topics: (1) Reversible / irreversible transformations; (2) Different behavior of single crystals / powders; (3) The role of pressure-transmitting liquid; (4) The role of the kinetic factors: phase transitions on decompression, or after a long storage at a selected pressure; (5) Isosymmetric phase transitions; (6) The role of the changes in the hydrogen bond networks / intramolecular conformational changes in the phase transitions; (7) Superstructures / nanostructures formed as a result of pressure-induced phase transitions

  17. Pressure-induced phase transitions in organic molecular crystals: a combination of x-ray single-crystal and powder diffraction, raman and IR-spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boldyreva, E V; Goryainov, S V; Seryotkin, Y V; Kolesnik, E N; Shakhtshneider, T P; Ivashevskaya, S N; Drebushchak, T N [Research and Education Center ' Molecular Design and Ecologically Safe Technologies' , REC-008, Novosibirsk State University (Russian Federation); Sowa, H [Goettingen University (Germany); Ahsbahs, H; Chernyshev, V V [Marburg University (Germany); Dmitriev, V P [Swiss-Norwegian Beamline ESRF, Grenoble (France)], E-mail: boldyrev@nsu.ru

    2008-07-15

    The contribution summarizes the results of recent studies of phase transitions induced by high pressure in a number of molecular organic crystals, such as polymorphs of paracetamol, chlorpropamide, polymorphs of glycine, L- and DL-serine, {beta}-alanine. The main attention is paid to the following topics: (1) Reversible / irreversible transformations; (2) Different behavior of single crystals / powders; (3) The role of pressure-transmitting liquid; (4) The role of the kinetic factors: phase transitions on decompression, or after a long storage at a selected pressure; (5) Isosymmetric phase transitions; (6) The role of the changes in the hydrogen bond networks / intramolecular conformational changes in the phase transitions; (7) Superstructures / nanostructures formed as a result of pressure-induced phase transitions.

  18. High-pressure Raman and optical absorption studies on lead pyroniobate (Pb2Nb2O7) and pressure-induced phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jayaraman, A.; Kourouklis, G.A.; Cooper, A.S.; Espinosa, G.P.

    1990-01-01

    High-pressure Raman scattering and optical absorption studies have been carried out on lead pyroniobate (Pb 2 Nb 2 O 7 ) up to 33 GPa, using a gasketed diamond anvil cell. The Raman study reveals the occurrence of two, possibly three, pressure-induced phase changes; a rather subtle change is indicated near 4.5 GPa. The transition near 13 GPa is attributed to a structural transition from the rhombohedral to the cubic pyrochlore structure. The third phase change occurs near 20 GPa. From the broad Raman feature that is observed at about 800 cm -1 , it is concluded that the system turns amorphous at pressures above 20 GPa. The amorphous phase recrystallizes to the original rhombohedral phase, on release of pressure. The broad Raman peaks of the recrystallized phase indicate a high degree of disorder in the material. Lead pyroniobate turns deep red near 30 GPa, from light yellow at ambient pressure. Semi quantitative absorption measurements show that the energy gap shifts red at a rate of 30 meV/GPa. This shift is attributed to the downward motion of the 5d (es) conduction band of Pb

  19. Probabilistic physical characteristics of phase transitions at highway bottlenecks: incommensurability of three-phase and two-phase traffic-flow theories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerner, Boris S; Klenov, Sergey L; Schreckenberg, Michael

    2014-05-01

    Physical features of induced phase transitions in a metastable free flow at an on-ramp bottleneck in three-phase and two-phase cellular automaton (CA) traffic-flow models have been revealed. It turns out that at given flow rates at the bottleneck, to induce a moving jam (F → J transition) in the metastable free flow through the application of a time-limited on-ramp inflow impulse, in both two-phase and three-phase CA models the same critical amplitude of the impulse is required. If a smaller impulse than this critical one is applied, neither F → J transition nor other phase transitions can occur in the two-phase CA model. We have found that in contrast with the two-phase CA model, in the three-phase CA model, if the same smaller impulse is applied, then a phase transition from free flow to synchronized flow (F → S transition) can be induced at the bottleneck. This explains why rather than the F → J transition, in the three-phase theory traffic breakdown at a highway bottleneck is governed by an F → S transition, as observed in real measured traffic data. None of two-phase traffic-flow theories incorporates an F → S transition in a metastable free flow at the bottleneck that is the main feature of the three-phase theory. On the one hand, this shows the incommensurability of three-phase and two-phase traffic-flow theories. On the other hand, this clarifies why none of the two-phase traffic-flow theories can explain the set of fundamental empirical features of traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks.

  20. Geometry-induced phase transition in fluids: capillary prewetting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yatsyshin, Petr; Savva, Nikos; Kalliadasis, Serafim

    2013-02-01

    We report a new first-order phase transition preceding capillary condensation and corresponding to the discontinuous formation of a curved liquid meniscus. Using a mean-field microscopic approach based on the density functional theory we compute the complete phase diagram of a prototypical two-dimensional system exhibiting capillary condensation, namely that of a fluid with long-ranged dispersion intermolecular forces which is spatially confined by a substrate forming a semi-infinite rectangular pore exerting long-ranged dispersion forces on the fluid. In the T-μ plane the phase line of the new transition is tangential to the capillary condensation line at the capillary wetting temperature T(cw). The surface phase behavior of the system maps to planar wetting with the phase line of the new transition, termed capillary prewetting, mapping to the planar prewetting line. If capillary condensation is approached isothermally with T>T(cw), the meniscus forms at the capping wall and unbinds continuously, making capillary condensation a second-order phenomenon. We compute the corresponding critical exponent for the divergence of adsorption.

  1. A new approach to establish both stable and metastable phase equilibria for fcc ordered/disordered phase transition: application to the Al–Ni and Ni–Si systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Xiaoming; Zhang Lijun; Du Yong; Xiong Wei; Tang Ying; Wang Aijun; Liu Shuhong

    2012-01-01

    Both two-sublattice (2SL) and four-sublattice (4SL) models in the framework of the compound energy formalism can be used to describe the fcc ordered/disordered transitions. When transferring the parameters of 2SL disregarding the metastable ordered states into those of 4SL, inconsistence in either stable or metastable phase diagrams could appear, as detected in both Al–Ni and Ni–Si systems. To avoid such a kind of drawback, this behavior was analyzed and investigated in the Ni–Si and Al–Ni systems with the aid of first–principle calculations. Furthermore, a new approach considering both the stable and metastable fcc ordered phase equilibria deduced from the first–principles calculations was proposed to perform a reliable thermodynamic modeling for the fcc ordered/disordered transition. The Ni–Si system was then thermodynamically assessed using the presently proposed approach. The good agreement between the calculation and experiments demonstrates the reliability of the proposed approach. It is expected that the approach is valid for other systems showing complex ordered/disordered transitions. - Highlights: ► We discuss the drawbacks of order/disorder modeling in the Ni–Si and Al–Ni systems. ► We perform ab initio calculation of thermodynamic properties in the Ni–Si system. ► A CALPHAD–type approach is proposed to model the fcc ordered/disordered transition. ► The Ni–Si system was thermodynamically assessed using the new approach.

  2. Pressure-induced irreversible metallization accompanying the phase transitions in S b2S3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Lidong; Liu, Kaixiang; Li, Heping; Wu, Lei; Hu, Haiying; Zhuang, Yukai; Yang, Linfei; Pu, Chang; Liu, Pengfei

    2018-01-01

    We have revealed S b2S3 to have two phase transitions and to undergo metallization using a diamond anvil cell at around 5.0, 15.0, and 34.0 GPa, respectively. These results were obtained on the basis of high-pressure Raman spectroscopy, temperature-dependent conductivity measurements, atomic force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and first-principles calculations. The first phase transition at ˜5.0 GPa is an isostructural phase transition, which is manifested in noticeable changes in five Raman-active modes and the slope of the conductivity because of a change in the electronic structure. The second pressure-induced phase transition was characterized by a discontinuous change in the slope of conductivity and a new low-intensity Raman mode at ˜15.0 GPa . Furthermore, a semiconductor-to-metal transition was found at ˜34.0 GPa , which was accompanied by irreversible metallization, and it could be attributed to the permanently plastic deformation of the interlayer spacing. This high-pressure behavior of S b2S3 will help us to understand the universal crystal structure evolution and electrical characteristics for A2B3 -type compounds, and to facilitate their application in electronic devices.

  3. Phase Transitions in Mechanically Milled Mn-Al-C Permanent Magnets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael J. Lucis

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Mn-Al powders were prepared by rapid solidification followed by high-energy mechanical milling. The rapid solidification resulted in single-phase ε. The milling was performed in both the ε phase and the τ phase, with the τ-phase formation accomplished through a heat treatment at 500 °C for 10 min. For the ε-milled samples, the conversion of the ε to the τ phase was accomplished after milling via the same heat treatment. Mechanical milling induced a significant increase in coercivity in both cases, reaching 4.5 kOe and 4.1 kOe, respectively, followed by a decrease upon further milling. The increase in coercivity was the result of grain refinement induced by the high-energy mechanical milling. Additionally, in both cases a loss in magnetization was observed. Milling in the ε phase showed a smaller decrease in the magnetization due to a higher content of the τ phase. The loss in magnetization was attributed to a stress-induced transition to the equilibrium phases, as no site disorder or oxidation was observed. Surfactant-assisted milling in oleic acid also improved coercivity, but in this case values reached >4 kOe and remained stable at least through 32 h of milling.

  4. Control of magnetic relaxation by electric-field-induced ferroelectric phase transition and inhomogeneous domain switching

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nan, Tianxiang; Emori, Satoru; Wang, Xinjun; Hu, Zhongqiang; Xie, Li; Gao, Yuan; Lin, Hwaider; Sun, Nian, E-mail: n.sun@neu.edu [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (United States); Peng, Bin; Liu, Ming, E-mail: mingliu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Jiao, Jie; Luo, Haosu [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China); Budil, David [Department of Chemistry, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (United States); Jones, John G.; Howe, Brandon M.; Brown, Gail J. [Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433 (United States)

    2016-01-04

    Electric-field modulation of magnetism in strain-mediated multiferroic heterostructures is considered a promising scheme for enabling memory and magnetic microwave devices with ultralow power consumption. However, it is not well understood how electric-field-induced strain influences magnetic relaxation, an important physical process for device applications. Here, we investigate resonant magnetization dynamics in ferromagnet/ferroelectric multiferroic heterostructures, FeGaB/PMN-PT and NiFe/PMN-PT, in two distinct strain states provided by electric-field-induced ferroelectric phase transition. The strain not only modifies magnetic anisotropy but also magnetic relaxation. In FeGaB/PMN-PT, we observe a nearly two-fold change in intrinsic Gilbert damping by electric field, which is attributed to strain-induced tuning of spin-orbit coupling. By contrast, a small but measurable change in extrinsic linewidth broadening is attributed to inhomogeneous ferroelastic domain switching during the phase transition of the PMN-PT substrate.

  5. Relaxation processes in a lower disorder order transition diblock copolymer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanz, Alejandro; Ezquerra, Tiberio A.; Nogales, Aurora; Hernández, Rebeca; Sprung, Michael

    2015-01-01

    The dynamics of lower disorder-order temperature diblock copolymer leading to phase separation has been observed by X ray photon correlation spectroscopy. Two different modes have been characterized. A non-diffusive mode appears at temperatures below the disorder to order transition, which can be associated to compositional fluctuations, that becomes slower as the interaction parameter increases, in a similar way to the one observed for diblock copolymers exhibiting phase separation upon cooling. At temperatures above the disorder to order transition T ODT , the dynamics becomes diffusive, indicating that after phase separation in Lower Disorder-Order Transition (LDOT) diblock copolymers, the diffusion of chain segments across the interface is the governing dynamics. As the segregation is stronger, the diffusive process becomes slower. Both observed modes have been predicted by the theory describing upper order-disorder transition systems, assuming incompressibility. However, the present results indicate that the existence of these two modes is more universal as they are present also in compressible diblock copolymers exhibiting a lower disorder-order transition. No such a theory describing the dynamics in LDOT block copolymers is available, and these experimental results may offer some hints to understanding the dynamics in these systems. The dynamics has also been studied in the ordered state, and for the present system, the non-diffusive mode disappears and only a diffusive mode is observed. This mode is related to the transport of segment in the interphase, due to the weak segregation on this system

  6. Applications of disorder-induced melting concept to critical-solute-accumulation processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lam, N.Q.; Okamoto, P.R.; Heuer, J.K.

    2001-01-01

    A generalized version of the Lindemann melting criterion has recently been used to develop a unified thermodynamic description of disorder-induced amorphization and heat-induced melting. This concept of amorphization as a melting process is based on the fact that the melting temperature of a defective crystal driven far from equilibrium will decrease relative to that of its defect-free equilibrium state. The broader view of melting provides a new perspective of damage-accumulation processes such as radiation damage, ion implantation, ion beam mixing, plastic deformation, and fracture. For example, within this conceptual framework, disorder-induced amorphization is simply polymorphous melting of a critically disordered crystal at temperatures below the glass transition temperature. In the present communication, we discuss the application of the concept to two specific cases: amorphous phase formation during ion implantation and solute segregation-induced intergranular fracture

  7. ATR-IR spectroscopy for the detection of induced-phase transition in Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Widayati, Suci

    1996-01-01

    The rate at which a solid substrate is transferred through the Air/Water interface in the Langmuir-Blodgett process of preparing monomolecular films influences the final structure of the transferred film. This phenomenon has been observed from the attenuated total reflectance infra-red (ATR-IR) spectra of fatty acid monolayer transferred onto germanium substrate. This transfer-induced effect is most evidence when the monolayer is transferred from an expanded region of the surface-pressure-molecular area isotherm, but has limited influence on the hydrocarbon chain conformation of film molecules transferred in the condensed phases at high surface pressure. Such a conformational ordering may due to a kinetically limited phase transition taking place in the meniscus formed between the solid substrate and aqueous sub phase. In addition, these results suggest that the structure of the amphiphilic molecules may modulate the extent and nature of the dipping-speed-induced structural changes taking place in the monomolecular L-B film. In order to use monomolecular L-B films to accurately characterize the structure, orientation and phase properties of monolayers at the Air/Water interface, the L-B transfer must be performed at transfer speeds that minimize this structural phase transition

  8. Ordering phase transition in the one-dimensional Axelrod model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilone, D.; Vespignani, A.; Castellano, C.

    2002-12-01

    We study the one-dimensional behavior of a cellular automaton aimed at the description of the formation and evolution of cultural domains. The model exhibits a non-equilibrium transition between a phase with all the system sharing the same culture and a disordered phase of coexisting regions with different cultural features. Depending on the initial distribution of the disorder the transition occurs at different values of the model parameters. This phenomenology is qualitatively captured by a mean-field approach, which maps the dynamics into a multi-species reaction-diffusion problem.

  9. The excitonic insulator route through a dynamical phase transition induced by an optical pulse

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brazovskii, S., E-mail: brazov@lptms.u-psud.fr [Université Paris-Saclay, LPTMS, CNRS, Univ. Paris-sud (France); Kirova, N. [Université Paris-Saclay, LPS, CNRS, Univ. Paris-sud (France)

    2016-03-15

    We consider a dynamical phase transition induced by a short optical pulse in a system prone to thermodynamical instability. We address the case of pumping to excitons whose density contributes directly to the order parameter. To describe both thermodynamic and dynamic effects on equal footing, we adopt a view of the excitonic insulator for the phase transition and suggest a formation of the Bose condensate for the pumped excitons. The work is motivated by experiments in donor–acceptor organic compounds with a neutral- ionic phase transition coupled to the spontaneous lattice dimerization and to charge transfer excitons. The double nature of the ensemble of excitons leads to an intricate time evolution, in particular, to macroscopic quantum oscillations from the interference between the Bose condensate of excitons and the ground state of the excitonic insulator. The coupling of excitons and the order parameter also leads to self-trapping of their wave function, akin to self-focusing in optics. The locally enhanced density of excitons can surpass a critical value to trigger the phase transformation, even if the mean density is below the required threshold. The system is stratified in domains that evolve through dynamical phase transitions and sequences of merging. The new circumstances in experiments and theory bring to life, once again, some remarkable inventions made by L.V. Keldysh.

  10. Irradiation induced crystalline to amorphous transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourgoin, J.

    1980-01-01

    Irradiation of a crystalline solid with energetic heavy particles results in cascades of defects which, with increasing dose, overlap and form a continuous disordered layer. In semiconductors the physical properties of such disordered layers are found to be similar to those of amorphous layers produced by evaporation. It is shown in the case of silicon, that the transition from a disordered crystalline (X) layer to an amorphous (α) layer occurs when the Gibbs energy of the X phase and of the defects it contains becomes larger than the Gibbs energy of the α phase. (author)

  11. Phase transitions in transmission lines with long-range fluctuating correlated disorder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazo, E.; Diez, E.

    2013-01-01

    In this work we study the localization properties of the disordered classical dual transmission lines, when the values of capacitances {C j } and inductances {L j } fluctuate in phase in the form C j =C 0 +bsin(2πx j ) and L j =L 0 +bsin(2πx j ), where b is the fluctuation amplitude. {x j } is a disordered long-range correlated sequence obtained using the Fourier filtering method which depends on the correlation exponent α. To obtain the transition point in the thermodynamic limit, we study the critical behavior of the participation number D. To do so, we calculate the linear relationship between ln(D) versus ln(N), the relative fluctuation η D and the Binder cumulant B D . The critical value obtained with these three methods is totally coincident between them. In addition, we calculate the critical behavior of the normalized localization length Λ(b) as a function of the system size N. With these data we build the phase diagram (b,α), which separates the extended states from the localized states. A final result of our work is the disappearance of the conduction bands when we introduce a finite number of impurities in random sites. This process can serve as a mechanism of secure communication, since a little alteration of the original sequence of capacitances and inductances, can destroy the band of extended states

  12. New phase transitions in lead zirconate-titanate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishchuk, V.M.; Morozov, E.M.; Klimov, V.V.

    1977-01-01

    Processes of disordering are considered in the paraelectric phase of lead zirconate-titanate. Te investigations were carried out on poly- and single-crystal specimens of the composition PbZrsub(1-x)Tisub(x)O 3 (0< x(<=)0.5). The results are presented of measurements of the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant and the dependence of the polarization on the temperature and the electric field. Anomaly is observed of the investigated characteristics above the Curie point due to a first-type phase transition. The results are interpreted within the framework of the model proposed by Coms, Lambert, and Guiniot, according to which this transition is due to the disordering of chains of unit cells existing above the Curie point

  13. Phase transition in a modified square Josephson-junction array

    CERN Document Server

    Han, J

    1999-01-01

    We study the phase transition in a modified square proximity-coupled Josephson-junction array with small superconducting islands at the center of each plaquette. We find that the modified square array undergoes a Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii-like phase transition, but at a lower temperature than the simple square array with the same single-junction critical current. The IV characteristics, as well as the phase transition, resemble qualitatively those of a disordered simple square array. The effects of the presence of the center islands in the modified square array are discussed.

  14. Quantum phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sachdev, S.

    1999-01-01

    Phase transitions are normally associated with changes of temperature but a new type of transition - caused by quantum fluctuations near absolute zero - is possible, and can tell us more about the properties of a wide range of systems in condensed-matter physics. Nature abounds with phase transitions. The boiling and freezing of water are everyday examples of phase transitions, as are more exotic processes such as superconductivity and superfluidity. The universe itself is thought to have passed through several phase transitions as the high-temperature plasma formed by the big bang cooled to form the world as we know it today. Phase transitions are traditionally classified as first or second order. In first-order transitions the two phases co-exist at the transition temperature - e.g. ice and water at 0 deg., or water and steam at 100 deg. In second-order transitions the two phases do not co-exist. In the last decade, attention has focused on phase transitions that are qualitatively different from the examples noted above: these are quantum phase transitions and they occur only at the absolute zero of temperature. The transition takes place at the ''quantum critical'' value of some other parameter such as pressure, composition or magnetic field strength. A quantum phase transition takes place when co-operative ordering of the system disappears, but this loss of order is driven solely by the quantum fluctuations demanded by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. The physical properties of these quantum fluctuations are quite distinct from those of the thermal fluctuations responsible for traditional, finite-temperature phase transitions. In particular, the quantum system is described by a complex-valued wavefunction, and the dynamics of its phase near the quantum critical point requires novel theories that have no analogue in the traditional framework of phase transitions. In this article the author describes the history of quantum phase transitions. (UK)

  15. A stress-induced phase transition model for semi-crystallize shape memory polymer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Xiaogang; Zhou, Bo; Liu, Liwu; Liu, Yanju; Leng, Jinsong

    2014-03-01

    The developments of constitutive models for shape memory polymer (SMP) have been motivated by its increasing applications. During cooling or heating process, the phase transition which is a continuous time-dependent process happens in semi-crystallize SMP and the various individual phases form at different temperature and in different configuration. Then, the transformation between these phases occurred and shape memory effect will emerge. In addition, stress applied on SMP is an important factor for crystal melting during phase transition. In this theory, an ideal phase transition model considering stress or pre-strain is the key to describe the behaviors of shape memory effect. So a normal distributed model was established in this research to characterize the volume fraction of each phase in SMP during phase transition. Generally, the experiment results are partly backward (in heating process) or forward (in cooling process) compared with the ideal situation considering delay effect during phase transition. So, a correction on the normal distributed model is needed. Furthermore, a nonlinear relationship between stress and phase transition temperature Tg is also taken into account for establishing an accurately normal distributed phase transition model. Finally, the constitutive model which taking the stress as an influence factor on phase transition was also established. Compared with the other expressions, this new-type model possesses less parameter and is more accurate. For the sake of verifying the rationality and accuracy of new phase transition and constitutive model, the comparisons between the simulated and experimental results were carried out.

  16. Pressure-induced phase transition and octahedral tilt system change of Ba2BiSbO6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lufaso, Michael W.; Macquart, Rene B.; Lee, Yongjae; Vogt, Thomas; Loye, Hans-Conrad zur

    2006-01-01

    High-resolution X-ray synchrotron powder diffraction studies under high-pressure conditions are reported for the ordered double perovskite Ba 2 BiSbO 6 . Near 4GPa, the oxide undergoes a pressure-induced phase transition. The symmetry of the material changes during the phase transition from space group R3-bar to space group I2/m, which is consistent with a change in the octahedral tilting distortion from an a - a - a - type to a 0 b - b - type using the Glazer notation. A fit of the volume-pressure data using the Birch-Murnagaham equation of state yielded a bulk modulus of 144(8)GPa for the rhombohedral phase

  17. Time-delay-induced phase-transition to synchrony in coupled bursting neurons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adhikari, Bhim Mani; Prasad, Awadhesh; Dhamala, Mukeshwar

    2011-06-01

    Signal transmission time delays in a network of nonlinear oscillators are known to be responsible for a variety of interesting dynamic behaviors including phase-flip transitions leading to synchrony or out of synchrony. Here, we uncover that phase-flip transitions are general phenomena and can occur in a network of coupled bursting neurons with a variety of coupling types. The transitions are marked by nonlinear changes in both temporal and phase-space characteristics of the coupled system. We demonstrate these phase-transitions with Hindmarsh-Rose and Leech-Heart interneuron models and discuss the implications of these results in understanding collective dynamics of bursting neurons in the brain.

  18. Twinning induced by the rhombohedral to orthorhombic phase transition in lanthanum gallate (LaGaO3)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, W. L.; Lu, H. Y.

    2006-10-01

    Phase-transformation-induced twins in pressureless-sintered lanthanum gallate (LaGaO3) ceramics have been analysed using the transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Twins are induced by solid state phase transformation upon cooling from the rhombohedral (r, Rbar{3}c) to orthorhombic ( o, Pnma) symmetry at ˜145°C. Three types of transformation twins {101} o , {121} o , and {123} o were found in grains containing multiple domains that represent orientation variants. Three orthorhombic orientation variants were distinguished from the transformation domains converged into a triple junction. These twins are the reflection type as confirmed by tilting experiment in the microscope. Although not related by group-subgroup relation, the transformation twins generated by phase transition from rhombohedral to orthorhombic are consistent with those derived from taking cubic Pm {bar {3}}m aristotype of the lowest common supergroup symmetry as an intermediate metastable structure. The r→ o phase transition of first order in nature may have occurred by a diffusionless, martensitic-type or discontinuous nucleation and growth mechanism.

  19. Model of electric field-induced charge disordering in praseodymium manganites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lapinskas, S.; Tornau, E.E.; Semiconductor Physics Inst., Vilnius

    2001-01-01

    We propose a model for an electric field-driven transition from the ordered NaCl-type phase to the disordered phase. Such a transition might be a prototype of charge disordering transition observed in Pr 1-c Ca c MnO 3 . We assume the lattice-gas model and hopping conductivity of charge carriers. The solution of this model, performed by the Monte Carlo method, demonstrates that considerably high electric field can disorder well-ordered phases. The comparison with the data for charge disordering in Pr 1-c Ca c MnO 3 shows that required fields are much too high. We analyze the obtained results trying to determine a possible scenario for conductivity in Pr 1-c Ca c MnO 3 . (orig.)

  20. Disorder-induced stiffness degradation of highly disordered porous materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laubie, Hadrien; Monfared, Siavash; Radjaï, Farhang; Pellenq, Roland; Ulm, Franz-Josef

    2017-09-01

    The effective mechanical behavior of multiphase solid materials is generally modeled by means of homogenization techniques that account for phase volume fractions and elastic moduli without considering the spatial distribution of the different phases. By means of extensive numerical simulations of randomly generated porous materials using the lattice element method, the role of local textural properties on the effective elastic properties of disordered porous materials is investigated and compared with different continuum micromechanics-based models. It is found that the pronounced disorder-induced stiffness degradation originates from stress concentrations around pore clusters in highly disordered porous materials. We identify a single disorder parameter, φsa, which combines a measure of the spatial disorder of pores (the clustering index, sa) with the pore volume fraction (the porosity, φ) to scale the disorder-induced stiffness degradation. Thus, we conclude that the classical continuum micromechanics models with one spherical pore phase, due to their underlying homogeneity assumption fall short of addressing the clustering effect, unless additional texture information is introduced, e.g. in form of the shift of the percolation threshold with disorder, or other functional relations between volume fractions and spatial disorder; as illustrated herein for a differential scheme model representative of a two-phase (solid-pore) composite model material.

  1. Exceptional Points and Dynamical Phase Transitions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Rotter

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In the framework of non-Hermitian quantum physics, the relation between exceptional points,dynamical phase transitions and the counter intuitive behavior of quantum systems at high level density is considered. The theoretical results obtained for open quantum systems and proven experimentally some years ago on a microwave cavity, may explain environmentally induce deffects (including dynamical phase transitions, which have been observed in various experimental studies. They also agree(qualitatively with the experimental results reported recently in PT symmetric optical lattices.

  2. Field induced phase transition in layered honeycomb spin system α-RuCl3 studied by thermal conductivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leahy, Ian; Bornstein, Alex; Choi, Kwang-Yong; Lee, Minhyea

    α -RuCl3, a quasi -two-dimensional honeycomb lattice is known to be a candidate material to realize the Heisenberg-Kitaev spin model of a highly anisotropic bond-dependent exchange interaction. We investigate in-plane thermal conductivity (κ) as a function of temperature (T) and in-plane applied field (H). At H = 0 , the onset of a strong increase in κ marks the spontaneous long range ordering temperature, Tc = 6 . 5 K , corresponding to ``zigzag'' antiferromagnetic ordering. A broad peak appearing below Tc in κ was found to be suppressed significantly as H increases up to ~ 7 T , implying the system undergoes a field-induced transition from ordered to a new spin-disordered state analogous to the transverse-field Ising model. Further increasing H above 7 . 1 T , the large field seems to begin polarizing spins thus increasing the phonon mean free path, resulting in a significant rise in κ. This tendency is clearly shown in the field dependence of κ below Tc, which has a pronounced minimum at Hmin = 7 . 1 T . We will discuss our scaling analysis to characterize this field-induced phase transition and compare to the transverse-field Ising spin system. Work at the University of Colorado was supported by the US DOE Basic Energy Sciences under Award No. DE-SC0006888.

  3. Quenching of superconductivity in disordered thin films by phase fluctuations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hebard, A.F.; Palaanen, M.A.

    1992-01-01

    The amplitude Ψ 0 and phase Φ of the superconducting order parameter in thin-film systems are affected differently by disorder and dimensionality. With increasing disorder superconducting long range order is quenched in sufficiently thin films by physical processes driven by phase fluctuations. This occurs at both the zero-field vortex-antivortex unbinding transition and at the zero-temperature magnetic-field-tuned superconducting-insulating transition. At both of these transitions Ψ 0 is finite and constant, vanishing only when temperature, disorder, and/or magnetic field are increased further. Experimental results on amorphous-composite InO x films are presented to illustrate these points and appropriate comparisons are made to other experimental systems. (orig.)

  4. Phase diagram of the disordered Bose-Hubbard model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gurarie, V.; Pollet, L.; Prokof'ev, N. V.; Svistunov, B. V.; Troyer, M.

    2009-01-01

    We establish the phase diagram of the disordered three-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model at unity filling which has been controversial for many years. The theorem of inclusions, proven by Pollet et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 140402 (2009)] states that the Bose-glass phase always intervenes between the Mott insulating and superfluid phases. Here, we note that assumptions on which the theorem is based exclude phase transitions between gapped (Mott insulator) and gapless phases (Bose glass). The apparent paradox is resolved through a unique mechanism: such transitions have to be of the Griffiths type when the vanishing of the gap at the critical point is due to a zero concentration of rare regions where extreme fluctuations of disorder mimic a regular gapless system. An exactly solvable random transverse field Ising model in one dimension is used to illustrate the point. A highly nontrivial overall shape of the phase diagram is revealed with the worm algorithm. The phase diagram features a long superfluid finger at strong disorder and on-site interaction. Moreover, bosonic superfluidity is extremely robust against disorder in a broad range of interaction parameters; it persists in random potentials nearly 50 (!) times larger than the particle half-bandwidth. Finally, we comment on the feasibility of obtaining this phase diagram in cold-atom experiments, which work with trapped systems at finite temperature.

  5. Disorder-induced topological transitions in multichannel Majorana wires

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pekerten, B.; Teker, A.; Bozat, Ö.; Wimmer, M.T.; Adagideli, I

    2017-01-01

    In this work, we investigate the effect of disorder on the topological properties of multichannel superconductor nanowires. While the standard expectation is that the spectral gap is closed and opened at transitions that change the topological index of the wire, we show that the closing and

  6. Mixed-order phase transition in a colloidal crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alert, Ricard; Tierno, Pietro; Casademunt, Jaume

    2017-12-01

    Mixed-order phase transitions display a discontinuity in the order parameter like first-order transitions yet feature critical behavior like second-order transitions. Such transitions have been predicted for a broad range of equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems, but their experimental observation has remained elusive. Here, we analytically predict and experimentally realize a mixed-order equilibrium phase transition. Specifically, a discontinuous solid-solid transition in a 2D crystal of paramagnetic colloidal particles is induced by a magnetic field H. At the transition field Hs, the energy landscape of the system becomes completely flat, which causes diverging fluctuations and correlation length ξ∝|H2-Hs2|-1/2. Mean-field critical exponents are predicted, since the upper critical dimension of the transition is du=2. Our colloidal system provides an experimental test bed to probe the unconventional properties of mixed-order phase transitions.

  7. Mixed-order phase transition in a colloidal crystal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alert, Ricard; Tierno, Pietro; Casademunt, Jaume

    2017-12-05

    Mixed-order phase transitions display a discontinuity in the order parameter like first-order transitions yet feature critical behavior like second-order transitions. Such transitions have been predicted for a broad range of equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems, but their experimental observation has remained elusive. Here, we analytically predict and experimentally realize a mixed-order equilibrium phase transition. Specifically, a discontinuous solid-solid transition in a 2D crystal of paramagnetic colloidal particles is induced by a magnetic field [Formula: see text] At the transition field [Formula: see text], the energy landscape of the system becomes completely flat, which causes diverging fluctuations and correlation length [Formula: see text] Mean-field critical exponents are predicted, since the upper critical dimension of the transition is [Formula: see text] Our colloidal system provides an experimental test bed to probe the unconventional properties of mixed-order phase transitions.

  8. Disordered vortex phases in YBa2Cu3Ox

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crabtree, G. W.; Kwok, W. K.; Olsson, R. J.; Karapetrov, G.; Paulius, L. M.; Petrean, A.; Tobos, V.; Moulton, W. G.

    2000-01-01

    The disordered vortex phases induced by line and point pinning in YBa 2 Cu 3 O x are explored. At high defect densities there is a single disordered solid separated from the liquid phase by a melting line. At low defect densities the topology of the phase diagram changes dramatically, with a vortex lattice phase adjoining disordered phases at high or low field. Critical points at the termination of first order melting separate the lattice and disordered phases. The line defect disordered phases follow the expected Bose glass behavior, while the point defect disordered phases do not exhibit the expected vortex glass behavior

  9. Tricritical behaviour in the phase transition induced by electron-hole pairing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crisan, M.

    1980-01-01

    The electron-hole pairing, which is possible in metals or semiconductors, can give condensed phases with two order parameters. If the coupling between the two order parameters is considered, the free energy functional is similar with the free energy of a n-component spin system with cubic anisotropy. Using the Wagner hypothesis (tricritical scaling) the non-linear scaling fields have been calculated. In order to perform the calculation of the nonlinear fields we used the method given by Rudnick and Nelson to solve the recursion relations for the 4-epsilon-dimensional system with n=6 components. The present calculation in the frame-work of the renormalization-group approach confirms the result obtained in the mean-field theory that the coupling of the two order parameters induces a first order phase transition. (author)

  10. Phase transitions

    CERN Document Server

    Sole, Ricard V; Solé, Ricard V; Solé, Ricard V; Sol, Ricard V; Solé, Ricard V

    2011-01-01

    Phase transitions--changes between different states of organization in a complex system--have long helped to explain physics concepts, such as why water freezes into a solid or boils to become a gas. How might phase transitions shed light on important problems in biological and ecological complex systems? Exploring the origins and implications of sudden changes in nature and society, Phase Transitions examines different dynamical behaviors in a broad range of complex systems. Using a compelling set of examples, from gene networks and ant colonies to human language and the degradation of diverse ecosystems, the book illustrates the power of simple models to reveal how phase transitions occur. Introductory chapters provide the critical concepts and the simplest mathematical techniques required to study phase transitions. In a series of example-driven chapters, Ricard Solé shows how such concepts and techniques can be applied to the analysis and prediction of complex system behavior, including the origins of ...

  11. Structural phase transition in monolayer MoTe2 driven by electrostatic doping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ying; Xiao, Jun; Zhu, Hanyu; Li, Yao; Alsaid, Yousif; Fong, King Yan; Zhou, Yao; Wang, Siqi; Shi, Wu; Wang, Yuan; Zettl, Alex; Reed, Evan J.; Zhang, Xiang

    2017-10-01

    Monolayers of transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit numerous crystal phases with distinct structures, symmetries and physical properties. Exploring the physics of transitions between these different structural phases in two dimensions may provide a means of switching material properties, with implications for potential applications. Structural phase transitions in TMDs have so far been induced by thermal or chemical means; purely electrostatic control over crystal phases through electrostatic doping was recently proposed as a theoretical possibility, but has not yet been realized. Here we report the experimental demonstration of an electrostatic-doping-driven phase transition between the hexagonal and monoclinic phases of monolayer molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2). We find that the phase transition shows a hysteretic loop in Raman spectra, and can be reversed by increasing or decreasing the gate voltage. We also combine second-harmonic generation spectroscopy with polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy to show that the induced monoclinic phase preserves the crystal orientation of the original hexagonal phase. Moreover, this structural phase transition occurs simultaneously across the whole sample. This electrostatic-doping control of structural phase transition opens up new possibilities for developing phase-change devices based on atomically thin membranes.

  12. Optically induced structural phase transitions in ion Coulomb crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Horak, Peter; Dantan, Aurelien Romain; Drewsen, Michael

    2012-01-01

    We investigate numerically the structural dynamics of ion Coulomb crystals confined in a three-dimensional harmonic trap when influenced by an additional one-dimensional optically induced periodical potential. We demonstrate that transitions between thermally excited crystal structures, such as b......We investigate numerically the structural dynamics of ion Coulomb crystals confined in a three-dimensional harmonic trap when influenced by an additional one-dimensional optically induced periodical potential. We demonstrate that transitions between thermally excited crystal structures...

  13. Strain-induced topological magnon phase transitions: applications to kagome-lattice ferromagnets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owerre, S. A.

    2018-06-01

    A common feature of topological insulators is that they are characterized by topologically invariant quantity such as the Chern number and the index. This quantity distinguishes a nontrivial topological system from a trivial one. A topological phase transition may occur when there are two topologically distinct phases, and it is usually defined by a gap closing point where the topologically invariant quantity is ill-defined. In this paper, we show that the magnon bands in the strained (distorted) kagome-lattice ferromagnets realize an example of a topological magnon phase transition in the realistic parameter regime of the system. When spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is neglected (i.e. no Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction), we show that all three magnon branches are dispersive with no flat band, and there exists a critical point where tilted Dirac and semi-Dirac point coexist in the magnon spectra. The critical point separates two gapless magnon phases as opposed to the usual phase transition. Upon the inclusion of SOC, we realize a topological magnon phase transition point at the critical strain , where D and J denote the perturbative SOC and the Heisenberg spin exchange interaction respectively. It separates two distinct topological magnon phases with different Chern numbers for and for . The associated anomalous thermal Hall conductivity develops an abrupt change at , due to the divergence of the Berry curvature in momentum space. The proposed topological magnon phase transition is experimentally feasible by applying external perturbations such as uniaxial strain or pressure.

  14. Partial inertia induces additional phase transition in the majority vote model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harunari, Pedro E; de Oliveira, M M; Fiore, C E

    2017-10-01

    Explosive (i.e., discontinuous) transitions have aroused great interest by manifesting in distinct systems, such as synchronization in coupled oscillators, percolation regime, absorbing phase transitions, and more recently, the majority-vote model with inertia. In the latter, the model rules are slightly modified by the inclusion of a term depending on the local spin (an inertial term). In such a case, Chen et al. [Phys Rev. E 95, 042304 (2017)2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.95.042304] have found that relevant inertia changes the nature of the phase transition in complex networks, from continuous to discontinuous. Here we give a further step by embedding inertia only in vertices with degree larger than a threshold value 〈k〉k^{*}, 〈k〉 being the mean system degree and k^{*} the fraction restriction. Our results, from mean-field analysis and extensive numerical simulations, reveal that an explosive transition is presented in both homogeneous and heterogeneous structures for small and intermediate k^{*}'s. Otherwise, a large restriction can sustain a discontinuous transition only in the heterogeneous case. This shares some similarities with recent results for the Kuramoto model [Phys. Rev. E 91, 022818 (2015)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.91.022818]. Surprisingly, intermediate restriction and large inertia are responsible for the emergence of an extra phase, in which the system is partially synchronized and the classification of phase transition depends on the inertia and the lattice topology. In this case, the system exhibits two phase transitions.

  15. Scratching the surface of ice: Interfacial phase transitions and their kinetic implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limmer, David

    The surface structure of ice maintains a high degree of disorder down to surprisingly low temperatures. This is due to a number of underlying interfacial phase transitions that are associated with incremental changes in broken symmetry relative to the bulk crystal. In this talk I summarize recent work attempting to establish the nature and locations of these different phase transitions as well as how they depend on external conditions and nonequilibrium driving. The implications of this surface disorder is discussed in the context of simple kinetic processes that occur at these interfaces. Recent experimental work on the roughening transition is highlighted.

  16. Field induced magnetic phase transition as a magnon Bose Einstein condensation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teodora Radu et al

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We report specific heat, magnetocaloric effect and magnetization measurements on single crystals of the frustrated quasi-2D spin -½ antiferromagnet Cs2CuCl4 in the external magnetic field 0≤B≤12 T along a-axis and in the temperature range 0.03 K≤T≤6 K. Decreasing the applied magnetic field B from high fields leads to the closure of the field induced gap in the magnon spectrum at a critical field Bcsimeq8.44 T and a long-range incommensurate state below Bc. In the vicinity of Bc, the phase transition boundary is well described by the power law TN~(Bc-B1/phi with the measured critical exponent phisimeq1.5. These findings provide experimental evidence that the scaling law of the transition temperature TN can be described by the universality class of 3D Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC of magnons.

  17. Temperature-induced transitions in disordered proteins probed by NMR spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjærgaard, Magnus; Poulsen, Flemming Martin; Kragelund, Birthe Brandt

    2012-01-01

    Intrinsically disordered proteins are abundant in nature and perform many important physiological functions. Multidimensional NMR spectroscopy has been crucial for the understanding of the conformational properties of disordered proteins and is increasingly used to probe their conformational...... ensembles. Compared to folded proteins, disordered proteins are more malleable and more easily perturbed by environmental factors. Accordingly, the experimental conditions and especially the temperature modify the structural and functional properties of disordered proteins. NMR spectroscopy allows analysis...... of temperature-induced structural changes at residue resolution using secondary chemical shift analysis, paramagnetic relaxation enhancement, and residual dipolar couplings. This chapter discusses practical aspects of NMR studies of temperature-induced structural changes in disordered proteins....

  18. Pressure induced structural phase transition in solid oxidizer KClO3: A first-principles study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yedukondalu, N.; Ghule, Vikas D.; Vaitheeswaran, G.

    2013-05-01

    High pressure behavior of potassium chlorate (KClO3) has been investigated from 0 to 10 GPa by means of first principles density functional theory calculations. The calculated ground state parameters, transition pressure, and phonon frequencies using semiempirical dispersion correction scheme are in excellent agreement with experiment. It is found that KClO3 undergoes a pressure induced first order phase transition with an associated volume collapse of 6.4% from monoclinic (P21/m) → rhombohedral (R3m) structure at 2.26 GPa, which is in good accord with experimental observation. However, the transition pressure was found to underestimate (0.11 GPa) and overestimate (3.57 GPa) using local density approximation and generalized gradient approximation functionals, respectively. Mechanical stability of both the phases is explained from the calculated single crystal elastic constants. In addition, the zone center phonon frequencies have been calculated using density functional perturbation theory at ambient as well as at high pressure and the lattice modes are found to soften under pressure between 0.6 and 1.2 GPa. The present study reveals that the observed structural phase transition leads to changes in the decomposition mechanism of KClO3 which corroborates with the experimental results.

  19. Defect-induced local variation of crystal phase transition temperature in metal-halide perovskites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobrovolsky, Alexander; Merdasa, Aboma; Unger, Eva L; Yartsev, Arkady; Scheblykin, Ivan G

    2017-06-26

    Solution-processed organometal halide perovskites are hybrid crystalline semiconductors highly interesting for low-cost and efficient optoelectronics. Their properties are dependent on the crystal structure. Literature shows a variety of crystal phase transition temperatures and often a spread of the transition over tens of degrees Kelvin. We explain this inconsistency by demonstrating that the temperature of the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic phase transition in methylammonium lead triiodide depends on the concentration and nature of local defects. Phase transition in individual nanowires was studied by photoluminescence microspectroscopy and super-resolution imaging. We propose that upon cooling from 160 to 140 K, domains of the crystal containing fewer defects stay in the tetragonal phase longer than highly defected domains that readily transform to the high bandgap orthorhombic phase at higher temperatures. The existence of relatively pure tetragonal domains during the phase transition leads to drastic photoluminescence enhancement, which is inhomogeneously distributed across perovskite microcrystals.Understanding crystal phase transition in materials is of fundamental importance. Using luminescence spectroscopy and super-resolution imaging, Dobrovolsky et al. study the transition from the tetragonal to orthorhombic crystal phase in methylammonium lead triiodide nanowires at low temperature.

  20. Temperature-induced phase transition in hydrogels of interpenetrating networks poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide)/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šťastná, J.; Hanyková, L.; Sedláková, Zdeňka; Valentová, H.; Spěváček, Jiří

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 291, č. 10 (2013), s. 2409-2417 ISSN 0303-402X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/09/1281 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : temperature-induced volume phase transition * poly (N-isopropylmethacrylamide) poly (Nisopropylacrylamide) interpenetrating network * 1H NMR spectroscopy Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 2.410, year: 2013

  1. Magnetic-field induced phase transitions in intermetallic rare-earth ferrimagnets with a compensation point

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sabdenov, Ch.K.; Davydova, M.D.; Zvezdin, K.A.; Gorbunov, Denis; Tereshina, I. S.; Andreev, Alexander V.; Zvezdin, A. K.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 43, č. 5 (2017), s. 551-558 ISSN 1063-777X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-03593S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : rare-earth intermetallics * phase diagram * field-induced transition * magnetic anisotropy * high magnetic fields Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 0.804, year: 2016

  2. Phase transitions in solids under high pressure

    CERN Document Server

    Blank, Vladimir Davydovich

    2013-01-01

    Phase equilibria and kinetics of phase transformations under high pressureEquipment and methods for the study of phase transformations in solids at high pressuresPhase transformations of carbon and boron nitride at high pressure and deformation under pressurePhase transitions in Si and Ge at high pressure and deformation under pressurePolymorphic α-ω transformation in titanium, zirconium and zirconium-titanium alloys Phase transformations in iron and its alloys at high pressure Phase transformations in gallium and ceriumOn the possible polymorphic transformations in transition metals under pressurePressure-induced polymorphic transformations in АIBVII compoundsPhase transformations in AIIBVI and AIIIBV semiconductor compoundsEffect of pressure on the kinetics of phase transformations in iron alloysTransformations during deformation at high pressure Effects due to phase transformations at high pressureKinetics and hysteresis in high-temperature polymorphic transformations under pressureHysteresis and kineti...

  3. Cosmological phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolb, E.W.

    1993-10-01

    If modern ideas about the role of spontaneous symmetry breaking in fundamental physics are correct, then the Universe should have undergone a series of phase transitions early in its history. The study of cosmological phase transitions has become an important aspect of early-Universe cosmology. In this lecture I review some very recent work on three aspects of phase transitions: the electroweak transition, texture, and axions

  4. Phase transitions in an Ising model for monolayers of coadsorbed atoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, H.H.; Landau, D.P.

    1979-01-01

    A Monte Carlo method is used to study a simple S=1 Ising (lattice-gas) model appropriate for monolayers composed of two kinds of atoms on cubic metal substrates H = K/sub nn/ Σ/sub nn/ S 2 /sub i/zS 2 /sub j/z + J/sub nnn/ Σ/sub nnn/ S/sub i/zS/sub j/z + Δ Σ/sub i/ S 2 /sub i/z (where nn denotes nearest-neighbor and nnn next-nearest-neighbor pairs). The phase diagram is determined over a wide range of Δ and T for K/sub nn//J/sub nnn/=1/4. For small (or negative) Δ we find an antiferromagnetic 2 x 1 ordered phase separated from the disordered state by a line of second-order phase transitions. The 2 x 1 phase is separated by a line of first-order transitions from a c (2 x 2) phase which appears for larger Δ. The 2 x 1 and c (2 x 2) phases become simultaneously critical at a bicritical point and the phase boundary of the c (2 x 2) → disordered transition shows a tricritical point

  5. Effects of phase transition induced density fluctuations on pulser dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bagchi, Partha; Das, Arpan; Srivastava, Ajit M.; Layek, Biswanath

    2016-01-01

    We show that density fluctuations during phase transitions in pulsar cores may have non-trivial effects on pulsar timings, and may also possibly account for glitches and anti-glitches. These density fluctuations invariably lead to non-zero off-diagonal components of the moment of inertia, leading to transient wobbling of star. Thus, accurate measurements of pulsar timing and intensity modulations (from wobbling) may be used to identify the specific pattern of density fluctuations, hence the particular phase transition, occurring inside the pulsar core. Changes in quadrupole moment from rapidly evolving density fluctuations during the transition, with very short time scales, may provide a new source for gravitational waves. (author)

  6. Effects of phase transition induced density fluctuations on pulsar dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Partha Bagchi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available We show that density fluctuations during phase transitions in pulsar cores may have non-trivial effects on pulsar timings, and may also possibly account for glitches and anti-glitches. These density fluctuations invariably lead to non-zero off-diagonal components of the moment of inertia, leading to transient wobbling of star. Thus, accurate measurements of pulsar timing and intensity modulations (from wobbling may be used to identify the specific pattern of density fluctuations, hence the particular phase transition, occurring inside the pulsar core. Changes in quadrupole moment from rapidly evolving density fluctuations during the transition, with very short time scales, may provide a new source for gravitational waves.

  7. Pressure-induced phase transition in KxFe2-yS2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsuchiya, Yuu; Ikeda, Shugo; Kobayashi, Hisao; Zhang, Xiao-Wei; Kishimoto, Shunji; Kikegawa, Takumi; Hirao, Naohisa; Kawaguchi, Saori I.; Ohishi, Yasuo

    2017-01-01

    The structural and electronic properties of high-quality K 0.66(6) Fe 1.75(10) S 2 single crystals have been investigated by angle-resolved X-ray diffraction and 57 Fe nuclear forward scattering using synchrotron radiation under pressure at room temperature. The samples exhibit phase separation into antiferromagnetic ordered K 2 Fe 4 S 5 and nonmagnetic K x Fe 2 S 2 phases. It was found that a pressure-induced phase transition occurs at p c = 5.9(4) GPa with simultaneous suppression of the antiferromagnetic and Fe vacancy orders. >From the results of 57 Fe nuclear forward scattering, the refined magnetic hyperfine field remains unchanged with pressure below p c , suggesting that the Néel temperature does not decrease with pressure up to p c . Above p c , all Fe atoms in K 0.66 Fe 1.75 S 2 are in the same nonmagnetic state. A discontinuous increase in the center shift was observed at p c , reflecting a change in the Fe electronic state in K 0.66 Fe 1.75 S 2 . (author)

  8. Time-Resolved Studies of Laser-Induced Phase Transitions in Gallium Arsenide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegal, Yakir

    This thesis describes a series of time-resolved experiments of the linear and nonlinear optical properties of GaAs during laser-induced phase transitions. The first set of experiments consists of a direct determination of the behavior of the linear dielectric constant at photon energies of 2.2 eV and 4.4 eV following excitation of the sample with 1.9-eV, 70-fs laser pulses spanning a fluence range from 0 to 2.5 kJ/m^2. The results from this set of experiments were used to extract the behavior of the second-order optical susceptibility from second-harmonic generation measurements made under identical excitation conditions. These experiments are unique because they provide explicit information on the behavior of intrinsic material properties--the linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities--during laser-induced phase transitions in semiconductors without the ambiguities in interpretation that are generally inherent in reflectivity and second-harmonic generation measurements. The dielectric constant data indicate a drop in the average bonding-antibonding splitting of GaAs following the laser pulse excitation. This behavior leads to a collapse of the band-gap on a picosecond time scale for excitation at fluences near the damage threshold of 1.0 kJ/m ^2 and even faster at higher excitation fluences. The changes in the electronic band structure result from a combination of electronic screening by the excited free carriers and structural deformation of the lattice caused by the destabilization of the covalent bonds. The behavior of the second-order susceptibility shows that the material loses long-range order before the average bonding-antibonding splitting, which is more sensitive to short-range structure, changes significantly. Loss of long-range order and a drop of more than 2 eV in the average bonding-antibonding splitting are seen even at fluences below the damage threshold, a regime in which the laser-induced changes are reversible.

  9. Oxygen order-disorder phase transition in PrBaCo2O5.48 at high temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Streule, S.; Podlesnyak, A.; Pomjakushina, E.; Conder, K.; Sheptyakov, D.; Medarde, M.; Mesot, J.

    2006-01-01

    We have investigated the PrBaCo 2 O 5.48 compound by means of neutron powder diffraction at temperatures 300K OD =776K, which we associate with an oxygen order-disorder transition: the well-known room temperature ordered crystal structure, in which slabs of CoO 6 octahedra and CoO 5 pyramids interleave (Pmmm symmetry) gets lost at temperatures T>T OD , resulting in a statistical distribution of octahedra and pyramids in the sample. The new phase can be described by the tetragonal P4/mmm space group. The transition is caused by displacement of apical oxygen ions and is an indication that ionic conductivity, which has been observed in 3D cobaltites, may also exist in layered cobaltites

  10. Geometry-induced phase transition in fluids: Capillary prewetting

    OpenAIRE

    Yatsyshin, Petr; Savva, Nikos; Kalliadasis, Serafim

    2013-01-01

    We report a new first-order phase transition preceding capillary condensation and corresponding to the discontinuous formation of a curved liquid meniscus. Using a mean-field microscopic approach based on the density functional theory we compute the complete phase diagram of a prototypical two-dimensional system exhibiting capillary condensation, namely that of a fluid with long-ranged dispersion intermolecular forces which is spatially confined by a substrate forming a semi-infinite rectangu...

  11. Ultrafast optically induced ferromagnetic/anti-ferromagnetic phase transition in GdTiO3 from first principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalsa, Guru; Benedek, Nicole A.

    2018-03-01

    Epitaxial strain and chemical substitution have been the workhorses of functional materials design. These static techniques have shown immense success in controlling properties in complex oxides through the tuning of subtle structural distortions. Recently, an approach based on the excitation of an infrared active phonon with intense midinfrared light has created an opportunity for dynamical control of structure through special nonlinear coupling to Raman phonons. We use first-principles techniques to show that this approach can dynamically induce a magnetic phase transition from the ferromagnetic ground state to a hidden antiferromagnetic phase in the rare earth titanate GdTiO3 for realistic experimental parameters. We show that a combination of a Jahn-Teller distortion, Gd displacement, and infrared phonon motion dominate this phase transition with little effect from the octahedral rotations, contrary to conventional wisdom.

  12. Neutron and x-ray scattering studies of ferroelectric phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dolling, G.

    1982-08-01

    The subject of ferroelectric type phase transitions is introduced by means of examples of two main classes (a) displacive transitions, e.g. KNbO 3 , and (b) order-disorder transitions, e.g. NaNO 2 . The significance of crystal structure and crystal dynamics (i.e. the phonon dispersion relations) for ferroelectric behaviour is emphasized. The chief methods for structure determination are x-ray and neutron diffraction, while the most powerful of all techniques for studying phonon properties is that of coherent inelastic neutron scattering. The most useful type of neutron spectrometer for phase transition studies, the triple axis crystal spectrometer, is discussed in detail. The history of the soft mode theory of displacive phase transitions, and its application to the antiferroelectric and 'almost ferroelectric' transitions in SrTiO 3 , provides an introduction to more recent developments in this area, including over-damped soft modes, central peaks and critical scattering, incommensurate phase transitions (e.g. K 2 SeO 4 ), amplitudons, phasons and finally solitions. The treatment throughout is descriptive and introductory, designed for graduate students

  13. High pressure structural phase transitions of TiO2 nanomaterials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Quan-Jun; Liu Bing-Bing

    2016-01-01

    Recently, the high pressure study on the TiO 2 nanomaterials has attracted considerable attention due to the typical crystal structure and the fascinating properties of TiO 2 with nanoscale sizes. In this paper, we briefly review the recent progress in the high pressure phase transitions of TiO 2 nanomaterials. We discuss the size effects and morphology effects on the high pressure phase transitions of TiO 2 nanomaterials with different particle sizes, morphologies, and microstructures. Several typical pressure-induced structural phase transitions in TiO 2 nanomaterials are presented, including size-dependent phase transition selectivity in nanoparticles, morphology-tuned phase transition in nanowires, nanosheets, and nanoporous materials, and pressure-induced amorphization (PIA) and polyamorphism in ultrafine nanoparticles and TiO 2 -B nanoribbons. Various TiO 2 nanostructural materials with high pressure structures are prepared successfully by high pressure treatment of the corresponding crystal nanomaterials, such as amorphous TiO 2 nanoribbons, α -PbO 2 -type TiO 2 nanowires, nanosheets, and nanoporous materials. These studies suggest that the high pressure phase transitions of TiO 2 nanomaterials depend on the nanosize, morphology, interface energy, and microstructure. The diversity of high pressure behaviors of TiO 2 nanomaterials provides a new insight into the properties of nanomaterials, and paves a way for preparing new nanomaterials with novel high pressure structures and properties for various applications. (topical review)

  14. Shear-induced structural transitions in Newtonian non-Newtonian two-phase flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cristobal, G.; Rouch, J.; Colin, A.; Panizza, P.

    2000-09-01

    We show the existence under shear flow of steady states in a two-phase region of a brine-surfactant system in which lyotropic dilute lamellar (non-Newtonian) and sponge (Newtonian) phases are coexisting. At high shear rates and low sponge phase-volume fractions, we report on the existence of a dynamic transition corresponding to the formation of a colloidal crystal of multilamellar vesicles (or ``onions'') immersed in the sponge matrix. As the sponge phase-volume fraction increases, this transition exhibits a hysteresis loop leading to a structural bistability of the two-phase flow. Contrary to single phase lamellar systems where it is always 100%, the onion volume fraction can be monitored continuously from 0 to 100 %.

  15. Displacive phase transition at the 5/3 monolayer of Pb on Ge(001)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cvetko, D.; Ratto, F.; Cossaro, A.; Bavdek, G.; Morgante, A.; Floreano, L.

    2005-07-01

    At a coverage of 5/3 monolayer (ML), Pb adsorbed on Ge(001) forms a ground phase displaying a ((21)/(06)) symmetry. This phase undergoes two reversible phase transitions ((21)/(06))↔((21)/(03))↔(2×1) at the critical temperatures Tc1˜178K and Tc2˜375K , respectively. We investigated the behavior of the relevant order parameters at the critical temperatures by means of He and in-plane x-ray diffraction (HAS and XRD, respectively). Both phase transitions at the critical temperature put in evidence a clear order-disorder behavior, in agreement with the universality class expected for the corresponding symmetry group transformation. The low-temperature transition yields the critical exponent of the two-dimensional (2-D) Ising universality class, whereas the three-state Potts’ critical exponents are found for the high-temperature transition. By out-of-plane XRD measurements, the low-temperature phase transition is observed to be accompanied by a static surface distortion at room temperature. A complementary HAS study of the temperature evolution of the surface charge corrugation reveals that the complete ((21)/(06))↔((21)/(03)) transition is of the displacive type. On the contrary, the high-temperature phase transition does not show any change of the surface corrugation up to its irreversible decomposition, thus pointing to a pure order-disorder character.

  16. Isostructural magnetic phase transition and magnetocaloric effect in Ising antiferromagnet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lavanov, G.Yu; Kalita, V.M.; Loktev, V.M.

    2014-01-01

    It is shown that the external magnetic field induced isostructural I st order magnetic phase transition between antiferromagnetic phases with different antiferromagnetic vector values is associated with entropy. It is found, that depending on temperature the entropy jump and the related heat release change their sign at this transition point. In the low-temperature region of metamagnetic I st order phase tensition the entropy jump is positive, and in the triple point region this jump for isostructural magnetic transition is negative

  17. Neutron-Diffraction Study of the Phase Transition in Stannous Chloride Dihydrate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Youngblood, R.; Kjems, Jørgen

    1979-01-01

    of the system does not change. We present neutron-diffraction results which show that the temperature dependence of the hydrogen-site occupancies is also highly symmetric around the phase-transition temperature. These results are discussed in terms of a lattice statistical model which was proposed and solved......The order-disorder phase transition in two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded layers of water molecules in SnCl2·2D2O is remarkable in several respects. It has been shown that the peak in the specific heat is highly symmetric around the phase-transition temperature, and that the crystallographic symmetry...

  18. Activity induced phase transition in mixtures of active and passive agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinha Mahapatra, Pallab; Kulkarni, Ajinkya

    2017-11-01

    Collective behaviors of self-propelling agents are ubiquitous in nature that produces interesting patterns. The objective of this study is to investigate the phase transition in mixtures of active and inert agents suspended in a liquid. A modified version of the Vicsek Model has been used (see Ref.), where the particles are modeled as soft disks with finite mass, confined in a square domain. The particles are required to align their local motion to their immediate neighborhood, similar to the Vicsek model. We identified the transition from disorganized thermal-like motion to an organized vortical motion. We analyzed the nature of the transition by using different order parameters. Furthermore the switching between the phases has been investigated via artificial nucleation of randomly picked active agents spanning the entire domain. Finally the motivation for this phase transition has been explained via average dissipation and the mean square displacement (MSD) of the agents.

  19. Cosmological phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolb, E.W.

    1987-01-01

    If the universe stated from conditions of high temperature and density, there should have been a series of phase transitions associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking. The cosmological phase transitions could have observable consequences in the present Universe. Some of the consequences including the formation of topological defects and cosmological inflation are reviewed here. One of the most important tools in building particle physics models is the use of spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB). The proposal that there are underlying symmetries of nature that are not manifest in the vacuum is a crucial link in the unification of forces. Of particular interest for cosmology is the expectation that are the high temperatures of the big bang symmetries broken today will be restored, and that there are phase transitions to the broken state. The possibility that topological defects will be produced in the transition is the subject of this section. The possibility that the Universe will undergo inflation in a phase transition will be the subject of the next section. Before discussing the creation of topological defects in the phase transition, some general aspects of high-temperature restoration of symmetry and the development of the phase transition will be reviewed. 29 references, 1 figure, 1 table

  20. Generalized transport model for phase transition with memory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Chi; Ciucci, Francesco

    2013-01-01

    A general model for phenomenological transport in phase transition is derived, which extends Jäckle and Frisch model of phase transition with memory and the Cahn–Hilliard model. In addition to including interfacial energy to account for the presence of interfaces, we introduce viscosity and relaxation contributions, which result from incorporating memory effect into the driving potential. Our simulation results show that even without interfacial energy term, the viscous term can lead to transient diffuse interfaces. From the phase transition induced hysteresis, we discover different energy dissipation mechanism for the interfacial energy and the viscosity effect. In addition, by combining viscosity and interfacial energy, we find that if the former dominates, then the concentration difference across the phase boundary is reduced; conversely, if the interfacial energy is greater then this difference is enlarged.

  1. Comparing two tetraalkylammonium ionic liquids. II. Phase transitions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lima, Thamires A.; Paschoal, Vitor H.; Faria, Luiz F. O.; Ribeiro, Mauro C. C., E-mail: mccribei@iq.usp.br [Laboratório de Espectroscopia Molecular, Departamento de Química Fundamental, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, CP 26077, CEP 05513-970 São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Ferreira, Fabio F.; Costa, Fanny N. [Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André, SP (Brazil); Giles, Carlos [Depto. de Física da Matéria Condensada, Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-859 Campinas, SP (Brazil)

    2016-06-14

    Phase transitions of the ionic liquids n-butyl-trimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, [N{sub 1114}][NTf{sub 2}], and methyl-tributylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, [N{sub 1444}][NTf{sub 2}], were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, and Raman spectroscopy. XRD and Raman spectra were obtained as a function of temperature at atmospheric pressure, and also under high pressure at room temperature using a diamond anvil cell (DAC). [N{sub 1444}][NTf{sub 2}] experiences glass transition at low temperature, whereas [N{sub 1114}][NTf{sub 2}] crystallizes or not depending on the cooling rate. Both the ionic liquids exhibit glass transition under high pressure. XRD and low-frequency Raman spectra provide a consistent physical picture of structural ordering-disordering accompanying the thermal events of crystallization, glass transition, cold crystallization, pre-melting, and melting. Raman spectra in the high-frequency range of some specific cation and anion normal modes reveal conformational changes of the molecular structures along phase transitions.

  2. Variable-temperature Microwave Impedance Microscope with Light Stimulation for Research on Photo-induced Phase Transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-07-24

    SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: The DURIP program "Variable-temperature Microwave Impedance Microscope with Light Stimulation for Research on Photo... Stimulation for Research on Photo- induced Phase Transitions The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should...reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions

  3. Magnetic phase transitions and hydrostatic pressure or uniaxial stress experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bloch, D.

    1980-01-01

    Crystals submitted to high hydrostatic pressure or uniaxial stress have been investigated by means of neutron scattering. The techniques used are described and applications to pressure or stress induced T = 0 magnetic to nonmagnetic transitions (Pr,PrSb) and continuous to discontinuous order-disorder transitions (MnO) are given. (orig.)

  4. Open volume defects and magnetic phase transition in Fe{sub 60}Al{sub 40} transition metal aluminide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liedke, M. O., E-mail: m.liedke@hzdr.de; Anwand, W.; Butterling, M.; Wagner, A. [Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Bali, R.; Cornelius, S.; Potzger, K. [Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Trinh, T. T. [Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Technical University Dresden, Helmholtzstr. 10, 01609 Dresden (Germany); Salamon, S.; Walecki, D.; Smekhova, A.; Wende, H. [Faculty of Physics and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstraße 1, 47048 Duisburg (Germany)

    2015-04-28

    Magnetic phase transition in the Fe{sub 60}Al{sub 40} transition metal aluminide from the ferromagnetic disordered A2-phase to the paramagnetic ordered B2-phase as a function of annealing up to 1000 °C has been investigated by means of magneto-optical and spectroscopy techniques, i.e., Kerr effect, positron annihilation, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The positron annihilation spectroscopy has been performed in-situ sequentially after each annealing step at the Apparatus for In-situ Defect Analysis that is a unique tool combining positron annihilation spectroscopy with temperature treatment, material evaporation, ion irradiation, and sheet resistance measurement techniques. The overall goal was to investigate the importance of the open volume defects onto the magnetic phase transition. No evidence of variation in the vacancy concentration in matching the magnetic phase transition temperature range (400–600 °C) has been found, whereas higher temperatures showed an increase in the vacancy concentration.

  5. Displacive phase transition at the 5/3 monolayer of Pb on Ge(001)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cvetko, D.; Ratto, F.; Cossaro, A.; Floreano, L.; Bavdek, G.; Morgante, A.

    2005-01-01

    At a coverage of 5/3 monolayer (ML), Pb adsorbed on Ge(001) forms a ground phase displaying a ((2 1/0 6)) symmetry. This phase undergoes two reversible phase transitions ((2 1/0 6))↔((2 1/0 3))↔(2x1) at the critical temperatures T c 1 ∼178 K and T c 2 ∼375 K, respectively. We investigated the behavior of the relevant order parameters at the critical temperatures by means of He and in-plane x-ray diffraction (HAS and XRD, respectively). Both phase transitions at the critical temperature put in evidence a clear order-disorder behavior, in agreement with the universality class expected for the corresponding symmetry group transformation. The low-temperature transition yields the critical exponent of the two-dimensional (2-D) Ising universality class, whereas the three-state Potts' critical exponents are found for the high-temperature transition. By out-of-plane XRD measurements, the low-temperature phase transition is observed to be accompanied by a static surface distortion at room temperature. A complementary HAS study of the temperature evolution of the surface charge corrugation reveals that the complete ((2 1/0 6))↔((2 1/0 3)) transition is of the displacive type. On the contrary, the high-temperature phase transition does not show any change of the surface corrugation up to its irreversible decomposition, thus pointing to a pure order-disorder character

  6. Pressure-induced phase transitions in Zr-rich PbZr{sub 1-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 3} ceramics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Souza Filho, A.G. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, Ceara (Brazil)]. E-mail: agsf@fisica.ufc.br; Faria, J.L.B.; Freire, P.T.C.; Ayala, A.P.; Sasaki, J.M.; Melo, F.E.A.; Mendes Filho, J. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, Ceara (Brazil); Araujo, E.B. [Departamento de Fisica e Quimica, Universidade Estadual de Sao Paulo, Campus de Ilha Solteira, Ilha Solteira, SP (Brazil); Eiras, J.A. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, Sao Carlos, SP (Brazil)

    2001-08-20

    A Raman study of structural changes in the Zr-rich PbZr{sub 1-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 3} (PZT) system under hydrostatic pressures up to 5.0 GPa is presented. We observe that externally applied pressure induces several phase transitions in PZT ceramics among phases with orthorhombic (A{sub O}), rhombohedral low-temperature (R{sub LT}), and rhombohedral high-temperature (R{sub HT}) symmetries (all found in PZT at ambient pressure and room temperature). Each of the compositions investigated (0.02{<=}x{<=}0.14) exhibits a high-pressure phase with orthorhombic (O{sub I'}) symmetry. We further report a detailed study of the pressure dependence of Raman frequencies to elucidate the phase transitions and to provide a set of pressure coefficients for the high-pressure phases. (author)

  7. Dynamical Conductivity across the Disorder-Tuned Superconductor-Insulator Transition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mason Swanson

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available We calculate the dynamical conductivity σ(ω and the bosonic (pair spectral function P(ω from quantum Monte Carlo simulations across clean and disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transitions (SITs. We identify characteristic energy scales in the superconducting and insulating phases that vanish at the transition due to enhanced quantum fluctuations, despite the persistence of a robust fermionic gap across the SIT. Disorder leads to enhanced absorption in σ(ω at low frequencies compared to the SIT in a clean system. Disorder also expands the quantum critical region, due to a change in the universality class, with an underlying T=0 critical point with a universal low-frequency conductivity σ^{*}≃0.5(4e^{2}/h.

  8. Shear-induced transitions in a ternary polymeric system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zvelindovsky, AV; Sevink, GJA; Fraaije, JGEM

    The first three-dimensional simulation of shear-induced phase transitions in a polymeric system has been performed. The method is based on dynamic density-functional theory. The pathways between a bicontinuous phase with developing gyroid mesostructure and a lamellar/cylinder phase coexistence are

  9. Pressure induced structural phase transition of OsB 2: First-principles calculations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Fengzhu; Wang, Yuanxu; Lo, V. C.

    2010-04-01

    Orthorhombic OsB 2 was synthesized at 1000 °C and its compressibility was measured by using the high-pressure X-ray diffraction in a Diacell diamond anvil cell from ambient pressure to 32 GPa [R.W. Cumberland, et al. (2005)]. First-principles calculations were performed to study the possibility of the phase transition of OsB 2. An analysis of the calculated enthalpy shows that orthorhombic OsB 2 can transfer to the hexagonal phase at 10.8 GPa. The calculated results with the quasi-harmonic approximation indicate that this phase transition pressure is little affected by the thermal effect. The calculated phonon band structure shows that the hexagonal P 6 3/ mmc structure (high-pressure phase) is stable for OsB 2. We expect the phase transition can be further confirmed by the experimental work.

  10. Electrically induced phase transition in GeSbTe alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bruns, Gunnar; Schlockermann, Carl; Woda, Michael; Wuttig, Matthias [I. Physikalisches Institut Ia, RWTH Aachen, 52056 Aachen (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    While phase change materials have already successfully been applied in rewriteable optical data storage, they are now also promising to form the basis for novel non-volatile electrical data storage devices. To understand the physical concepts of these so-called Phase Change Random Access Memory (PCRAM) it is mandatory to gain a deeper insight into the switching process between the highly resistive amorphous and the lowly resistive crystalline phase. The fast phase transitions between the amorphous and crystalline state of GeSbTe-based alloys has so far often been studied using pulsed laser irradiation. In this work an alternative approach is employed to investigate this transition. Electrical pulses are used to rapidly and reversibly switch between the two states. For these experiments a setup was built with a specially designed contacting circuit board to meet the requirements of electrical measurements on a nanosecond timescale. The influence of the pulse parameters on the change of device resistance was determined for different initial states. Furthermore the high time resolution of 0.4 ns allows investigation of transient electrical effects like the so-called threshold switching first described by Ovshinsky in the late 1960s.

  11. Electrically induced phase transition in GeSbTe alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruns, Gunnar; Schlockermann, Carl; Woda, Michael; Wuttig, Matthias

    2008-01-01

    While phase change materials have already successfully been applied in rewriteable optical data storage, they are now also promising to form the basis for novel non-volatile electrical data storage devices. To understand the physical concepts of these so-called Phase Change Random Access Memory (PCRAM) it is mandatory to gain a deeper insight into the switching process between the highly resistive amorphous and the lowly resistive crystalline phase. The fast phase transitions between the amorphous and crystalline state of GeSbTe-based alloys has so far often been studied using pulsed laser irradiation. In this work an alternative approach is employed to investigate this transition. Electrical pulses are used to rapidly and reversibly switch between the two states. For these experiments a setup was built with a specially designed contacting circuit board to meet the requirements of electrical measurements on a nanosecond timescale. The influence of the pulse parameters on the change of device resistance was determined for different initial states. Furthermore the high time resolution of 0.4 ns allows investigation of transient electrical effects like the so-called threshold switching first described by Ovshinsky in the late 1960s

  12. Theoretical studies of the pressure-induced zinc-blende to cinnabar phase transition in CdTe and thermodynamical properties of each phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brik, M.G.; Łach, P.; Karczewski, G.; Wojtowicz, T.; Kamińska, A.; Suchocki, A.

    2013-01-01

    Luminescence of CdTe quantum dots embedded in ZnTe is quenched at pressure of about 4.5 GPa in the high-pressure experiments. This pressure-induced quenching is attributed to the “zinc-blende–cinnabar” phase transition in CdTe, which was confirmed by the first-principles calculations. Theoretical analysis of the pressure at which the phase transition occurs for CdTe was performed using the CASTEP module of Materials Studio package with both generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and local density approximation (LDA). The calculated phase transition pressures are equal to about 4.4 GPa and 2.6 GPa, according to the GGA and LDA calculations, respectively, which is in a good agreement with the experimental value. Theoretically estimated value of the pressure coefficient of the band-gap luminescence in zinc-blende structure is in very good agreement with that recently measured in the QDs structures. The calculated Debye temperature, elastic constants and specific heat capacity for the zinc-blend structure agree well with the experimental data; the data for the cinnabar phase are reported here for the first time to the best of the authors' knowledge. - Highlights: • Quenching of luminescence of CdTe quantum dots embedded in ZnTe is theoretically explained. • The theoretical calculation of elastic and thermodynamic properties of CdTe by two types of ab-initio methods. • Theoretical calculations of some optical properties of CdTe under pressure in zinc-blende and cinnabar phases

  13. No large scale curvature perturbations during the waterfall phase transition of hybrid inflation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abolhasani, Ali Akbar; Firouzjahi, Hassan

    2011-01-01

    In this paper the possibility of generating large scale curvature perturbations induced from the entropic perturbations during the waterfall phase transition of the standard hybrid inflation model is studied. We show that whether or not appreciable amounts of large scale curvature perturbations are produced during the waterfall phase transition depends crucially on the competition between the classical and the quantum mechanical backreactions to terminate inflation. If one considers only the classical evolution of the system, we show that the highly blue-tilted entropy perturbations induce highly blue-tilted large scale curvature perturbations during the waterfall phase transition which dominate over the original adiabatic curvature perturbations. However, we show that the quantum backreactions of the waterfall field inhomogeneities produced during the phase transition dominate completely over the classical backreactions. The cumulative quantum backreactions of very small scale tachyonic modes terminate inflation very efficiently and shut off the curvature perturbation evolution during the waterfall phase transition. This indicates that the standard hybrid inflation model is safe under large scale curvature perturbations during the waterfall phase transition.

  14. Mixed-order phase transition of the contact process near multiple junctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juhász, Róbert; Iglói, Ferenc

    2017-02-01

    We have studied the phase transition of the contact process near a multiple junction of M semi-infinite chains by Monte Carlo simulations. As opposed to the continuous transitions of the translationally invariant (M=2) and semi-infinite (M=1) system, the local order parameter is found to be discontinuous for M>2. Furthermore, the temporal correlation length diverges algebraically as the critical point is approached, but with different exponents on the two sides of the transition. In the active phase, the estimate is compatible with the bulk value, while in the inactive phase it exceeds the bulk value and increases with M. The unusual local critical behavior is explained by a scaling theory with an irrelevant variable, which becomes dangerous in the inactive phase. Quenched spatial disorder is found to make the transition continuous in agreement with earlier renormalization group results.

  15. Small quartz silica spheres induced disorder in octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) liquid crystals: A thermal study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marinelli, M.; Ghosh, A. K.; Mercuri, F.

    2001-01-01

    A photopyroelectric technique has been applied to the study of specific heat and thermal conductivity of homeotropically aligned mixtures of small quartz spheres (aerosil) and octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) with concentration 0≤ρ s ≤0.04g/cm 3 . Thermal conductivity data show that, even at these very low concentrations, an annealing of the disorder introduced by the aerosil takes place on cooling at the smectic-A - nematic (Sm-A - N) phase transition and not only at the nematic-isotropic (N-I) one. This means that there is some elastic strain in the nematic phase of the sample which is not quenched. Accordingly the suppression of the N-I transition temperature as a function of ρ s does not fit a random field with a random dilution model that accounts for random quenched disorder only. High resolution specific heat measurements at the A-N and N-I transition show the effect of the aerosil is not the same. While in the first case its peak is suppressed with increasing concentration, in the second case there are some indications that outside the two-phase coexistence region it is enhanced. The effect of surface-induced alignment is also discussed to explain some discrepancies between our data and the ones reported in literature. It is concluded that the amount of disorder in the sample does not depend on ρ s only, but also on other variables such as external fields. Finally, a relaxation phenomenon in the aerosil network that partially compensate the disordering effect of the particles is suggested to explain the concentration dependence of the transition temperatures

  16. Field-induced phase transitions in antiferromagnetic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smeets, J.P.M.

    1984-05-01

    Neutron scattering experiments and magnetization measurements are carried out on cobalt bromide hexahydrate, of which 48% of the water molecules are replaced by deuterium oxide molecules. Results were compared with data obtained from non-deuterated cobalt bromide hexahydrate. Neutron scattering experiments showed the importance of the deuterium fraction. Interplay exists between the crystallographic system and the magnetic system, which is influenced by changing the deuterium fraction. Neutron scattering and magnetization experiments on partially deuterated RbFeCl 3 .2H 2 O and CsFeCl 3 .2H 2 O were performed to study the magnetic phase transitions in these quasi one-dimensional Ising compounds. The observed behaviour in the various phases can be described by the nucleation theory of chain reversals. (Auth.)

  17. Liquid-solid phase transition of Ge-Sb-Te alloy observed by in-situ transmission electron microscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berlin, Katja, E-mail: katja.berlin@pdi-berlin.de; Trampert, Achim

    2017-07-15

    Melting and crystallization dynamics of the multi-component Ge-Sb-Te alloy have been investigated by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Starting point of the phase transition study is an ordered hexagonal Ge{sub 1}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 4} thin film on Si(111) where the crystal structure and the chemical composition are verified by scanning TEM and electron energy-loss spectroscopy, respectively. The in-situ observation of the liquid phase at 600°C including the liquid-solid and liquid-vacuum interfaces and their movements was made possible due to an encapsulation of the TEM sample. The solid-liquid interface during melting displays a broad and diffuse transition zone characterized by a vacancy induced disordered state. Although the velocities of interface movements are measured to be in the nanometer per second scale, both, for crystallization and solidification, the underlying dynamic processes are considerably different. Melting reveals linear dependence on time, whereas crystallization exhibits a non-linear time-dependency featuring a superimposed start-stop motion. Our results may provide valuable insight into the atomic mechanisms at interfaces during the liquid-solid phase transition of Ge-Sb-Te alloys. - Highlights: • In-situ TEM observation of liquid Ge-Sb-Te phase transition due to encapsulation. • During melting: Observation of non-ordered interface transition due to premelting. • During solidification: Observation of non-linear time-dependent crystallization.

  18. Liquid-solid phase transition of Ge-Sb-Te alloy observed by in-situ transmission electron microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berlin, Katja; Trampert, Achim

    2017-01-01

    Melting and crystallization dynamics of the multi-component Ge-Sb-Te alloy have been investigated by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Starting point of the phase transition study is an ordered hexagonal Ge 1 Sb 2 Te 4 thin film on Si(111) where the crystal structure and the chemical composition are verified by scanning TEM and electron energy-loss spectroscopy, respectively. The in-situ observation of the liquid phase at 600°C including the liquid-solid and liquid-vacuum interfaces and their movements was made possible due to an encapsulation of the TEM sample. The solid-liquid interface during melting displays a broad and diffuse transition zone characterized by a vacancy induced disordered state. Although the velocities of interface movements are measured to be in the nanometer per second scale, both, for crystallization and solidification, the underlying dynamic processes are considerably different. Melting reveals linear dependence on time, whereas crystallization exhibits a non-linear time-dependency featuring a superimposed start-stop motion. Our results may provide valuable insight into the atomic mechanisms at interfaces during the liquid-solid phase transition of Ge-Sb-Te alloys. - Highlights: • In-situ TEM observation of liquid Ge-Sb-Te phase transition due to encapsulation. • During melting: Observation of non-ordered interface transition due to premelting. • During solidification: Observation of non-linear time-dependent crystallization.

  19. A theoretical study of pressure-induced phase transitions and electronic band structure of anti-A-sesquioxide type γ-Be3N2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paliwal, Uttam; Joshi, Kunj Bihari

    2011-01-01

    Structural parameters and electronic band structure of anti-A-sesquioxide (aAs) type γ-Be 3 N 2 are presented following the first-principles linear combination of atomic orbitals method within the framework of a posteriori density-functional theory implemented in the CRYSTAL code. Pressure-induced phase transitions among the four polymorphs α, β, cubic-γ and aAs-γ of Be 3 N 2 are examined. Enthalpy-pressure curves do not show the possibility of pressure-induced structural phase transition to the cubic-γ phase. However, α → aAs-γ and β → aAs-γ structural phase transitions are observed at 139 GPa and 93 GPa, respectively. Band structure calculations predict that aAs-γ Be 3 N 2 is an indirect semiconductor with 4.73 eV bandgap at L point. Variation of bandgap with pressure and deformation potentials are studied for the α, β and aAs-γ polymorphs. Pressure-dependent band structure calculations reveal that, within the low-pressure limit, bandgaps of β and aAs-γ increase with pressure unlike α-Be 3 N 2 .

  20. Temperature-dependent vibrational spectroscopy to study order-disorder transitions in charge transfer complexes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isaac, Rohan; Goetz, Katelyn P.; Roberts, Drew; Jurchescu, Oana D.; McNeil, L. E.

    2018-02-01

    Charge-transfer (CT) complexes are a promising class of materials for the semiconductor industry because of their versatile properties. This class of compounds shows a variety of phase transitions, which are of interest because of their potential impact on the electronic characteristics. Here temperature-dependent vibrational spectroscopy is used to study structural phase transitions in a set of organic CT complexes. Splitting and broadening of infrared-active phonons in the complex formed between pyrene and pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) confirm the structural transition is of the order-disorder type and complement previous x-ray diffraction (XRD) results. We show that this technique is a powerful tool to characterize transitions, and apply it to a range of binary CT complexes composed of polyaromatic hyrdocarbons (anthracene, perylene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and stilbene) and PMDA. We extend the understanding of transitions in perylene-PMDA and pyrene-PMDA, and show that there are no order-disorder transitions present in anthracene-PMDA, stilbene-PMDA and phenanthrene-PMDA in the temperature range investigated here.

  1. Pressure induced phase transition in Pb6Bi2S9

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Lars Arnskov; Friese, Karen; Makovicky, Emil

    2011-01-01

    consists of two types of moduli with SnS/TlI archetype structure in which the Pb and Bi lone pairs are strongly expressed. The mechanism of the phase transition is described in detail and the results are compared to the closely related phase transition in Pb3Bi2S6 (lillianite).......The crystal structure of Pb6Bi2S9 is investigated at pressures between 0 and 5.6 GPa with X-ray diffraction on single-crystals. The pressure is applied using diamond anvil cells. Heyrovskyite (Bbmm, a = 13.719(4) Å, b = 31.393(9) Å, c = 4.1319(10) Å, Z = 4) is the stable phase of Pb6Bi2S9...... at ambient conditions and is built from distorted moduli of PbS-archetype structure with a low stereochemical activity of the Pb2+ and Bi3+ lone electron pairs. Heyrovskyite is stable until at least 3.9 GPa and a first-order phase transition occurs between 3.9 and 4.8 GPa. A single-crystal is retained after...

  2. Phase transitions in (NH4)2MoO2F4 crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krylov, Alexander; Laptash, Natalia; Vtyurin, Alexander; Krylova, Svetlana

    2016-11-01

    The mechanisms of temperature and high pressure phase transitions have been studied by Raman spectroscopy. Room temperature (295 K) experiments under high hydrostatic pressure up to 3.6 GPa for (NH4)2 MoO2 F4 have been carried out. Experimental data indicates a phase transition into a new high-pressure phase for (NH4)2 MoO2 F4 at 1.2 GPa. This phase transition is related to the ordering anion octahedron groups [MoO2 F4]2- and is not associated with ammonium group. Raman spectra of small non-oriented crystals ranging from 10 to 350 K have been observed. The experiment shows anion groups [MoO2 F4]2- and ammonium in high temperature phase are disordered. The phase transition at T1 = 269.8 K is of the first-order, close to the tricritical point. The first temperature phase transition is related to the ordering anion octahedron groups [MoO2 F4]2-. Second phase transitions T2 = 180 K are associated with the ordering of ammonium. The data presented within this study demonstrate that 2D correlation analysis combined with traditional Raman spectroscopy are powerful tool to study phase transitions in the crystals.

  3. Shock-Assisted Superficial Hexagonal-to-Cubic Phase Transition in GaN/Sapphire Interface Induced by Using Ultra-violet Laser Lift-Of Techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei-Hua, Chen; Xiao-Dong, Hu; Xiang-Ning, Kang; Xu-Rong, Zhou; Xiao-Min, Zhang; Tong-Jun, Yu; Zhi-Jian, Yang; Ke, Xu; Guo-Yi, Zhang; Xu-Dong, Shan; Li-Ping, You

    2009-01-01

    Ultra-violet (KrF excimer laser, λ = 248 nm) laser lift-of (LLO) techniques have been operated to the GaN/sapphire structure to separate GaN from the sapphire substrate. Hexagonal to cubic phase transformation induced by the ultra-violet laser lift-of (UV-LLO) has been characterized by micro-Raman spectroscopy, micro-photoluminescence, along with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). HRTEM indicates that UV-LLO induced phase transition takes place above the LLO interface, without phase transition under the LLO interface. The formed cubic GaN often exists as nanocrystal grains attaching on the bulk hexagonal GaN. The half-loop-cluster-like UV-LLO interface indicates that the LLO-induced shock waves has generated and played an assistant role in the decomposition of the hexagonal GaN and in the formation of cubic GaN grains at the LLO surface

  4. Phase transition of Ni-Mn-Ga alloy powders prepared by vibration ball milling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian, B.; Chen, F.; Tong, Y.X.; Li, L.; Zheng, Y.F.; Liu, Y.; Li, Q.Z.

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → The vibration ball milling with a high milling energy introduces the atomic disorder and large lattice distortion in the alloy during milling and makes the formation of disordered fcc structure phase in the alloy. → The transition temperature and activation energy for disordered fcc → disordered bcc are ∼320 o C and 209 ± 8 kJ/mol, respectively. → The alloy powders annealed at 800 o C for 1 h show a one-stage martensitic transformation with quite lower latent heat compared to the bulk alloy. - Abstract: This study investigated the phase transformation of the flaky shaped Ni-Mn-Ga powder particles with thickness around 1 μm prepared by vibration ball milling and post-annealing. The SEM, XRD, DSC and ac magnetic susceptibility measurement techniques were used to characterize the Ni-Mn-Ga powders. The structural transition of Heusler → disordered fcc occurred in the powders prepared by vibration ball milling (high milling energy) for 4 h, which was different from the structural transition of Heusler → disordered fct of the powders fabricated by planetary ball milling (low milling energy) for 4 h. The two different structures after ball milling should be due to the larger lattice distortion occurred in the vibration ball milling process than in the planetary ball milling process. The structural transition of disordered fcc → disordered bcc took place at ∼320 o C during heating the as-milled Ni-Mn-Ga powders, which was attributed to the elimination of lattice distortion caused by ball milling. The activation energy for this transition was 209 ± 8 kJ/mol. The Ni-Mn-Ga powder annealed at 800 o C mainly contained Heusler austenite phase at room temperature and showed a low volume of martensitic transformation upon cooling. The inhibition of martensitic transformation might be attributed to the reduction of grain size in the annealed Ni-Mn-Ga particles.

  5. Dynamic Test Method Based on Strong Electromagnetic Pulse for Electromagnetic Shielding Materials with Field-Induced Insulator-Conductor Phase Transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yun; Zhao, Min; Wang, Qingguo

    2018-01-01

    In order to measure the pulse shielding performance of materials with the characteristic of field-induced insulator-conductor phase transition when materials are used for electromagnetic shielding, a dynamic test method was proposed based on a coaxial fixture. Experiment system was built by square pulse source, coaxial cable, coaxial fixture, attenuator, and oscilloscope and insulating components. S11 parameter of the test system was obtained, which suggested that the working frequency ranges from 300 KHz to 7.36 GHz. Insulating performance is good enough to avoid discharge between conductors when material samples is exposed in the strong electromagnetic pulse field up to 831 kV/m. This method is suitable for materials with annular shape, certain thickness and the characteristic of field-induced insulator-conductor phase transition to get their shielding performances of strong electromagnetic pulse.

  6. Staphylococcus aureus-induced G2/M phase transition delay in host epithelial cells increases bacterial infective efficiency.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ludmila Alekseeva

    Full Text Available Staphylococcus aureus is a highly versatile, opportunistic pathogen and the etiological agent of a wide range of infections in humans and warm-blooded animals. The epithelial surface is its principal site of colonization and infection. In this work, we investigated the cytopathic effect of S. aureus strains from human and animal origins and their ability to affect the host cell cycle in human HeLa and bovine MAC-T epithelial cell lines. S. aureus invasion slowed down cell proliferation and induced a cytopathic effect, resulting in the enlargement of host cells. A dramatic decrease in the number of mitotic cells was observed in the infected cultures. Flow cytometry analysis revealed an S. aureus-induced delay in the G2/M phase transition in synchronous HeLa cells. This delay required the presence of live S. aureus since the addition of the heat-killed bacteria did not alter the cell cycle. The results of Western blot experiments showed that the G2/M transition delay was associated with the accumulation of inactive cyclin-dependent kinase Cdk1, a key inducer of mitosis entry, and with the accumulation of unphosphorylated histone H3, which was correlated with a reduction of the mitotic cell number. Analysis of S. aureus proliferation in asynchronous, G1- and G2-phase-enriched HeLa cells showed that the G2 phase was preferential for bacterial infective efficiency, suggesting that the G2 phase delay may be used by S. aureus for propagation within the host. Taken together, our results divulge the potential of S. aureus in the subversion of key cellular processes such as cell cycle progression, and shed light on the biological significance of S. aureus-induced host cell cycle alteration.

  7. On holographic disorder-driven metal-insulator transitions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baggioli, Matteo; Pujolàs, Oriol [Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology,Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) (Spain)

    2017-01-10

    We give a minimal holographic model of a disorder-driven metal-insulator transition. It consists in a CFT with a charge sector and a translation-breaking sector that interact in the most generic way allowed by the symmetries and by dynamical consistency. In the gravity dual, it reduces to a Massive Gravity-Maxwell model with a new direct coupling between the gauge field and the metric that is allowed when gravity is massive. We show that the effect of this coupling is to decrease the DC electrical conductivity generically. This gives a nontrivial check that holographic massive gravity can be consistently interpreted as disorder from the CFT perspective. The suppression of the conductivity happens to such an extent that it does not obey any lower bound and it can be very small in the insulating phase. In some cases, the large disorder limit produces gradient instabilities that hint at the formation of modulated phases.

  8. On holographic disorder-driven metal-insulator transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baggioli, Matteo; Pujolàs, Oriol

    2017-01-01

    We give a minimal holographic model of a disorder-driven metal-insulator transition. It consists in a CFT with a charge sector and a translation-breaking sector that interact in the most generic way allowed by the symmetries and by dynamical consistency. In the gravity dual, it reduces to a Massive Gravity-Maxwell model with a new direct coupling between the gauge field and the metric that is allowed when gravity is massive. We show that the effect of this coupling is to decrease the DC electrical conductivity generically. This gives a nontrivial check that holographic massive gravity can be consistently interpreted as disorder from the CFT perspective. The suppression of the conductivity happens to such an extent that it does not obey any lower bound and it can be very small in the insulating phase. In some cases, the large disorder limit produces gradient instabilities that hint at the formation of modulated phases.

  9. Bond and flux-disorder effects on the superconductor-insulator transition of a honeycomb array of Josephson junctions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granato, Enzo

    2018-05-01

    We study the effects of disorder on the zero-temperature quantum phase transition of a honeycomb array of Josephson junctions in a magnetic field with an average of fo flux quantum per plaquette. Bond disorder due to spatial variations in the Josephson couplings and magnetic flux disorder due to variations in the plaquette areas are considered. The model can describe the superconductor-insulator transition in ultra-thin films with a triangular pattern of nanoholes. Path integral Monte Carlo simulations of the equivalent (2 + 1)-dimensional classical model are used to study the critical behavior and estimate the universal resistivity at the transition. The results show that bond disorder leads to a rounding of the first-order phase transition for fo = 1 / 3 to a continuous transition. For integer fo, the decrease of the critical coupling parameter with flux disorder is significantly different from that of the same model defined on a square lattice. The results are compared with recent experimental observations on nanohole thin films with geometrical disorder and external magnetic field.

  10. Crystal structure and phase transitions in perovskite-like C(NH2)3SnCl3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szafranski, Marek; Stahl, Kenny

    2007-01-01

    X-ray single-crystal diffraction, high-temperature powder diffraction and differential thermal analysis at ambient and high pressure have been employed to study the crystal structure and phase transitions of guanidinium trichlorostannate, C(NH 2 ) 3 SnCl 3 . At 295 K the crystal structure is orthorhombic, space group Pbca, Z=8, a=7.7506(2) A, b=12.0958(4) A and c=17.8049(6) A, solved from single-crystal data. It is perovskite-like with distorted corner-linked SnCl 6 octahedra and with ordered guanidinium cations in the distorted cuboctahedral voids. At 400 K the structure shows a first-order order-disorder phase transition. The space group is changed to Pnma with Z=4, a=12.1552(2) A, b=8.8590(2) A and c=8.0175(1) A, solved from powder diffraction data and showing disordering of the guanidinium cations. At 419 K, the structure shows yet another first-order order-disorder transformation with disordering of the SnCl 3 - part. The space group symmetry is maintained as Pnma, with a=12.1786(2) A, b=8.8642(2) A and c=8.0821(2) A. The thermodynamic parameters of these transitions and the p-T phase diagram have been determined and described. - Graphical abstract: The perovskite-like crystals of C(NH 2 ) 3 SnCl 3 undergo two successive first-order phase transitions at 400 and 419 K, both accompanied by an essential order-disorder contribution. The p-T phase diagram exhibits a singular point at 219 MPa and 443 K

  11. Pressure-induced phase transitions in silicon studied by neural network-based metadynamics simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Behler, Joerg [Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, USI-Campus, Lugano (Switzerland); Lehrstuhl fuer Theoretische Chemie, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, 44780 Bochum (Germany); Martonak, Roman [Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, USI-Campus, Lugano (Switzerland); Department of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynska dolina F2, 84248 Bratislava (Slovakia); Donadio, Davide [Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, USI-Campus, Lugano (Switzerland); Department of Chemistry, UC Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Parrinello, Michele [Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, USI-Campus, Lugano (Switzerland)

    2008-12-15

    We present a combination of the metadynamics method for the investigation of pressure-induced phase transitions in solids with a neural network representation of high-dimensional density-functional theory (DFT) potential-energy surfaces. In a recent illustration of the method for the complex high-pressure phase diagram of silicon[Behler et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 185501 (2008)] we have shown that the full sequence of phases can be reconstructed by a series of subsequent simulations. In the present paper we give a detailed account of the underlying methodology and discuss the scope and limitations of the approach, which promises to be a valuable tool for the investigation of a variety of inorganic materials. The method is several orders of magnitude faster than a direct coupling of metadynamics with electronic structure calculations, while the accuracy is essentially maintained, thus providing access to extended simulations of large systems. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  12. Deep learning the quantum phase transitions in random two-dimensional electron systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtsuki, Tomoki; Ohtsuki, Tomi

    2016-01-01

    Random electron systems show rich phases such as Anderson insulator, diffusive metal, quantum Hall and quantum anomalous Hall insulators, Weyl semimetal, as well as strong/weak topological insulators. Eigenfunctions of each matter phase have specific features, but owing to the random nature of systems, determining the matter phase from eigenfunctions is difficult. Here, we propose the deep learning algorithm to capture the features of eigenfunctions. Localization-delocalization transition, as well as disordered Chern insulator-Anderson insulator transition, is discussed. (author)

  13. First-Order Quantum Phase Transition for Dicke Model Induced by Atom-Atom Interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Xiu-Qin; Liu Ni; Liang Jiu-Qing

    2017-01-01

    In this article, we use the spin coherent state transformation and the ground state variational method to theoretically calculate the ground function. In order to consider the influence of the atom-atom interaction on the extended Dicke model’s ground state properties, the mean photon number, the scaled atomic population and the average ground energy are displayed. Using the self-consistent field theory to solve the atom-atom interaction, we discover the system undergoes a first-order quantum phase transition from the normal phase to the superradiant phase, but a famous Dicke-type second-order quantum phase transition without the atom-atom interaction. Meanwhile, the atom-atom interaction makes the phase transition point shift to the lower atom-photon collective coupling strength. (paper)

  14. Pressure-induced phase transitions in single-crystalline Cu4Bi4S9 nanoribbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Jing-Yu; Li Jing; Zhao Qing; Shi Li-Jie; Zou Bing-Suo; Zhang Si-Jia; Zhao Hao-Fei; Zhang Qing-Hua; Yao Yuan; Zhu Ke; Liu Yu-Long; Jin Chang-Qing; Yu Ri-Cheng; Li Yan-Chun; Li Xiao-Dong; Liu Jing

    2013-01-01

    In situ angle dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements under pressure are employed to study the structural evolution of Cu 4 Bi 4 S 9 nanoribbons, which are fabricated by using a facile solvothermal method. Both experiments show that a structural phase transition occurs near 14.5 GPa, and there is a pressure-induced reversible amorphization at about 25.6 GPa. The electrical transport property of a single Cu 4 Bi 4 S 9 nanoribbon under different pressures is also investigated

  15. The crystal structure and the phase transitions of pyridinium trifluoromethanesulfonate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jesariew, Dominik; Ilczyszyn, Maria M; Pietraszko, Adam

    2014-01-01

    The calorimetric and optical studies and the structural properties of pyridinium trifluoromethanesulfonate (abbreviated as PyHOTf) are reported. A sequence of four fully reversible solid–solid phase transitions, at 223.0, 309.0, 359.9 and 394.3 K, has been discovered. The phase transition sequence was confirmed by x-ray diffraction data. The crystal structures of three phases (V, IV and III) have been determined from the single crystal x-ray diffraction data. Structural properties of the high temperature phases are characterized using powder x-ray diffraction data measured in the 290–425 K temperature range. The structural changes triggered by the temperature change are discussed in relation to the phase transitions. Two low temperature phases (V and IV) belong to the P4 3 2 1 2 space group of the tetragonal system. The intermediate phases (III and II) are monoclinic and the prototype high temperature phase (I) is a pseudo-cubic (tetragonal) one. The low temperature phases (V and IV) are well ordered. The crystal structure of intermediate (III and II) and prototype (I) phases are characterized by high disorder of the pyridinium cations and triflate anions. (papers)

  16. Strain-induced phase transition and electron spin-polarization in graphene spirals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaoming; Zhao, Mingwen

    2014-07-16

    Spin-polarized triangular graphene nanoflakes (t-GNFs) serve as ideal building blocks for the long-desired ferromagnetic graphene superlattices, but they are always assembled to planar structures which reduce its mechanical properties. Here, by joining t-GNFs in a spiral way, we propose one-dimensional graphene spirals (GSs) with superior mechanical properties and tunable electronic structures. We demonstrate theoretically the unique features of electron motion in the spiral lattice by means of first-principles calculations combined with a simple Hubbard model. Within a linear elastic deformation range, the GSs are nonmagnetic metals. When the axial tensile strain exceeds an ultimate strain, however, they convert to magnetic semiconductors with stable ferromagnetic ordering along the edges. Such strain-induced phase transition and tunable electron spin-polarization revealed in the GSs open a new avenue for spintronics devices.

  17. Phase Transitions in Sexual Populations Subject to Stabilizing Selection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, A.

    2003-04-01

    We show that a simple model of an evolving sexual population, which dates back to some of the earliest work in theoretical population genetics, exhibits an unexpected and previously unobserved phase transition between ordered and disordered states. This behavior is not present in populations evolving asexually without recombination and is thus important in any comparison of sexual and asexual populations. In order to calculate the details of the phase transition, we use techniques from statistical physics. We introduce the correlation of the population as the order parameter of the system and use maximum entropy inference to find the state of the population at any time.

  18. Structural phase transitions in niobium oxide nanocrystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuvakkumar, R.; Hong, Sun Ig

    2015-09-01

    Niobium oxide nanocrystals were successfully synthesized employing the green synthesis method. Phase formation, microstructure and compositional properties of 1, 4 and 7 days incubation treated samples after calcinations at 450 °C were examined using X-ray diffraction, Raman, photoluminescence (PL), infrared, X-ray photoelectron spectra and transmission electron microscopic characterizations. It was observed that phase formation of Nb2O5 nanocrystals was dependent upon the incubation period required to form stable metal oxides. The characteristic results clearly revealed that with increasing incubation and aging, the transformation of cubic, orthorhombic and monoclinic phases were observed. The uniform heating at room temperature (32 °C) and the ligation of niobium atoms due to higher phenolic constituents of utilized rambutan during aging processing plays a vital role in structural phase transitions in niobium oxide nanocrystals. The defects over a period of incubation and the intensities of the PL spectra changing over a period of aging were related to the amount of the defects induced by the phase transition.

  19. Martensitic phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petry, W.; Neuhaus, J.

    1996-01-01

    Many elements transform from a high temperature bcc phase to a more dense packed temperature phase. The great majority of these transitions are of 1st order, displacive and reconstructive. The lattice potentials which govern these martensitic transitions can be probed by inelastic neutron scattering, thereby answering fundamental questions like : Will the transition be announced by dynamical or static fluctuations? What are the trajectories for the displacements needed for the transformation? Does the vibrational entropy stabilize the high temperature phase? Are the unusual transport properties in these materials related to their ability to transform? (author) 17 figs., 1 tab., 46 refs

  20. Martensitic phase transitions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petry, W; Neuhaus, J [Techn. Universitaet Muenchen, Physik Department E13, Munich (Germany)

    1996-11-01

    Many elements transform from a high temperature bcc phase to a more dense packed temperature phase. The great majority of these transitions are of 1st order, displacive and reconstructive. The lattice potentials which govern these martensitic transitions can be probed by inelastic neutron scattering, thereby answering fundamental questions like : Will the transition be announced by dynamical or static fluctuations? What are the trajectories for the displacements needed for the transformation? Does the vibrational entropy stabilize the high temperature phase? Are the unusual transport properties in these materials related to their ability to transform? (author) 17 figs., 1 tab., 46 refs.

  1. Quantum phase transitions between a class of symmetry protected topological states

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsui, Lokman; Jiang, Hong-Chen; Lu, Yuan-Ming; Lee, Dung-Hai

    2015-07-01

    The subject of this paper is the phase transition between symmetry protected topological states (SPTs). We consider spatial dimension d and symmetry group G so that the cohomology group, Hd+1(G,U(1)), contains at least one Z2n or Z factor. We show that the phase transition between the trivial SPT and the root states that generate the Z2n or Z groups can be induced on the boundary of a (d+1)-dimensional View the MathML source-symmetric SPT by a View the MathML source symmetry breaking field. Moreover we show these boundary phase transitions can be “transplanted” to d dimensions and realized in lattice models as a function of a tuning parameter. The price one pays is for the critical value of the tuning parameter there is an extra non-local (duality-like) symmetry. In the case where the phase transition is continuous, our theory predicts the presence of unusual (sometimes fractionalized) excitations corresponding to delocalized boundary excitations of the non-trivial SPT on one side of the transition. This theory also predicts other phase transition scenarios including first order transition and transition via an intermediate symmetry breaking phase.

  2. Phase transitions in nuclear physics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moretto, L.G.; Phair, L.; Wozniak, G.J.

    1997-08-01

    A critical overview of the low energy phase transitions in nuclei is presented with particular attention to the 2nd (1st) order pairing phase transitions, and to the 1st order liquid-vapor phase transition. The role of fluctuations in washing out these transitions is discussed and illustrated with examples. A robust indicator of phase coexistence in multifragmentation is presented.

  3. Phase transitions in nuclear physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moretto, L.G.; Phair, L.; Wozniak, G.J.

    1997-08-01

    A critical overview of the low energy phase transitions in nuclei is presented with particular attention to the 2nd (1st) order pairing phase transitions, and to the 1st order liquid-vapor phase transition. The role of fluctuations in washing out these transitions is discussed and illustrated with examples. A robust indicator of phase coexistence in multifragmentation is presented

  4. Phase control of squeezed state in double electromagnetically induced transparency system with a loop-transition structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuan; Zhou, Yusheng; Wang, Yong; Ling, Qiang; Chen, Bing; Dou, Yan; Zhang, Wei; Gao, Weiqing; Guo, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Junxiang

    2018-03-01

    We theoretically study the squeezed probe light passing through a double electromagnetically induced transparency (DEIT) system, in which a microwave field and two coupling lights drive a loop transition. It is shown that the output squeezing can be maintained in both two transparency windows of DEIT, and it can also be manipulated by the relative phase of the three driving fields. The influence of the intensity of applied fields and the optical depth of atoms on the squeezing is also investigated. This study offers possibilities to manipulate the squeezing propagation in atomic media by the phase of electromagnetic fields.

  5. Pressure induced phase transitions in transition metal nitrides: Ab initio study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Srivastava, Anurag; Chauhan, Mamta [Advanced Material Research Lab, Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior 474010 (India); Singh, R.K. [Department of Physics, ITM University, Gurgaon 122017 (India)

    2011-12-15

    We have analyzed the stability of transition metal nitrides (TMNs) XN (X = Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta) in their original rocksalt (B1) and hypothetical CsCl (B2) type phases under high compression. The ground state total energy calculation approach of the system has been used through the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) with the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) type parameterization as exchange correlation functional. In the whole series of nitrides taken into consideration, tantalum nitride is found to be the most stable. We have observed that under compression the original B1-type phase of these nitrides transforms to a B2-type phase. We have also discussed the computation of ground state properties, like the lattice constant (a), bulk modulus (B{sub 0}) and first order pressure derivative of the bulk modulus (B'{sub 0}) of the TMNs and their host elements. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  6. Evidence for charge-trapping inducing polymorphic structural-phase transition in pentacene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ando, Masahiko; Kehoe, Tom B; Yoneya, Makoto; Ishii, Hiroyuki; Kawasaki, Masahiro; Duffy, Claudia M; Minakata, Takashi; Phillips, Richard T; Sirringhaus, Henning

    2015-01-07

    Trapped-charge-induced transformation of pentacene polymorphs is observed by using in situ Raman spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the charge should be localized in pentacene molecules at the interface with static intermolecular disorder along the long axis. Quantum chemical calculations of the intermolecular transfer integrals suggest the disorder to be large enough to induce Anderson-type localization. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Thermodynamics of phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cofta, H.

    1972-01-01

    The phenomenology of the phase transitions has been considered. The definitions of thermodynamic functions and parameters, as well as those of the phase transitions, are given and some of the relations between those quantities are discussed. The phase transitions classification proposed by Ehrenfest has been described. The most important features of phase transitions are discussed using the selected physical examples including the critical behaviour of ferromagnetic materials at the Curie temperature and antiferromagnetic materials at the Neel temperature. Some aspects of the Ehrenfest's equations, that have been derived, for the interfacial lines and surfaces are considered as well as the role the notion of interfaces. (S.B.)

  8. Fermion condensation quantum phase transition versus conventional quantum phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaginyan, V.R.; Han, J.G.; Lee, J.

    2004-01-01

    The main features of fermion condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT), which are distinctive in several aspects from that of conventional quantum phase transition (CQPT), are considered. We show that in contrast to CQPT, whose physics in quantum critical region is dominated by thermal and quantum fluctuations and characterized by the absence of quasiparticles, the physics of a Fermi system near FCQPT or undergone FCQPT is controlled by the system of quasiparticles resembling the Landau quasiparticles. Contrary to the Landau quasiparticles, the effective mass of these quasiparticles strongly depends on the temperature, magnetic fields, density, etc. This system of quasiparticles having general properties determines the universal behavior of the Fermi system in question. As a result, the universal behavior persists up to relatively high temperatures comparatively to the case when such a behavior is determined by CQPT. We analyze striking recent measurements of specific heat, charge and heat transport used to study the nature of magnetic field-induced QCP in heavy-fermion metal CeCoIn 5 and show that the observed facts are in good agreement with our scenario based on FCQPT and certainly seem to rule out the critical fluctuations related with CQPT. Our general consideration suggests that FCQPT and the emergence of novel quasiparticles near and behind FCQPT and resembling the Landau quasiparticles are distinctive features intrinsic to strongly correlated substances

  9. Theoretical study of B3-to-B1 phase transition in ZnS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Qiang; Zhang, Rui; Lv, Tianquan; Cao, Qilong

    2016-01-01

    The pressure-induced phase transformation from B3 to B1 structures in ZnS using first-principle projector-augmented wave method is studied. To understand the nature and driving force behind the transition, the interesting properties in both phases, including enthalpy, phonon dispersion curves and elastic constants, are systematically investigated. The results show that the calculated transition pressure is within the range of 16.33 GPa to 19.04 GPa, which is in good agreement with the available experimental and theoretical data. The transition process can be viewed as the appearance and disappearance of very slight lattice distortion accompanied by the movement of Zn and S atoms along the [111] crystallographic axis. The physical driving force of the B3–B1 phase transition is confirmed to be a coupling effect between the mechanical instability of B3 phase under pressure and the softening acoustic phonon mode resulting from the pressure-induced lattice deformation. For B1 phase, it is further predicted that a new phase transition takes place at about 59.9 GPa. - Highlights: • The phase transformation from B3 to B1 structures in ZnS is studied using first-principle method. • The predicted transition pressure is within the range of 16.33 to 19.04 GPa. • The transition process can be viewed as the appearance and disappearance of very slight lattice distortion. • Physical driving force of the transition is a coupling effect between the mechanical instability and softening phonon. • For B1 phase, it is further predicted that a new phase transition takes place at about 59.9 GPa.

  10. Temperature-dependent vibrational spectroscopy to study order-disorder transitions in charge transfer complexes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rohan Isaac

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Charge-transfer (CT complexes are a promising class of materials for the semiconductor industry because of their versatile properties. This class of compounds shows a variety of phase transitions, which are of interest because of their potential impact on the electronic characteristics. Here temperature-dependent vibrational spectroscopy is used to study structural phase transitions in a set of organic CT complexes. Splitting and broadening of infrared-active phonons in the complex formed between pyrene and pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA confirm the structural transition is of the order-disorder type and complement previous x-ray diffraction (XRD results. We show that this technique is a powerful tool to characterize transitions, and apply it to a range of binary CT complexes composed of polyaromatic hyrdocarbons (anthracene, perylene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and stilbene and PMDA. We extend the understanding of transitions in perylene-PMDA and pyrene-PMDA, and show that there are no order-disorder transitions present in anthracene-PMDA, stilbene-PMDA and phenanthrene-PMDA in the temperature range investigated here.

  11. Surface charge sensing by altering the phase transition in VO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, S.; Esfandyarpour, R.; Davis, R.; Nishi, Y.

    2014-08-01

    Detection of surface charges has various applications in medicine, electronics, biotechnology, etc. The source of surface charge induction may range from simple charge-polarized molecules like water to complicated proteins. It was recently discovered that surface charge accumulation can alter the temperature at which VO2 undergoes a Mott transition. Here, we deposited polar molecules onto the surface of two-terminal thin-film VO2 lateral devices and monitored the joule-heating-driven Mott transition, or conductance switching. We observed that the power required to induce the conductance switching reduced upon treatment with polar molecules and, using in-situ blackbody-emission direct measurement of local temperature, we show that this reduction in power was accompanied by reduction in the Mott transition temperature. Further evidence suggested that this effect has specificity to the nature of the species used to induce surface charges. Using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, we also show that there is no detectable change in oxidation state of vanadium or structural phase in the bulk of the 40 nm VO2 thin-film even as the phase transition temperature is reduced by up to 20 K by the polar molecules. The ability to alter the phase transition parameters by depositing polar molecules suggests a potential application in sensing surface charges of different origins and this set of results also highlights interesting aspects of the phase transition in VO2.

  12. The model of metal-insulator phase transition in vanadium oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vikhnin, V.S.; Lysenko, S.; Rua, A.; Fernandez, F.; Liu, H.

    2005-01-01

    Thermally induced metal-insulator phase transitions (PT) in VO 2 thin films are studied theoretically and experimentally. The hysteresis phenomena in the region of the transition for different type thin films were investigated. The phenomenological model of the PT is suggested. The charge transfer-lattice instability in VO 2 metallic phase is considered as basis of the first order metal-insulator PT in VO 2 . The charge transfer is treated as an order parameter

  13. Phase transitions modern applications

    CERN Document Server

    Gitterman, Moshe

    2014-01-01

    This book provides a comprehensive review of the theory of phase transitions and its modern applications, based on the five pillars of the modern theory of phase transitions i.e. the Ising model, mean field, scaling, renormalization group and universality. This expanded second edition includes, along with a description of vortices and high temperature superconductivity, a discussion of phase transitions in chemical reaction and moving systems. The book covers a close connection between phase transitions and small world phenomena as well as scale-free systems such as the stock market and the Internet. Readership: Scientists working in different fields of physics, chemistry, biology and economics as well as teaching material for undergraduate and graduate courses.

  14. Orientational Phase Transition Around 274 K in C60 Single Crystal

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    徐亚伯; 何丕模; 杨宏顺; 郑萍; 余朝文; 陈兆甲; 张宣嘉; 李文铸

    1994-01-01

    The electrical conductivity of a C60 single crystal around 274 K and the specific heat of C60 crystals from 150 to 340 K have been measured.The delta-like specific heat peak at about 251 K related to the first-order phase transition has been reported.The activation energy change around 274 K and the lambda-like specific heat peak beginning at 270 K and ending at 310 K show that there is an orientational phase transition in fcc C60 crystals above 251 K.By taking the symmetry into consideration and further analyzing lambda-like specific heat peak and the activation energy change around 274 K,the conclusion has been reached that this new phase transition is an orientational structure transition from the merohedral twinning fcc to the orientationally disordered fcc.The temperature of free rotation of C60 molecules is about 281 K.

  15. Boson localization and the superfluid-insulator transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fisher, M.P.A.; Weichman, P.B.; Grinstein, G.; Fisher, D.S.; Condensed Matter Physics 114-36, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125; IBM Research Division, Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598; Joseph Henry Laboratory of Physics, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544)

    1989-01-01

    The phase diagrams and phase transitions of bosons with short-ranged repulsive interactions moving in periodic and/or random external potentials at zero temperature are investigated with emphasis on the superfluid-insulator transition induced by varying a parameter such as the density. Bosons in periodic potentials (e.g., on a lattice) at T=0 exhibit two types of phases: a superfluid phase and Mott insulating phases characterized by integer (or commensurate) boson densities, by the existence of a gap for particle-hole excitations, and by zero compressibility. Generically, the superfluid onset transition in d dimensions from a Mott insulator to superfluidity is ''ideal,'' or mean field in character, but at special multicritical points with particle-hole symmetry it is in the universality class of the (d+1)-dimensional XY model. In the presence of disorder, a third, ''Bose glass'' phase exists. This phase is insulating because of the localization effects of the randomness and analogous to the Fermi glass phase of interacting fermions in a strongly disordered potential

  16. Electric field-induced phase transitions and composition-driven nanodomains in rhombohedral-tetragonal potassium-sodium niobate-based ceramics

    KAUST Repository

    Lv, Xiang

    2017-08-07

    The mechanisms behind the high piezoelectricity of (K,Na)NbO3-based lead-free ceramics were investigated, including electric field-induced phase transitions and composition-driven nanodomains. The construction of a rhombohedral-tetragonal (R-T) phase boundary, confirmed using several advanced techniques, allowed a large piezoelectric constant (d33) of 450 ± 5 pC/N to be obtained in (1-x)K0.4Na0.6Nb0.945Sb0.055O3-xBi0.5Na0.5(Hf1-ySny)O3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.06 and 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.5) ceramics possessing an ultralow ΔUT-R of 7.4 meV. More importantly, the existence of an intermediate phase, i.e., the electric-induced phase (EIP), bridging the rhombohedral R [Ps//(111)] and tetragonal T [Ps//(001)] phases during the polarization rotation was demonstrated. Striped nanodomains (∼40 nm) that easily responded to external stimulation were also observed in the ceramics with an R-T phase. Thus, the enhanced piezoelectric properties originated from EIP and the striped nanodomains.

  17. Low-pH-Induced Lamellar to Bicontinuous Primitive Cubic Phase Transition in Dioleoylphosphatidylserine/Monoolein Membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oka, Toshihiko; Hasan, Moynul; Islam, Md Zahidul; Moniruzzaman, Md; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2017-10-31

    Electrostatic interactions (EIs) play important roles in the structure and stability of inverse bicontinuous cubic (Q II ) phases of lipid membranes. We examined the effect of pH on the phase of dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS)/monoolein (MO) membranes at low ionic strengths using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). We found that the phase transitions from lamellar liquid-crystalline (L α ) to primitive cubic (Q II P ) phases in DOPS/MO (2/8 molar ratio) membranes occurred in buffers containing 50 mM NaCl at and below the final pH of 2.75 as the pH of the membrane suspension was decreased from a neutral value. The kinetic pathway of this transition was revealed using time-resolved SAXS with a stopped-flow apparatus. The first step is a rapid transition from the L α phase to the hexagonal II (H II ) phase, and the second step is a slow transition from the H II phase to the Q II P phase. We determined the rate constants of the first step, k 1 , and of the second step, k 2 , by analyzing the time course of SAXS intensities quantitatively. The k 1 value increased with temperature. The analysis of this result provided the values of its apparent activation energy, which were constant over temperature but increased with pH. This can be explained by an EI effect on the free energy of the transition state. In contrast, the k 2 value decreased with temperature, indicating that the true activation energy increased with temperature. These experimental results were analyzed using the theory of the activation energy of phase transitions of lipid membranes when the free energy of the transition state depends on temperature. On the basis of these results, we discussed the mechanism of this phase transition.

  18. Are Centauro events a manifestation of an unusual type of phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Predazzi, E.; Beldiaga, I.; Curado, E.M.F.

    1988-01-01

    It is argued that the Centauro events found in cosmic rays by the brazilian-japonese collaboration could be the manifestation of an unusual phase transition in which a new ordered phase of quarks separated from antiquarks takes place at extremely high densities. This new phase should then be followed by yet another disordered phase which might correspond to freeing the quark components. (author) [pt

  19. Phase transitions in a system of hard Y-shaped particles on the triangular lattice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Dipanjan; Nath, Trisha; Rajesh, R.

    2018-03-01

    We study the different phases and the phase transitions in a system of Y-shaped particles, examples of which include immunoglobulin-G and trinaphthylene molecules, on a triangular lattice interacting exclusively through excluded volume interactions. Each particle consists of a central site and three of its six nearest neighbors chosen alternately, such that there are two types of particles which are mirror images of each other. We study the equilibrium properties of the system using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations that implement an algorithm with cluster moves that is able to equilibrate the system at densities close to full packing. We show that, with increasing density, the system undergoes two entropy-driven phase transitions with two broken-symmetry phases. At low densities, the system is in a disordered phase. As intermediate phases, there is a solidlike sublattice phase in which one type of particle is preferred over the other and the particles preferentially occupy one of four sublattices, thus breaking both particle symmetry as well as translational invariance. At even higher densities, the phase is a columnar phase, where the particle symmetry is restored, and the particles preferentially occupy even or odd rows along one of the three directions. This phase has translational order in only one direction, and breaks rotational invariance. From finite-size scaling, we demonstrate that both the transitions are first order in nature. We also show that the simpler system with only one type of particle undergoes a single discontinuous phase transition from a disordered phase to a solidlike sublattice phase with an increasing density of particles.

  20. Risk of transition to schizophrenia following first admission with substance-induced psychotic disorder: a population-based longitudinal cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alderson, H L; Semple, D M; Blayney, C; Queirazza, F; Chekuri, V; Lawrie, S M

    2017-10-01

    The potential for drugs of abuse to induce acute psychotic symptoms is well recognised. However, the likelihood of transition from initial substance-induced psychotic disorder (SIPD) to chronic psychosis is much less well understood. This study investigated the rate of SIPD transition to schizophrenia (F20), the time to conversion and other possible related factors. Using data from the Scottish Morbidity Record, we examined all patients (n = 3486) since their first admission to psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of SIPD [International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes F10-F19, with third digit five] from January 1997 to July 2012. Patients were followed until first episode of schizophrenia (ICD-10 code F20, with any third digit) or July 2012. Any change in diagnosis was noted in the follow-up period, which ranged from 1 day to 15.5 years across the groups. The 15.5-year cumulative hazard rate was 17.3% (s.e. = 0.007) for a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Cannabis, stimulant, opiate and multiple drug-induced psychotic disorder were all associated with similar hazard rates. The mean time to transition to a diagnosis of schizophrenia was around 13 years, although over 50% did so within 2 years and over 80% of cases presented within 5 years of SIPD diagnosis. Risk factors included male gender, younger age and longer first admission. SIPD episodes requiring hospital admission for more than 2 weeks are more likely to be associated with later diagnosis of schizophrenia. Follow-up periods of more than 2 years are needed to detect the majority of those individuals who will ultimately develop schizophrenia.

  1. Electronic properties and phase transitions in low-dimensional semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panich, A M

    2008-01-01

    We present the first review of the current state of the literature on electronic properties and phase transitions in TlX and TlMX 2 (M = Ga, In; X = Se, S, Te) compounds. These chalcogenides belong to a family of the low-dimensional semiconductors possessing chain or layered structure. They are of significant interest because of their highly anisotropic properties, semi- and photoconductivity, nonlinear effects in their I-V characteristics (including a region of negative differential resistance), switching and memory effects, second harmonic optical generation, relaxor behavior and potential applications for optoelectronic devices. We review the crystal structure of TlX and TlMX 2 compounds, their transport properties under ambient conditions, experimental and theoretical studies of the electronic structure, transport properties and semiconductor-metal phase transitions under high pressure, and sequences of temperature-induced structural phase transitions with intermediate incommensurate states. The electronic nature of the ferroelectric phase transitions in the above-mentioned compounds, as well as relaxor behavior, nanodomains and possible occurrence of quantum dots in doped and irradiated crystals is discussed. (topical review)

  2. Locally preserved α  →  β phase transition in natural radiation-damaged titanite (CaTiSiO5): evidence from laser-induced photoluminescence and dielectric measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beirau, Tobias; Murawski, Dawid; Behrens, Harald; Salje, Ekhard K. H.; Groat, Lee A.; Kaden, Ronny; Pöllmann, Herbert; Bismayer, Ulrich

    2018-01-01

    In situ temperature-dependent laser-induced photoluminescence and dielectric measurements provide new evidence for the local occurrence of the α  →  β phase transition near 500 K in the preserved crystalline parts of natural radiation-damaged titanite (sample E2335 with ~24% amorphous fraction, containing Fe and Al impurities). Photoluminescence spectroscopic measurements show an anomaly in the vicinity of 500 K. The temperature-dependent evolution of the real part of the electrical conductivity (σ) and the real (ɛ‧) and the imaginary (ɛ″) part of the complex dielectric permittivity (ɛ *) of titanite have been measured at various AC frequencies (~1.2-96.8 kHz). Despite the masking and smearing effect of impurities and defects, the temperature-dependent behaviour of ɛ‧ and ɛ″ around the transition temperature of the investigated natural titanite E2335 shows a remarkable similarity to that of the synthetic end-member material (see Zhang et al (1995 Phys. Chem. Miner. 22 41-9)). This study indicates the suitability of photoluminescence and impedance spectroscopy for the detection of phase transitions, even in heavily disordered systems.

  3. Phase transition of the FCC Ising ferromagnet with competing interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, J.H.; Lee, J.Y.; Kim, D.C.

    1984-01-01

    A molecular field theory with correlation and Monte Carlo simulations are utilized to determine the zero field phase diagram of a fcc Ising model with ferromagnetic nearest neighbor(-J) and antiferromagnetic next neighbor (*aJ) interactions. The correlated molecular field theory predicts a fluctuation induced first order phase transition for 0.87<*a<1.31. Monte Carlo analysis indicates that the first order transition occurs for a somewhat wider range of *a. The transition temperatures obtained by the two methods are in good agreement especially near *a=1 where the fluctuation effect is expected to be large. (Author)

  4. Atomic disorder, phase transformation, and phase restoration in Co3Sn2

    Science.gov (United States)

    di, L. M.; Zhou, G. F.; Bakker, H.

    1993-03-01

    The behavior of the intermetallic compound Co3Sn2 upon ball milling was studied by x-ray diffraction, high-field-magnetization measurements, and subsequently by differential scanning calorimetry. It turns out that starting from the stoichiometric-ordered compound, mechanical attrition of Co3Sn2 generates atomic disorder in the early stage of milling. The nonequilibrium phase transformation from the low-temperature phase with orthorhombic structure to the high-temperature phase with a hexagonal structure was observed in the intermediate stage of milling. It was accompanied by the creation of increasing atomic disorder. After long milling periods, the phase transformation was completed and the atomic disordering became saturated. All the physical parameters measured in the present work remained constant during this period. The above outcome was confirmed by comparison with the high-temperature phase thermally induced by quenching. The good agreement of the results obtained by different techniques proves that the ball milling generates well-defined metastable states in Co3Sn2.

  5. Li-ion batteries: Phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hou Peiyu; Zhang Yantao; Zhang Lianqi; Chu Geng; Gao Jian

    2016-01-01

    Progress in the research on phase transitions during Li + extraction/insertion processes in typical battery materials is summarized as examples to illustrate the significance of understanding phase transition phenomena in Li-ion batteries. Physical phenomena such as phase transitions (and resultant phase diagrams) are often observed in Li-ion battery research and already play an important role in promoting Li-ion battery technology. For example, the phase transitions during Li + insertion/extraction are highly relevant to the thermodynamics and kinetics of Li-ion batteries, and even physical characteristics such as specific energy, power density, volume variation, and safety-related properties. (topical review)

  6. Quantum phase transitions in effective spin-ladder models for graphene zigzag nanoribbons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koop, Cornelie; Wessel, Stefan

    2017-10-01

    We examine the magnetic correlations in quantum spin models that were derived recently as effective low-energy theories for electronic correlation effects on the edge states of graphene nanoribbons. For this purpose, we employ quantum Monte Carlo simulations to access the large-distance properties, accounting for quantum fluctuations beyond mean-field-theory approaches to edge magnetism. For certain chiral nanoribbons, antiferromagnetic interedge couplings were previously found to induce a gapped quantum disordered ground state of the effective spin model. We find that the extended nature of the intraedge couplings in the effective spin model for zigzag nanoribbons leads to a quantum phase transition at a large, finite value of the interedge coupling. This quantum critical point separates the quantum disordered region from a gapless phase of stable edge magnetism at weak intraedge coupling, which includes the ground states of spin-ladder models for wide zigzag nanoribbons. To study the quantum critical behavior, the effective spin model can be related to a model of two antiferromagnetically coupled Haldane-Shastry spin-half chains with long-ranged ferromagnetic intrachain couplings. The results for the critical exponents are compared also to several recent renormalization-group calculations for related long-ranged interacting quantum systems.

  7. Symmetry and Phase Transitions in Nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iachello, F.

    2009-01-01

    Phase transitions in nuclei have received considerable attention in recent years, especially after the discovery that, contrary to expectations, systems at the critical point of a phase transition display a simple structure. In this talk, quantum phase transitions (QPT), i.e. phase transitions that occur as a function of a coupling constant that appears in the quantum Hamiltonian, H, describing the system, will be reviewed and experimental evidence for their occurrence in nuclei will be presented. The phase transitions discussed in the talk will be shape phase transitions. Different shapes have different symmetries, classified by the dynamic symmetries of the Interacting Boson Model, U(5), SU(3) and SO(6). Very recently, the concept of Quantum Phase Transitions has been extended to Excited State Quantum Phase Transitions (ESQPT). This extension will be discussed and some evidence for incipient ESQPT in nuclei will be presented. Systems at the critical point of a phase transition are called 'critical systems'. Approximate analytic formulas for energy spectra and other properties of 'critical nuclei', in particular for nuclei at the critical point of the second order U(5)-SO(6) transition, called E(5), and along the line of first order U(5)-SU(3) transitions, called X(5), will be presented. Experimental evidence for 'critical nuclei' will be also shown. Finally, the microscopic derivation of shape phase transitions in nuclei within the framework of density functional methods will be briefly discussed.(author)

  8. Electrostatic Effects in Phase Transitions of Biomembranes between Cubic Phases and Lamellar Liquid-Crystalline (Lα) phase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masum, Shah Md.; Li, Shu Jie; Tamba, Yukihiro; Yamashita, Yuko; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2004-04-01

    Elucidation of the mechanisms of transitions between cubic phase and liquid-crystalline (Lα) phase, and between different IPMS cubic phases, are essential for understanding of dynamics of biomembranes and topological transformation of lipid membranes. Recently, we found that electrostatic interactions due to surface charges of lipid membranes induce transition between cubic phase and Lα phase, and between different IPMS cubic phases. As electrostatic interactions increase, the most stable phase of a monoolein (MO) membrane changes: Q224 ⇒ Q229 ⇒ Lα. We also found that a de novo designed peptide partitioning into electrically neutral lipid membrane changed the phase stability of the MO membranes. As peptide-1 concentration increased, the most stable phase of a MO membrane changes: Q224 ⇒ Q229 ⇒Lα. In both cases, the increase in the electrostatic repulsive interaction greatly reduced the absolute value of spontaneous curvature of the MO monolayer membrane. We also investigated factors such as poly (L-lysine) and osmotic stress to control structure and phase stability of DOPA/MO membranes. Based on these results, we discuss the mechanism of the effect of electrostatic interactions on the stability of cubic phase.

  9. Non-equilibrium phase transitions

    CERN Document Server

    Henkel, Malte; Lübeck, Sven

    2009-01-01

    This book describes two main classes of non-equilibrium phase-transitions: (a) static and dynamics of transitions into an absorbing state, and (b) dynamical scaling in far-from-equilibrium relaxation behaviour and ageing. The first volume begins with an introductory chapter which recalls the main concepts of phase-transitions, set for the convenience of the reader in an equilibrium context. The extension to non-equilibrium systems is made by using directed percolation as the main paradigm of absorbing phase transitions and in view of the richness of the known results an entire chapter is devoted to it, including a discussion of recent experimental results. Scaling theories and a large set of both numerical and analytical methods for the study of non-equilibrium phase transitions are thoroughly discussed. The techniques used for directed percolation are then extended to other universality classes and many important results on model parameters are provided for easy reference.

  10. Structural phase transitions in BaMo6S8: Evidence for an incommensurate phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jorgensen, J.D.; Hinks, D.G.; Hatch, D.M.; Putnam, R.M.

    1986-01-01

    The structure of BaMo 6 S 8 has been studied over the temperature range 19 K to 573 K by time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction. Below 175 K the data can be suitably refined in a triclinic, P1, cell with volume equal to the rhombohedral, R3, cell common to most Chevrel-phase structures. At temperatures immediately above 175 K, the rhombohedral, R3, Bragg peaks are broadened by satellite reflections which appear to be identical to those recently observed at low temperature in PbMo 6 S 8 and SnMo 6 S 8 . An abrupt change in the sign of the temperature dependence of the hexagonal c axis (∂c/∂T) signals the transition to an undistorted rhombohedral, R3, structure at temperatures above about 350 K. An extended Landau theory determines both continuous and discontinuous transitions from R3 induced by a single order parameter. Analysis of the order parameters inducing commensurate transitions imposes symmetry restrictions on the atomic displacements in the lower symmetry phases. The assumption of an R3 commensurate phase is not consistent with the bond lengths obtained for the distortions to the P1 (or P1) phase for any of the possible cells preserving order parameters. Thus the phase immediately above 175 K cannot be a commensurate R3 structure. This is consistent with experimental evidence. 25 refs., 11 figs., 8 tabs

  11. Windows open for highly tunable magnetostructural phase transitions

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Y.; Wei, Z. Y.; Zhang, H. G.; Liu, E. K.; Luo, H. Z.; Liu, G. D.; Xi, X. K.; Wang, S. G.; Wang, W. H.; Yue, M.; Wu, G. H.; Zhang, Xixiang

    2016-01-01

    established in the Mn1− yCoyNiGe1− xSix system. Throughout the CTWs, the magnetic-field-induced metamagnetic behavior and giant magnetocaloric effects are obtained. The (Mn,Co)Ni(Ge,Si) system shows great potential as multifunctional phase-transition materials

  12. Doping Induced Transition from an Antiferro-Type Order to Phase Separation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemanski, R.; Gajek, Z.

    2003-01-01

    A sequence of transitions from an antiferro-type order to a phase separate state under doping away from half filling is studied within the 1D Falicov-Kimball model. Using the method of restricted phase diagrams the system is analyzed exactly in the thermodynamic limit. Various kinds of ordering, including periodic n-molecular phases and their mixtures are found for a set of values of the interaction constant U. (author)

  13. Phase transition in finite systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chomaz, Ph.; Duflot, V.; Duflot, V.; Gulminelli, F.

    2000-01-01

    In this paper we present a review of selected aspects of Phase transitions in finite systems applied in particular to the liquid-gas phase transition in nuclei. We show that the problem of the non existence of boundary conditions can be solved by introducing a statistical ensemble with an averaged constrained volume. In such an ensemble the microcanonical heat capacity becomes negative in the transition region. We show that the caloric curve explicitly depends on the considered transformation of the volume with the excitation energy and so does not bear direct informations on the characteristics of the phase transition. Conversely, partial energy fluctuations are demonstrated to be a direct measure of the equation of state. Since the heat capacity has a negative branch in the phase transition region, the presence of abnormally large kinetic energy fluctuations is a signal of the liquid gas phase transition. (author)

  14. Order-disorder transitions in C60 and C70

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramasesha, S.K.

    1995-01-01

    In recent years enormous effort has been put in understanding the chemical and physical properties of C 60 and C 70 . Order-disorder transition in C 60 occurs around 250 K at ambient pressure. At the transition freely rotating molecules get orientationally ordered in a simple cubic lattice. Application of pressure increases the transition temperature at a rate of ≅ 10 K kbar -1 , indicating that pressure favours the ordered state. The DSC and x-ray studies on C 70 indicate two phase transitions, one around 270 K and the other around 340 K at room pressure. These transitions also occur at higher temperatures at higher pressures. Application of pressure is found to lift the degeneracy of the energetically equivalent rotational configurations. The high pressure studies are reviewed in the light of existing literature. (author)

  15. Constitutive model for a stress- and thermal-induced phase transition in a shape memory polymer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Xiaogang; Liu, Liwu; Liu, Yanju; Zhou, Bo; Leng, Jinsong

    2014-01-01

    Recently, increasing applications of shape memory polymers have pushed forward the development of appropriate constitutive models for smart materials such as the shape memory polymer. During the heating process, the phase transition, which is a continuous time-dependent process, happens in the shape memory polymer, and various individual phases will form at different configuration temperatures. In addition, these phases can generally be divided into two parts: the frozen and active phase (Liu Y et al 2006 Int. J. Plast. 22 279–313). During the heating or cooling process, the strain will be stored or released with the occurring phase transition between these two parts. Therefore, a shape memory effect emerges. In this paper, a new type of model was developed to characterize the variation of the volume fraction in a shape memory polymer during the phase transition. In addition to the temperature variation, the applied stress was also taken as a significant influence factor on the phase transition. Based on the experimental results, an exponential equation was proposed to describe the relationship between the stress and phase transition temperature. For the sake of describing the mechanical behaviors of the shape memory polymer, a three-dimensional constitutive model was established. Also, the storage strain, which was the key factor of the shape memory effect, was also discussed in detail. Similar to previous works, we first explored the effect of applied stress on storage strain. Through comparisons with the DMA and the creep experimental results, the rationality and accuracy of the new phase transition and constitutive model were finally verified. (paper)

  16. Pressure-dependence of the phase transitions and thermal expansion in zirconium and hafnium pyrovanadate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gallington, Leighanne C.; Hester, Brett R.; Kaplan, Benjamin S. [School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332‐0400 (United States); Wilkinson, Angus P., E-mail: angus.wilkinson@chemistry.gatech.edu [School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332‐0400 (United States); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332‐0245 (United States)

    2017-05-15

    Low or negative thermal expansion (NTE) has been previously observed in members of the ZrP{sub 2}O{sub 7} family at temperatures higher than their order-disorder phase transitions. The thermoelastic properties and phase behavior of the low temperature superstructure and high temperature negative thermal expansion phases of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} and HfV{sub 2}O{sub 7} were explored via in situ variable temperature/pressure powder x-ray diffraction measurements. The phase transition temperatures of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} and HfV{sub 2}O{sub 7} exhibited a very strong dependence on pressure (∼700 K GPa), with moderate compression suppressing the formation of their NTE phases below 513 K. Compression also reduced the magnitude of the coefficients of thermal expansion in both the positive and negative thermal expansion phases. Additionally, the high temperature NTE phase of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} was found to be twice as stiff as the low temperature positive thermal expansion superstructure (24 and 12 GPa respectively). - Graphical abstract: The temperature at which ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} transforms to a phase displaying negative thermal expansion is strongly pressure dependent. The high temperature form of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} is elastically stiffer than the low temperature form. - Highlights: • The order-disorder phase transition temperatures in ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} and HfV{sub 2}O{sub 7} are strongly pressure dependent (∼700 K.GPa). • The high temperature (disordered) phase of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} is much stiffer than the ambient temperature (ordered) phase. • Compression reduces the magnitude of the negative thermal expansion in the high temperature phase of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7}.

  17. Direct investigations of deformation and yield induced structure transitions in polyamide 6 below glass transition temperature with WAXS and SAXS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guo, Huilong; Wang, Jiayi; Zhou, Chengbo

    2015-01-01

    Deformation and yield induced structure transitions of polyamide 6 (PA6) were detected with the combination of the wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS and SAXS) at 30 degrees C below glass transition temperature (T-g) of PA6. During deformation, gamma-alpha phase transition was found...... at elastic stage. The concentrated stress in crystals at elastic stage provided adequate energy for the direct gamma-alpha phase transition under T-g. The force to promote the gamma-phase into a phase directly is insufficient at the yield stage and a transient phase as a compromise was formed. The transient...... phase was confirmed by DSC measurements and assisted the gamma-alpha phase transition indirectly. The gamma-phase slips into incomplete fragments at yield point, and the parts along tensile direction are responsible for the formation of transient phase. The gamma-fragments after yield is oriented...

  18. Magnetic phase transitions in Er7Rh3 studied on single crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsutaoka, Takanori; Obata, Keisuke; Cheyvuth, Seng; Koyama, Keiichi

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Magnetic and electrical properties of Er 7 Rh 3 were studied on single crystals. • The magnetic phase diagram along the c-axis was constructed. • The field-induced magnetic transitions in Er 7 Rh 3 can be explained by the magnetic structure with two magnetic propagation vectors. • The anomalies of electrical resistivity can also be described by the magnetic structure in Er 7 Rh 3 . - Abstract: Magnetic phase transitions in Er 7 Rh 3 with the Th 7 Fe 3 type hexagonal structure have been studied on single crystals by measuring magnetization, magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity. Er 7 Rh 3 possesses antiferromagnetic state below T N = 13 K. In the ordered state, the two successive magnetic transitions at T t1 = 6.2 K and T t2 = 4.5 K were observed. Several field-induced magnetic transitions were also observed along the a- and c-axes below T N ; magnetic field H – temperature T phase diagram along the c-axis was constructed. The field-induced magnetic transitions in Er 7 Rh 3 can be explained by the magnetic structure with two magnetic propagation vectors which were derived by the previous neutron diffraction studies. Electrical resistivity shows humps just below the magnetic transition temperatures, T N and T t1 due to the super-zone gap formation at the Fermi level; these anomalies can also be described by the magnetic structure changes in Er 7 Rh 3

  19. Impurity-induced anisotropic semiconductor-semimetal transition in monolayer biased black phosphorus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bui, D. H.; Yarmohammadi, Mohsen

    2018-07-01

    Taking into account the electron-impurity interaction within the continuum approximation of tight-binding model, the Born approximation, and the Green's function method, the main features of anisotropic electronic phase transition are investigated in monolayer biased black phosphorus (BP). To this end, we concentrated on the disordered electronic density of states (DOS), which gives useful information for electro-optical devices. Increasing the impurity concentration in both unbiased and biased impurity-infected single-layer BP, in addition to the decrease of the band gap, independent of the direction, leads to the midgap states and an extra Van Hove singularity inside and outside of the band gap, respectively. Furthermore, strong impurity scattering potentials lead to a semiconductor-semimetal transition and one more Van Hove singularity in x-direction of unbiased BP and surprisingly, this transition does not occur in biased BP. We found that there is no phase transition in y-direction. Since real applications require structures with modulated band gaps, we have studied the influence of different bias voltages on the disordered DOS in both directions, resulting in the increase of the band gap.

  20. Water-induced ethanol dewetting transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Xiuping; Zhou, Bo; Wang, Chunlei

    2012-07-14

    The dewetting transitions of two hydrophobic plates immersed in pure water, aqueous ethanol solutions with concentrations from 25% to 90%, and pure ethanol were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations, where the dewetting transition was analogous to a first-order phase transition from liquid to vapor. It was found that the dewetting transitions occurred except that in the pure ethanol system. Although the ethanol molecules prefer to locate in the vicinity of the two plates, the inter-plate region is unfavorable for water molecules, due to losing more than one hydrogen bond. Moreover, each inter-plate water molecule forms hydrogen bonds on average with about two ethanol molecules. These intermolecular hydrogen bonds cause water and ethanol to cooperatively fill or exit the inter-plate region. Thus, water molecules play a more important role in the inter-plate filling/empty process, and induce the ethanol dewetting transition. Our results provide insight into the effect of water on the ethanol dewetting phenomena.

  1. Pressure-driven phase transitions in TiOCl and the family (Ca, Sr, Ba)Fe2As2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang YuZhong; Opahle, Ingo; Jeschke, Harald O; ValentI, Roser

    2010-01-01

    Motivated by recent experimental measurements on pressure-driven phase transitions in Mott insulators as well as the new iron pnictide superconductors, we show that first principles Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics calculations are a powerful method to describe the microscopic origin of such transitions. We present results for (i) the pressure-induced insulator to metal phase transition in the prototypical Mott insulator TiOCl as well as (ii) the pressure-induced structural and magnetic phase transitions in the family of correlated metals AFe 2 As 2 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba). Comparison of our predictions with existing experimental results yields very good agreement.

  2. Size effect on order-disorder transition kinetics of FePt nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Shuaidi; Qi, Weihong; Huang, Baiyun

    2014-01-01

    The kinetics of order-disorder transition of FePt nanoparticles during high temperature annealing is theoretically investigated. A model is developed to address the influence of large surface to volume ratio of nanoparticles on both the thermodynamic and kinetic aspect of the ordering process; specifically, the nucleation and growth of L1 0 ordered domain within disordered nanoparticles. The size- and shape-dependence of transition kinetics are quantitatively addressed by a revised Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation that included corrections for deviations caused by the domination of surface nucleation in nanoscale systems and the non-negligible size of the ordered nuclei. Calculation results based on the model suggested that smaller nanoparticles are kinetically more active but thermodynamically less transformable. The major obstacle in obtaining completely ordered nanoparticles is the elimination of antiphase boundaries. The results also quantitatively confirmed the existence of a size-limit in ordering, beyond which, inducing order-disorder transitions through annealing is impossible. A good agreement is observed between theory, experiment, and computer simulation results

  3. Excitations and phase transitions in random anti-ferromagnets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowley, R.A.; Birgeneau, R.J.; Shirane, G.

    1979-01-01

    Neutron scattering techniques can be used to study the magnetic excitations and phase transitions in the randomly mixed transition metal fluorides. The results for the excitations of samples with two different types of magnetic ions show two bands of excitations; each associated with excitations propagating largely on one type of ion. In the diluted salts the spectra show a complex line shape and greater widths. These results are in good accord with computer simulations showing that linear spin wave theory can be used, but have not been described satisfactorily using the coherent potential approximation. The phase transitions in these materials are always smeared, but it is difficult to ascertain if this smearing is due to macroscopic fluctuations in the concentration or of an intrinsic origin. Studies of these systems close to the percolation point have shown that the thermal disorder is associated with the one-dimensional weak links of the large clusters. Currently theory and experiment are in accord for the two-dimensional Ising system but features are still not understood in Heisenberg systems in both two and three dimensions

  4. Theory of structural phase transition in MgTi{sub 2}O{sub 4}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Talanov, V. M., E-mail: valtalanov@mail.ru [South Russian State Polytechnical University (Russian Federation); Shirokov, V. B. [Russian Academy of Sciences, South Science Centre (Russian Federation); Ivanov, V. V. [South Russian State Polytechnical University (Russian Federation); Talanov, M. V. [South Federal University (Russian Federation)

    2015-01-15

    A theory of phase transition in MgTi{sub 2}O{sub 4} is proposed based on a study of the order-parameter symmetry, thermodynamics, and mechanisms of formation of the atomic and orbital structure of the low-symmetry MgTi{sub 2}O{sub 4} phase. The critical order parameter (which induces a phase transition) is determined. It is shown that the calculated MgTi{sub 2}O{sub 4} tetragonal structure is a result of displacements of magnesium, titanium, and oxygen atoms; ordering of oxygen atoms; and the participation of d{sub xy}, d{sub xz}, and d{sub yz} orbitals. The contribution of noncritical representations to ion displacements is proven to be insignificant. The existence of various metal clusters in the tetragonal phase has been established by calculation in correspondence with experimental data. It is shown (within the Landau theory of phase transitions) that phase states can be changed as a result of both first- and second-order phase transitions: the high-symmetry phase borders two low-symmetry phases by second-order transition lines, while the border between low-symmetry phases is a first-order transition line.

  5. The nuclear liquid gas phase transition and phase coexistence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chomaz, Ph.

    2001-01-01

    In this talk we will review the different signals of liquid gas phase transition in nuclei. From the theoretical side we will first discuss the foundations of the concept of equilibrium, phase transition and critical behaviors in infinite and finite systems. From the experimental point of view we will first recall the evidences for some strong modification of the behavior of hot nuclei. Then we will review quantitative detailed analysis aiming to evidence phase transition, to define its order and phase diagram. Finally, we will present a critical discussion of the present status of phase transitions in nuclei and we will draw some lines for future development of this field. (author)

  6. The nuclear liquid gas phase transition and phase coexistence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chomaz, Ph

    2001-07-01

    In this talk we will review the different signals of liquid gas phase transition in nuclei. From the theoretical side we will first discuss the foundations of the concept of equilibrium, phase transition and critical behaviors in infinite and finite systems. From the experimental point of view we will first recall the evidences for some strong modification of the behavior of hot nuclei. Then we will review quantitative detailed analysis aiming to evidence phase transition, to define its order and phase diagram. Finally, we will present a critical discussion of the present status of phase transitions in nuclei and we will draw some lines for future development of this field. (author)

  7. Order-disorder transitions in lattice gases with annealed reactive constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudka, Maxym; Bénichou, Olivier; Oshanin, Gleb

    2018-04-01

    We study equilibrium properties of catalytically-activated reactions taking place on a lattice of adsorption sites. The particles undergo continuous exchanges with a reservoir maintained at a constant chemical potential μ and react when they appear at the neighbouring sites, provided that some reactive conditions are fulfilled. We model the latter in two different ways: in the Model I some fraction p of the bonds connecting neighbouring sites possesses special catalytic properties such that any two As appearing on the sites connected by such a bond instantaneously react and desorb. In the Model II some fraction p of the adsorption sites possesses such properties and neighbouring particles react if at least one of them resides on a catalytic site. For the case of annealed disorder in the distribution of the catalyst, which is tantamount to the situation when the reaction may take place at any point on the lattice but happens with a finite probability p, we provide an exact solution for both models for the interior of an infinitely large Cayley tree—the so-called Bethe lattice. We show that both models exhibit a rich critical behaviour: for the annealed Model I it is characterised by a transition into an ordered state and a re-entrant transition into a disordered phase, which both are continuous. For the annealed Model II, which represents a rather exotic model of statistical mechanics in which interactions of any particle with its environment have a peculiar Boolean form, the transition to an ordered state is always continuous, while the re-entrant transition into the disordered phase may be either continuous or discontinuous, depending on the value of p.

  8. NMR and DSC study of temperature-induced phase transition in aqueous solutions of poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide-co-acrylamide) copolymers

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šťastná, J.; Hanyková, L.; Spěváček, Jiří

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 290, č. 17 (2012), s. 1811-1817 ISSN 0303-402X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/09/1281 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : temperature induced phase transition * thermosensitive copolymer * poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide-co-acrylamide) Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 2.161, year: 2012

  9. Plasticity-induced characteristic changes of pattern dynamics and the related phase transitions in small-world neuronal networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Xu-Hui; Hu Gang

    2014-01-01

    Phase transitions widely exist in nature and occur when some control parameters are changed. In neural systems, their macroscopic states are represented by the activity states of neuron populations, and phase transitions between different activity states are closely related to corresponding functions in the brain. In particular, phase transitions to some rhythmic synchronous firing states play significant roles on diverse brain functions and disfunctions, such as encoding rhythmical external stimuli, epileptic seizure, etc. However, in previous studies, phase transitions in neuronal networks are almost driven by network parameters (e.g., external stimuli), and there has been no investigation about the transitions between typical activity states of neuronal networks in a self-organized way by applying plastic connection weights. In this paper, we discuss phase transitions in electrically coupled and lattice-based small-world neuronal networks (LBSW networks) under spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). By applying STDP on all electrical synapses, various known and novel phase transitions could emerge in LBSW networks, particularly, the phenomenon of self-organized phase transitions (SOPTs): repeated transitions between synchronous and asynchronous firing states. We further explore the mechanics generating SOPTs on the basis of synaptic weight dynamics. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  10. Metal - Insulator Transition Driven by Vacancy Ordering in GeSbTe Phase Change Materials

    OpenAIRE

    Bragaglia, Valeria; Arciprete, Fabrizio; Privitera, Stefania; Rimini, Emanuele; Mazzarello, Riccardo; Calarco, Raffaella; Zhang, Wei; Mio, Antonio Massimiliano; Zallo, Eugenio; Perumal, Karthick; Giussani, Alessandro; Cecchi, Stefano; Boschker, Jos Emiel; Riechert, Henning

    2016-01-01

    Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are unique compounds employed in non-volatile random access memory thanks to the rapid and reversible transformation between the amorphous and crystalline state that display large differences in electrical and optical properties. In addition to the amorphous-to-crystalline transition, experimental results on polycrystalline GeSbTe alloys (GST) films evidenced a Metal-Insulator Transition (MIT) attributed to disorder in the crystalline phase. Here we report on a f...

  11. Temperature-induced transitions between domain structures of ultrathin magnetic films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polyakova, T.; Zablotskii, V.

    2005-01-01

    Full text: Understanding of the influence of temperature on behavior of domain patterns of ultrathin magnetic films is of high significance for the fundamental physics of nanomagnetism as well as for technological applications. A thickness-dependent Curie temperature of ultrathin films may cause many interesting phenomena in the thermal evolution of domain structures (DS): i) nontrivial changes of the anisotropy constants as a function of the film thickness; ii) so-called inverse melting of DSs (processes where a more symmetric domain phase is found at lower temperatures than at higher temperatures - the inverse phase sequence) [1]; iii) temperature-induced transitions between domain structures. The possibility of such transitions is determined by lowering of the potential barriers separating different magnetization states as the film temperature approaches the Curie point. In this case with an increase of temperature, due to a significant decrease of the anisotropy constant, the domain wall energy is low enough and allows the system to reach equilibrium by a change of the domain wall number in the sample. This manifests itself in a transition from a metastable DS to a more stable DS which corresponds to new values of the anisotropy constant and magnetizations saturation. Thus, the temperature-induced transitions are driven by temperature changes of the magnetic parameters of the film. The key parameters controlling the DS geometry and period are the characteristic length, l c =σ/4πM S 2 (the ratio between the domain wall and demagnetization energies), and the quality factor Q =K/2πM S 2 (K is the first anisotropy constant). We show that for films with a pronounced nonmonotonic temperature dependence of l c one can expect a counter thermodynamic behavior: the inverse phase sequence and cooling-induced disordering. On changing temperature the existing domain structure should accommodate itself under new magnitudes of l c and Q. There are the two possible

  12. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction studies of phase transitions in physisorbed monolayers of rare gases on graphite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bohr, J.

    1984-01-01

    This study is an investigation of phase transition in monoatomic layers adsorbed on graphite. Such effects can be considered physical realizations of two-dimensional systems. The experimental technique used is synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Systems which have been investigated include the commensurate-incommensurate phase transition in krypton monolayer. By adjusting the spreading pressure in the krypton layer by means of a coadsorbent deuterium gas it has been unambiguously demonstrated that at low temperatures the phase transition is of first order. A melting study of incommensurate argon monolayers demonstrates an experimental verification of the possibility for having a continuous melting transition in two-dimensions. Mixtures of two-components have been investigated for their phases. No (chemical) order-disorder transition is seen. A discussion is given on this lack of a chemical order. This lack is utilized to study the commensurate-incommensurate phase transition driven by average particle size. Finally, a special low-temperature phase is identified in a xenon monlayer which is diluted with freon. (Auth.)

  13. Condensate-induced transitions and critical spin chains

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Månsson, T.; Lahtinen, V.; Suorsa, J.; Ardonne, E.

    2013-01-01

    We show that condensate-induced transitions between two-dimensional topological phases provide a general framework to relate one-dimensional spin models at their critical points. We demonstrate this using two examples. First, we show that two well-known spin chains, namely, the XY chain and the

  14. Magnetic resonance of phase transitions

    CERN Document Server

    Owens, Frank J; Farach, Horacio A

    1979-01-01

    Magnetic Resonance of Phase Transitions shows how the effects of phase transitions are manifested in the magnetic resonance data. The book discusses the basic concepts of structural phase and magnetic resonance; various types of magnetic resonances and their underlying principles; and the radiofrequency methods of nuclear magnetic resonance. The text also describes quadrupole methods; the microwave technique of electron spin resonance; and the Mössbauer effect. Phase transitions in various systems such as fluids, liquid crystals, and crystals, including paramagnets and ferroelectrics, are also

  15. Structural phase transitions in boron carbide under stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korotaev, P; Pokatashkin, P; Yanilkin, A

    2016-01-01

    Structural transitions in boron carbide B 4 C under stress were studied by means of first-principles molecular dynamics in the framework of density functional theory. The behavior depends strongly on degree of non-hydrostatic stress. Under hydrostatic stress continuous bending of the three-atom C–B–C chain was observed up to 70 GPa. The presence of non-hydrostatic stress activates abrupt reversible chain bending, which is displacement of the central boron atom in the chain with the formation of weak bonds between this atom and atoms in the nearby icosahedra. Such structural change can describe a possible reversible phase transition in dynamical loading experiments. High non-hydrostatic stress achieved in uniaxial loading leads to disordering of the initial structure. The formation of carbon chains is observed as one possible transition route. (paper)

  16. Melting along the Hugoniot and solid phase transition for Sn via sound velocity measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Ping; Cai, Ling-cang; Tao, Tian-jiong; Yuan, Shuai; Chen, Hong; Huang, Jin; Zhao, Xin-wen; Wang, Xue-jun

    2016-11-01

    It is very important to determine the phase boundaries for materials with complex crystalline phase structures to construct their corresponding multi-phase equation of state. By measuring the sound velocity of Sn with different porosities, different shock-induced melting pressures along the solid-liquid phase boundary could be obtained. The incipient shock-induced melting of porous Sn samples with two different porosities occurred at a pressure of about 49.1 GPa for a porosity of 1.01 and 45.6 GPa for a porosity of 1.02, based on measurements of the sound velocity. The incipient shock-induced melting pressure of solid Sn was revised to 58.1 GPa using supplemental measurements of the sound velocity. Trivially, pores in Sn decreased the shock-induced melting pressure. Based on the measured longitudinal sound velocity data, a refined solid phase transition and the Hugoniot temperature-pressure curve's trend are discussed. No bcc phase transition occurs along the Hugoniot for porous Sn; further investigation is required to understand the implications of this finding.

  17. Scaling behavior of Anderson transition in system with two types of disorder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiong Shijie; Xing, D.Y.; Evangelou, S.N.; Sheng, D.N.

    2003-01-01

    We present numerical results for a specific phase diagram of the Anderson transition in a model with two types of disorder: the diagonal disorder W 1 , and the off-diagonal disorder W 2 originated from double-exchange interactions. The critical line separating localization and delocalization regions in the W 1 -W 2 phase diagram exhibits zigzag oscillations. This results in multiple critical values of W 2 if W 1 is fixed, although a single critical value of W 1 usually appears when W 2 is fixed. By applying magnetic field the period of oscillations is shortened. Near the critical line the system shows universal scaling behavior with critical exponent dependent only on the field

  18. Dynamically induced many-body localization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Soonwon; Abanin, Dmitry A.; Lukin, Mikhail D.

    2018-03-01

    We show that a quantum phase transition from ergodic to many-body localized (MBL) phases can be induced via periodic pulsed manipulation of spin systems. Such a transition is enabled by the interplay between weak disorder and slow heating rates. Specifically, we demonstrate that the Hamiltonian of a weakly disordered ergodic spin system can be effectively engineered, by using sufficiently fast coherent controls, to yield a stable MBL phase, which in turn completely suppresses the energy absorption from external control field. Our results imply that a broad class of existing many-body systems can be used to probe nonequilibrium phases of matter for a long time, limited only by coupling to external environment.

  19. Phase Transition and Thermodynamics of Ruthenium Diboride via First-Principles Calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fen, Luo; Yan, Cheng; Xiang-Rong, Chen; Guang-Fu, Ji

    2009-01-01

    The pressure induced phase transitions of RuB 2 from the OsB 2 -type structure to the ReB 2 -type structure are investigated by first-principles calculations based on the plane-wave basis set with the generalized gradient approximation for exchange and correlation. It is found that the phase transition occurs at 18.6 GPa. We predict the phase transition from the OsB 2 -type RuB 2 to the ReB 2 -type RuB 2 at high temperatures for the first time. The dependences of the heat capacity, thermal expansion coefficient, and the Grüneisen parameter on pressure and temperature for OsB 2 -type RuB 2 and ReB 2 -type RuB 2 are also investigated

  20. Nucleation of the lamellar phase from the disordered phase of the renormalized Landau-Brazovskii model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carilli, Michael F.; Delaney, Kris T.; Fredrickson, Glenn H.

    2018-02-01

    Using the zero-temperature string method, we investigate nucleation of a stable lamellar phase from a metastable disordered phase of the renormalized Landau-Brazovskii model at parameters explicitly connected to those of an experimentally accessible diblock copolymer melt. We find anisotropic critical nuclei in qualitative agreement with previous experimental and analytic predictions; we also find good quantitative agreement with the predictions of a single-mode analysis. We conduct a thorough search for critical nuclei containing various predicted and experimentally observed defect structures. The predictions of the renormalized model are assessed by simulating the bare Landau-Brazovskii model with fluctuations. We find that the renormalized model makes reasonable predictions for several important quantities, including the order-disorder transition (ODT). However, the critical nucleus size depends sharply on proximity to the ODT, so even small errors in the ODT predicted by the renormalized model lead to large errors in the predicted critical nucleus size. We conclude that the renormalized model is a poor tool to study nucleation in the fluctuating Landau-Brazovskii model, and recommend that future studies work with the fluctuating bare model directly, using well-chosen collective variables to investigate kinetic pathways in the disorder → lamellar transition.

  1. Higher-order phase transitions on financial markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasprzak, A.; Kutner, R.; Perelló, J.; Masoliver, J.

    2010-08-01

    Statistical and thermodynamic properties of the anomalous multifractal structure of random interevent (or intertransaction) times were thoroughly studied by using the extended continuous-time random walk (CTRW) formalism of Montroll, Weiss, Scher, and Lax. Although this formalism is quite general (and can be applied to any interhuman communication with nontrivial priority), we consider it in the context of a financial market where heterogeneous agent activities can occur within a wide spectrum of time scales. As the main general consequence, we found (by additionally using the Saddle-Point Approximation) the scaling or power-dependent form of the partition function, Z(q'). It diverges for any negative scaling powers q' (which justifies the name anomalous) while for positive ones it shows the scaling with the general exponent τ(q'). This exponent is the nonanalytic (singular) or noninteger power of q', which is one of the pilar of higher-order phase transitions. In definition of the partition function we used the pausing-time distribution (PTD) as the central one, which takes the form of convolution (or superstatistics used, e.g. for describing turbulence as well as the financial market). Its integral kernel is given by the stretched exponential distribution (often used in disordered systems). This kernel extends both the exponential distribution assumed in the original version of the CTRW formalism (for description of the transient photocurrent measured in amorphous glassy material) as well as the Gaussian one sometimes used in this context (e.g. for diffusion of hydrogen in amorphous metals or for aging effects in glasses). Our most important finding is the third- and higher-order phase transitions, which can be roughly interpreted as transitions between the phase where high frequency trading is most visible and the phase defined by low frequency trading. The specific order of the phase transition directly depends upon the shape exponent α defining the stretched

  2. Identifying quantum phase transitions with adversarial neural networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huembeli, Patrick; Dauphin, Alexandre; Wittek, Peter

    2018-04-01

    The identification of phases of matter is a challenging task, especially in quantum mechanics, where the complexity of the ground state appears to grow exponentially with the size of the system. Traditionally, physicists have to identify the relevant order parameters for the classification of the different phases. We here follow a radically different approach: we address this problem with a state-of-the-art deep learning technique, adversarial domain adaptation. We derive the phase diagram of the whole parameter space starting from a fixed and known subspace using unsupervised learning. This method has the advantage that the input of the algorithm can be directly the ground state without any ad hoc feature engineering. Furthermore, the dimension of the parameter space is unrestricted. More specifically, the input data set contains both labeled and unlabeled data instances. The first kind is a system that admits an accurate analytical or numerical solution, and one can recover its phase diagram. The second type is the physical system with an unknown phase diagram. Adversarial domain adaptation uses both types of data to create invariant feature extracting layers in a deep learning architecture. Once these layers are trained, we can attach an unsupervised learner to the network to find phase transitions. We show the success of this technique by applying it on several paradigmatic models: the Ising model with different temperatures, the Bose-Hubbard model, and the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with disorder. The method finds unknown transitions successfully and predicts transition points in close agreement with standard methods. This study opens the door to the classification of physical systems where the phase boundaries are complex such as the many-body localization problem or the Bose glass phase.

  3. Glassy transition in a disordered model for the RNA secondary structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pagnani, A.; Parisi, G.; Ricci-Tersenghi, F.

    2000-04-01

    We numerically study a disordered model for the RNA secondary structure and we find that it undergoes a phase transition, with a breaking of the replica symmetry in the low temperature region (like in spin glasses). Our results are based on the exact evaluation of the partition function. (author)

  4. Cubic to tetragonal phase transition of Tm3+ doped nanocrystals in oxyfluoride glass ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yiming; Fu, Yuting; Shi, Yahui; Zhang, Xiaoyu; Yu, Hua; Zhao, Lijuan

    2016-01-01

    Tm 3+ ions doped β-PbF 2 nanocrystals in oxyfluoride glass ceramics with different doping concentrations and thermal temperatures are prepared by a traditional melt-quenching and thermal treatment method to investigate the structure and the phase transition of Tm 3+ doped nanocrystals. The structures are characterized by X-ray diffraction Rietveld analysis and confirmed with numerical simulation. The phase transitions are proved further by the emission spectra. Both of the doping concentration and thermal temperature can induce an O h to D 4h site symmetry distortion and a cubic to tetragonal phase transition. The luminescence of Tm 3+ doped nanocrystals at 800 nm was modulated by the phase transition of the surrounding crystal field

  5. Brillouin scattering, DSC, dielectric and X-ray diffraction studies of phase transitions in antiferroelectric PbHfO{sub 3}:Sn

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mączka, Mirosław, E-mail: m.maczka@int.pan.wroc.pl [Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1410, 50-950 Wrocław 2 (Poland); Kim, Tae Hyun [Institute of Materials Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan); Gągor, Anna [Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1410, 50-950 Wrocław 2 (Poland); Jankowska-Sumara, Irena [Institute of Physics, Pedagogical University, ul. Podchorążych 2, 30-084 Kraków (Poland); Majchrowski, Andrzej [Institute of Applied Physics, Military University of Technology, 2 Kaliskiego Str., 00-908 Warszawa (Poland); Kojima, Seiji [Institute of Materials Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan)

    2015-02-15

    Highlights: • Phase transition mechanisms were studied in antiferroelectric PbHf{sub 0.975}Sn{sub 0.025}O{sub 3.} • Acoustic phonons showed anomalies at 472 and 426 K due to phase transitions. • Brillouin data showed evidence for presence of polar clusters in paraelectric phase. • An order-disorder mechanism of the PE to AFE2 transition was proved. - Abstract: Specific heat, dielectric, powder X-ray diffraction and Brillouin scattering studies of phase transitions in antiferroelectric PbHf{sub 0.975}Sn{sub 0.025}O{sub 3} crystal were performed. The specific heat data revealed clear anomalies at T{sub 1} = 473.5 and T{sub 2} = 426.3 K on cooling, which could be attributed to onset of first order phase transitions from the paraelectric (PE) phase to an intermediate antiferroelectric phase (AFE2) and the AFE2 phase to another antiferroelectric phase (AFE1), respectively. The estimated entropy changes at T{sub 1} and T{sub 2} pointed to mainly an order-disorder and displacive character of these transitions, respectively. X-ray diffraction data showed a complex superstructure of the intermediate phase with a = 11.895(6) Å, b = 11.936(4) Å, c = 8.223(3) Å at 453 K. Brillouin studies revealed pronounced softening of longitudinal acoustic (LA) mode in the PE phase associated with its broadening. The broadening and softening exhibited maximum values at T{sub 1}. Additional acoustic anomalies, that is, abrupt frequency shifts for LA and transverse acoustic (TA) modes were also observed at T{sub 2}. Brillouin scattering data also showed presence of a broad central peak (CP) that exhibited highest intensity at T{sub 1}. The observed temperature dependences of acoustic modes and CP indicate order-disorder character of the FE to AFE2 phase transition and importance of polar precursor clusters in the PE phase. The obtained data also suggest that the intermediate antiferroelectric phases in Sn{sup 4+} doped PbHfO{sub 3} and PbZrO{sub 3} may have very similar structures

  6. A resonant ultrasound spectroscopy study of the phase transitions in Na0.75CoO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keppens, Veerle; Sergienko, Ivan; Jin, Rongying

    2005-03-01

    The layered transition metal oxides NaxCoO2 have attracted much interest in the past few years. Crystals with the x˜0.75 composition undergo an order-disorder transition near 340 K, a spin-density-wave transition near 22 K and other subtle transitions at intermediate temperatures. These phase transitions, likely related to a rearrangement of the Na atoms among the available sites, have been mapped out using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy. The results are modeled within the Landau theory for second order phase transitions. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Dept. of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725

  7. Soft x-ray induced femtosecond solid-to-solid phase transition

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tavella, F.; Höppner, H.; Tkachenko, V.; Medvedev, Nikita; Capotondi, F.; Golz, T.; Kai, Y.; Manfredda, M.; Pedersoli, E.; Prandolini, M.J.; Stojanovic, N.; Tanikawa, T.; Teubner, U.; Toleikis, S.; Ziaja, B.

    Roč. 24, Sep (2017), s. 22-27 ISSN 1574-1818 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : soft x-ray * ultrashort x-ray pulses * grafitization of diamond * non-thermal phase transition Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics OBOR OECD: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics) Impact factor: 0.908, year: 2016

  8. Order-disorder transition and electrical conductivity of the brownmillerite solid-solutions system Ba2(In, M)2O5 (M=Ga, Al)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamura, Hiroshi; Hamazaki, Hirohumi; Kakinuma, Katsuyoshi; Mori, Toshiyuki; Haneda, Hajime

    1999-01-01

    The brownmillerite solid-solution systems Ba 2 (In 1-x M x ) 2 O 5 (M=Ga, Al) were investigated by means of high-temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD), dilatometry, and electrical-conductivity measurements. XRD showed that the Ba 2 (In 1-x Ga x ) 2 O 5 system had orthorhombic symmetry in the composition range 0.0≤x≤0.2 and cubic symmetry in the range 0.3≤x. The Al system also changed to cubic symmetry from orthorhombic symmetry in the range 0.2≤x. While the orthorhombic phase showed an order-disorder transition in the electrical conductivity measurements, the transition temperature decreased with increasing the M content. The order-disorder transition temperature and the crystal-structure transition temperature were very different. Such a transition was not observed in the cubic phases, and their electrical conductivity were fairly low compared to those of the disordered cubic phase after the transition due to the heating process. These phenomena are discussed in terms of disordering of the tetrahedral site in the brownmillerite structure, which is occupied by the smaller Ga 3+ or Al 3+ rather than ny In 3+

  9. Dual role of an ac driving force and the underlying two distinct order–disorder transitions in the vortex phase diagram of Ca3Ir4Sn13

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Santosh; Singh, Ravi P.; Thamizhavel, A.; Tomy, C.V.; Grover, A.K.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • This work pertains to new findings related to a broad SMP anomaly. • Broad SMP prima facie encompasses two phase transformations in vortex matter. • We demarcated two phase boundaries pertaining to order–disorder transitions which have quasi first-order nature. - Abstract: We present distinct demarcation of the Bragg glass (BG) to multi-domain vortex glass (VG) transition line and the eventual amorphization of the VG phase in a weakly pinned single crystal of the superconducting compound Ca 3 Ir 4 Sn 13 on the basis of comprehension of the different yields about the second magnetization peak (SMP) anomaly in the dc magnetization and the corresponding anomalous feature in the ac susceptibility measurements. The shaking by a small ac magnetic field, inevitably present in the ac susceptibility measurements, is seen to result in contrasting responses in two different portions of the field-temperature (H, T) phase space of the multi-domain VG. In one of the portions, embracing the BG to VG transition across the onset of the SMP anomaly, the ac drive is surprisingly seen to assist the transformation of the well ordered BG phase to a lesser ordered VG phase. The BG phase exists as a superheated state over a small portion of the VG space and this attests to the first order nature of the BG to VG transition

  10. Breakdown of maximality conjecture in continuous phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukamel, D.; Jaric, M.V.

    1983-04-01

    A Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson model associated with a single irreducible representation which exhibits an ordered phase whose symmetry group is not a maximal isotropy subgroup of the symmetry group of the disordered phase is constructed. This example disproves the maximality conjecture suggested in numerous previous studies. Below the (continuous) transition, the order parameter points along a direction which varies with the temperature and with the other parameters which define the model. An extension of the maximality conjecture to reducible representations was postulated in the context of Higgs symmetry breaking mechanism. Our model can also be extended to provide a counter example in these cases. (author)

  11. Electric-field-induced phase transitions in co-doped Pb(Zr1−xTixO3 at the morphotropic phase boundary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel J Franzbach

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The strain- and polarization-electric field behavior was characterized at room temperature for Pb0.98Ba0.01(Zr1−xTix0.98Nb0.02O3, 0.40 ≤ x ≤ 0.60. The investigated compositions were located in the vicinity of the morphotropic phase boundary, giving insight into the influence of crystal structure on the hysteretic ferroelectric behavior. The remanent strain of particular compositions is shown to be larger than theoretically allowed by ferroelectric switching alone, indicating the presence of additional remanent strain mechanisms. A phenomenological free energy analysis was used to simulate the effect of an applied electric field on the initial equilibrium phase. It is shown that electric-field-induced phase transitions in polycrystalline ferroelectrics can account for the experimental observations. The experimental and simulation results are contrasted to neutron diffraction measurements performed on representative compositions in the virgin and remanent states.

  12. Magnetic transitions and phases in random-anisotropy magnets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sellmyer, D.J.; Nafis, S.; O'Shea, M.J.

    1988-01-01

    The generality and universality of the Ising spin-glass-like phase transitions observed in several rare-earth, random-anisotropy magnets are discussed. Some uncertainties and practical problems in determining critical exponents are considered, and a comparison is made to insulating spin glasses and crystalline spin glasses where an apparent anisotropy-induced crossover from Heisenberg to Ising-like behavior is seen. The observation of a reentrant transition in a weak anisotropy system and its correlation with the theory of Chudnovsky, Saslow, and Serota [Phys. Rev. B 33, 251 (1986)] for the correlated spin glass is discussed

  13. Magnetic transitions and phases in random-anisotropy magnets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sellmyer, D. J.; Nafis, S.; O'Shea, M. J.

    1988-04-01

    The generality and universality of the Ising spin-glass-like phase transitions observed in several rare-earth, random-anisotropy magnets are discussed. Some uncertainties and practical problems in determining critical exponents are considered, and a comparison is made to insulating spin glasses and crystalline spin glasses where an apparent anisotropy-induced crossover from Heisenberg to Ising-like behavior is seen. The observation of a reentrant transition in a weak anisotropy system and its correlation with the theory of Chudnovsky, Saslow, and Serota [Phys. Rev. B 33, 251 (1986)] for the correlated spin glass is discussed.

  14. Nonequilibrium phase transition in directed small-world-Voronoi-Delaunay random lattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima, F.W.S.

    2016-01-01

    On directed small-world-Voronoi-Delaunay random lattices in two dimensions with quenched connectivity disorder we study the critical properties of the dynamics evolution of public opinion in social influence networks using a simple spin-like model. The system is treated by applying Monte Carlo simulations. We show that directed links on these random lattices may lead to phase diagram with first- and second-order social phase transitions out of equilibrium. (paper)

  15. Hydrodynamic effects on phase transition in active matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gidituri, Harinadha; Akella, V. S.; Panchagnula, Mahesh; Vedantam, Srikanth; Multiphase flow physics lab Team

    2017-11-01

    Organized motion of active (self-propelled) objects are ubiquitous in nature. The objective of this study to investigate the effect of hydrodynamics on the coherent structures in active and passive particle mixtures. We use a mesoscopic method Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD). The system shows three different states viz. meso-turbulent (disordered state), polar flock and vortical (ordered state) for different values of activity and volume fraction of active particles. From our numerical simulations we construct a phase diagram between activity co-efficient, volume fraction and viscosity of the passive fluid. Transition from vortical to polar is triggered by increasing the viscosity of passive fluid which causes strong short-range hydrodynamic interactions. However, as the viscosity of the fluid decreases, both vortical and meso-turbulent states transition to polar flock phase. We also calculated the diffusion co-efficients via mean square displacement (MSD) for passive and active particles. We observe ballistic and diffusive regimes in the present system.

  16. Symmetry analysis in the investigation of the order-disorder phase transition and possible structural deformations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gurin, O V; Syromyatnikov, V N [AN SSSR, Sverdlovsk. Inst. Fiziki Metallov; Sikora, W [Joint Inst. for Nuclear Research, Dubna (USSR)

    1984-08-01

    Order-disorder phase transitions for the Me-X structures in Nb-H(D) hydrides with hydrogen (deuterium) ordering over the 12d tetrahedral interstices of the GAMMAsub(c)sup(v) lattice and for the Me-X and Me-X/sub 2/ oxides in the Ta-O system with oxygen ordering over octahedral 6b interstices are presented. The concentration of interstitial atoms is assumed to be constant. All possible models of ordered structures with a GAMMAsub(o)sup(b) lattice were determined using symmetry analysis. The possible structural deformations consistent with each variant of the ordering of the interstitial atoms were also considered. The structural deformations include the displacements of the metal atoms and of the centres of the interstices which were deduced using symmetry analysis. The results of the analysis of the final structure symmetry raise the question of understanding the nature of superstructure reflections in neutron diffraction patterns.

  17. Size-Induced Depression of First-Order Transition Lines and Entropy Jump in Extremely Layered Nanocrystalline Vortex Matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolz, M I; Fasano, Y; Cejas Bolecek, N R; Pastoriza, H; Mosser, V; Li, M; Konczykowski, M

    2015-09-25

    We detect the persistence of the solidification and order-disorder first-order transition lines in the phase diagram of nanocrystalline Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8} vortex matter down to a system size of less than one hundred vortices. The temperature location of the vortex solidification transition line is not altered by decreasing the sample size although there is a depletion of the entropy jump at the transition with respect to macroscopic vortex matter. The solid order-disorder phase transition field moves upward on decreasing the system size due to the increase of the surface-to-volume ratio of vortices entailing a decrease on the average vortex binding energy.

  18. Phase transitions in scale-free neural networks: Departure from the standard mean-field universality class

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aldana, Maximino; Larralde, Hernan

    2004-01-01

    We investigate the nature of the phase transition from an ordered to a disordered state that occurs in a family of neural network models with noise. These models are closely related to the majority voter model, where a ferromagneticlike interaction between the elements prevails. Each member of the family is distinguished by the network topology, which is determined by the probability distribution of the number of incoming links. We show that for homogeneous random topologies, the phase transition belongs to the standard mean-field universality class, characterized by the order parameter exponent β=1/2. However, for scale-free networks we obtain phase transition exponents ranging from 1/2 to infinity. Furthermore, we show the existence of a phase transition even for values of the scale-free exponent in the interval (1.5,2], where the average network connectivity diverges

  19. Kuramoto-type phase transition with metronomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boda, Sz; Ujvári, Sz; Tunyagi, A; Néda, Z

    2013-01-01

    Metronomes placed on the perimeter of a disc-shaped platform, which can freely rotate in a horizontal plane, are used for a simple classroom illustration of the Kuramoto-type phase transition. The rotating platform induces a global coupling between the metronomes, and the strength of this coupling can be varied by tilting the metronomes’ swinging plane relative to the radial direction on the disc. As a function of the tilting angle, a transition from spontaneously synchronized to unsynchronized states is observable. By varying the number of metronomes on the disc, finite-size effects are also exemplified. A realistic theoretical model is introduced and used to reproduce the observed results. Computer simulations of this model allow a detailed investigation of the emerging collective behaviour in this system. (paper)

  20. SIMMER-II analysis of transition-phase experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wehner, T.R.; Bell, C.R.

    1985-01-01

    Analyses of Los Alamos transition-phase experiments with the SIMMER-II computer code are reported. These transient boilup experiments simulated the recriticality-induced transient motion of a boiling pool of molten fuel, molten steel and steel vapor, within a subassembly duct in a liquid-metal fast breeder reactor during the transition phase of a core-disruptive accident. The two purposes of these experiments were to explore and reach a better understanding of fast reactor safety issues, and to provide data for SIMMER-II verification. Experimental data, consisting of four pressure traces and a high-speed movie, were recorded for four sets of initial conditions. For three of the four cases, SIMMER-II-calculated pressures compared reasonably well with the experimental pressures. After a modification to SIMMER-II's liquid-vapor drag correlation, the comparison for the fourth case was reasonable also. 12 refs., 4 figs

  1. Electronic phase transitions

    CERN Document Server

    Kopaev, YuV

    1992-01-01

    Electronic Phase Transitions deals with topics, which are presently at the forefront of scientific research in modern solid-state theory. Anderson localization, which has fundamental implications in many areas of solid-state physics as well as spin glasses, with its influence on quite different research activities such as neural networks, are two examples that are reviewed in this book. The ab initio statistical mechanics of structural phase transitions is another prime example, where the interplay and connection of two unrelated disciplines of solid-state theory - first principle ele

  2. Transitions from order to disorder in multiple dark and multiple dark-bright soliton atomic clouds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Wenlong; Kevrekidis, P. G.

    2015-01-01

    We have performed a systematic study quantifying the variation of solitary wave behavior from that of an ordered cloud resembling a 'crystalline' configuration to that of a disordered state that can be characterized as a soliton 'gas'. As our illustrative examples, we use both one-component, as well as two-component, one-dimensional atomic gases very close to zero temperature, where in the presence of repulsive interatomic interactions and of a parabolic trap, a cloud of dark (dark-bright) solitons can form in the one- (two-) component system. We corroborate our findings through three distinct types of approaches, namely a Gross-Pitaevskii type of partial differential equation, particle-based ordinary differential equations describing the soliton dynamical system, and Monte Carlo simulations for the particle system. In addition, we define an 'empirical' order parameter to characterize the order of the soliton lattices and study how this changes as a function of the strength of the 'thermally' (i.e., kinetically) induced perturbations. As may be anticipated by the one-dimensional nature of our system, the transition from order to disorder is gradual without, apparently, a genuine phase transition ensuing in the intermediate regime

  3. The phase transition in the SU(5) model at high temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daniel, M.; Vayonakis, C.E.

    1981-01-01

    Within the minimum GUT model we have studied the nature of the fluctuation-induced transition between the SU(5) and the SU(3)sub(c) x SU(2) x U(1) phase which occurs at high temperatures. Our analysis is limited to the case when the phase transition occurs outside the critical (fluctuation-dominated) region. For this to happen the SU(5) model has to be in a mode analogous to the type I superconductor. This corresponds to having the scalar quartic couplings in the Higgs sector less than the squared gauge coupling. For generic values of the coupling constants the phase transition is found to be weakly first order. As we approach the boundaries for the region of the SU(3)sub(c) x SU(2) x U(1) phase, however, a strong first-order transition occurs. The SU(5) mode (analogous to the type II superconductor) when the phase transition occurs inside the fluctuation-dominated region has been recently studied by Ginsparg. His results together with ours show that there is a continuous merging of the type I mode into the type II mode. Finally our analysis elucidates some aspects of the monopole problem in grand unified theories. (orig.)

  4. Variation of the energy gap of the SbSI crystals at ferroelectric phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Audzijonis, A.; Zaltauskas, R.; Zigas, L.; Vinokurova, I.V.; Farberovich, O.V.; Pauliukas, A.; Kvedaravicius, A.

    2006-01-01

    Variation of the forbidden gap of SbSI crystals in the phase transition region is analyzed on the pseudopotential method for antiferroelectric and ferroelectric phase. The band gap at several special points of the Brillouin zone and some characteristic parameters of the band are considered. During the phase transition, the most significant changes are observed with the valence band top at points Q, C, R, H, E and with the conduction band bottom at points H, T and E of the Brillouin zone. At the ferroelectric phase transition, the valence and conduction bands change due to displacement of Sb and S atoms with respect to I and with respect to each other as a result of order-disorder and displacement-type transition. The obtained band gap values agree quite well with the experiment. This is apparently due to application of neutral rather than ionic atomic functions and inclusion of sufficiently many plane waves in the basis set for calculation

  5. Unconventional phase transitions in liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kats, E. I.

    2017-12-01

    According to classical textbooks on thermodynamics or statistical physics, there are only two types of phase transitions: continuous, or second-order, in which the latent heat L is zero, and first-order, in which L ≠ 0. Present-day textbooks and monographs also mention another, stand-alone type—the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, which exists only in two dimensions and shares some features with first- and second-order phase transitions. We discuss examples of non-conventional thermodynamic behavior (i.e., which is inconsistent with the theoretical phase transition paradigm now universally accepted). For phase transitions in smectic liquid crystals, mechanisms for nonconventional behavior are proposed and the predictions they imply are examined.

  6. Effects of Disorder on the Pressure-Induced Mott Transition in κ-(BEDT-TTF2Cu[N(CN2]Cl

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Gati

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a study of the influence of disorder on the Mott metal-insulator transition for the organic charge-transfer salt κ -(BEDT-TTF 2 Cu[N(CN 2 ]Cl. To this end, disorder was introduced into the system in a controlled way by exposing the single crystals to X-ray irradiation. The crystals were then fine-tuned across the Mott transition by the application of continuously controllable He-gas pressure at low temperatures. Measurements of the thermal expansion and resistance show that the first-order character of the Mott transition prevails for low irradiation doses achieved by irradiation times up to 100 h. For these crystals with a moderate degree of disorder, we find a first-order transition line which ends in a second-order critical endpoint, akin to the pristine crystals. Compared to the latter, however, we observe a significant reduction of both, the critical pressure p c and the critical temperature T c . This result is consistent with the theoretically-predicted formation of a soft Coulomb gap in the presence of strong correlations and small disorder. Furthermore, we demonstrate, similar to the observation for the pristine sample, that the Mott transition after 50 h of irradiation is accompanied by sizable lattice effects, the critical behavior of which can be well described by mean-field theory. Our results demonstrate that the character of the Mott transition remains essentially unchanged at a low disorder level. However, after an irradiation time of 150 h, no clear signatures of a discontinuous metal-insulator transition could be revealed anymore. These results suggest that, above a certain disorder level, the metal-insulator transition becomes a smeared first-order transition with some residual hysteresis.

  7. Strongly first-order electroweak phase transition and classical scale invariance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farzinnia, Arsham; Ren, Jing

    2014-10-01

    In this work, we examine the possibility of realizing a strongly first-order electroweak phase transition within the minimal classically scale-invariant extension of the standard model (SM), previously proposed and analyzed as a potential solution to the hierarchy problem. By introducing one complex gauge-singlet scalar and three (weak scale) right-handed Majorana neutrinos, the scenario was successfully rendered capable of achieving a radiative breaking of the electroweak symmetry (by means of the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism), inducing nonzero masses for the SM neutrinos (via the seesaw mechanism), presenting a pseudoscalar dark matter candidate (protected by the CP symmetry of the potential), and predicting the existence of a second CP-even boson (with suppressed couplings to the SM content) in addition to the 125 GeV scalar. In the present treatment, we construct the full finite-temperature one-loop effective potential of the model, including the resummed thermal daisy loops, and demonstrate that finite-temperature effects induce a first-order electroweak phase transition. Requiring the thermally driven first-order phase transition to be sufficiently strong at the onset of the bubble nucleation (corresponding to nucleation temperatures TN˜100-200 GeV) further constrains the model's parameter space; in particular, an O(0.01) fraction of the dark matter in the Universe may be simultaneously accommodated with a strongly first-order electroweak phase transition. Moreover, such a phase transition disfavors right-handed Majorana neutrino masses above several hundreds of GeV, confines the pseudoscalar dark matter masses to ˜1-2 TeV, predicts the mass of the second CP-even scalar to be ˜100-300 GeV, and requires the mixing angle between the CP-even components of the SM doublet and the complex singlet to lie within the range 0.2≲sinω ≲0.4. The obtained results are displayed in comprehensive exclusion plots, identifying the viable regions of the parameter space

  8. Density-functional theory study of the pressure-induced phase transition in hydronitrogen compound N{sub 4}H{sub 4}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Qi-Jun, E-mail: qijunliu@home.swjtu.edu.cn [Bond and Band Engineering Group, Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory (for Universities) of High Pressure Science and Technology, School of Physical Science and Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Zhang, Ning-Chao; Sun, Yan-Yun; Zhang, Ming-Jian; Liu, Fu-Sheng [Bond and Band Engineering Group, Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory (for Universities) of High Pressure Science and Technology, School of Physical Science and Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Liu, Zheng-Tang [State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710072 (China)

    2014-03-01

    Using first-principles density-functional theory, we have investigated the pressure-induced phase transition in hydronitrogen compound N{sub 4}H{sub 4} and discussed the potential tetragonal structure. We find that tetragonal structure with P4{sub 2}/n space group is mechanically stable and ductile. The thermodynamic stability of Pmna>P1{sup ¯}>P4{sub 2}/n>P2{sub 1}/m has been obtained. With increasing pressure, the phase transition pressures of T{sub Pmna→P4{sub 2/n}}, T{sub P4{sub 2/n→Pmna}}, T{sub Pmna→P1{sup ¯}} and T{sub P1{sup ¯}→P2{sub 1/m}} are 5.6, 15.0, 30.0 and 69.2 GPa, respectively, which are in agreement with the available data. Moreover, the mechanical stability of four structures under pressure has been analyzed.

  9. Phase transition induced anelasticity in Fe–Ga alloys with 25 and 27%Ga

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Golovin, I.S., E-mail: i.golovin@misis.ru [National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Leninsky ave. 4, 119049, Moscow (Russian Federation); Balagurov, A.M., E-mail: bala@nf.jinr.ru [Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980, Dubna (Russian Federation); Bobrikov, I.A. [Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980, Dubna (Russian Federation); Palacheva, V.V. [National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Leninsky ave. 4, 119049, Moscow (Russian Federation); Cifre, J. [Universitat de les Illes Balears, Ctra. De Valldemossa, km.7.5, E-07122, Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

    2016-08-05

    Neutron diffraction and mechanical spectroscopy techniques were applied to study phase transitions in Fe–Ga alloys with 25 and 27 at.% Ga. The following sequences of phase transitions at continuous heating and subsequent cooling in the 20–900 °C temperature range were recorded: D0{sub 3} → L1{sub 2} (limited amount) → A2(B2) was recorded at heating and A2(B2) → D0{sub 3} at cooling for Fe-24.8Ga alloy, and the D0{sub 3} → L1{sub 2} → D0{sub 19} → A2(B2) was recorded at heating and A2(B2) → L1{sub 2} at cooling for Fe-27.4Ga alloy. Thus, the difference in 2.6 at.%Ga between two studied compositions with D0{sub 3} structure leads to their different structures after heating to 900 °C. These transition sequences determine different temperature dependencies of elastic and anelastic properties. The D0{sub 3} → A2(B2) transition (in Fe-25Ga) does not lead to a well-pronounced anelastic effect, in contrast the D0{sub 3} → L1{sub 2} transition (in Fe-27Ga) generates internal stresses due to a different rate of an increase in the lattice parameter with temperature and leads to a well-pronounced transient internal friction effect. - Highlights: • Neutron diffraction technique is used to study in situ phase transitions in Fe-25 and 27 at.% Ga. • D0{sub 3} → L1{sub 2} → D0{sub 19} → A2/B2 transitions were recorded at instant heating in Fe-27 at.% Ga. • D0{sub 3} → L1{sub 2} (limited amount) → A2(B2) was recorded at instant heating in Fe-25 at.% Ga • The D0{sub 3} → L1{sub 2} transition generates internal stresses and leads to elastic and anelastic response.

  10. Disorder and pseudogap in strongly correlated systems: Phase diagram in the DMFT + Σ approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuleeva, N. A.; Kuchinskii, E. Z.

    2013-01-01

    The influence of disorder and pseudogap fluctuations on the Mott insulator-metal transition in strongly correlated systems has been studied in the framework of the generalized dynamic mean field theory (DMFT + Σ approach). Using the results of investigations of the density of states (DOS) and optical conductivity, a phase diagram (disorder-Hubbard interaction-temperature) is constructed for the paramagnetic Anderson-Hubbard model, which allows both the effects of strong electron correlations and the influence of strong disorder to be considered. Strong correlations are described using the DMFT, while a strong disorder is described using a generalized self-consistent theory of localization. The DOS and optical conductivity of the paramagnetic Hubbard model have been studied in a pseudogap state caused by antiferromagnetic spin (or charge) short-range order fluctuations with a finite correlation length, which have been modeled by a static Gaussian random field. The effect of a pseudogap on the Mott insulator-metal transition has been studied. It is established that, in both cases, the static Gaussian random field (related to the disorder or pseudogap fluctuations) leads to suppression of the Mott transition, broadening of the coexistence region of the insulator and metal phases, and an increase in the critical temperature at which the coexistence region disappears

  11. Structural phase transitions and Huang scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Yasusada

    1980-01-01

    The usefulness of the application of the concept of Huang scattering to the understandings of the origin of diffuse scatterings near structural phase transitions are discussed. It is pointed out that in several phase transitions, the observed diffuse scatterings can not be interpreted in terms of critical fluctuations of the order parameters associated with the structural phase transitions, and that they are rather interpreted as Huang scattering due to random distribution of individual order parameter which is 'dressed' by strain fields. Examples to show effective applications of this concept to analyze the experimental X-ray data and whence to understand microscopic mechanisms of structural phase transitions are presented. (author)

  12. A Review on Disorder-Driven Metal-Insulator Transition in Crystalline Vacancy-Rich GeSbTe Phase-Change Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiang-Jing; Xu, Ya-Zhi; Mazzarello, Riccardo; Wuttig, Matthias; Zhang, Wei

    2017-07-27

    Metal-insulator transition (MIT) is one of the most essential topics in condensed matter physics and materials science. The accompanied drastic change in electrical resistance can be exploited in electronic devices, such as data storage and memory technology. It is generally accepted that the underlying mechanism of most MITs is an interplay of electron correlation effects (Mott type) and disorder effects (Anderson type), and to disentangle the two effects is difficult. Recent progress on the crystalline Ge₁Sb₂Te₄ (GST) compound provides compelling evidence for a disorder-driven MIT. In this work, we discuss the presence of strong disorder in GST, and elucidate its effects on electron localization and transport properties. We also show how the degree of disorder in GST can be reduced via thermal annealing, triggering a disorder-driven metal-insulator transition. The resistance switching by disorder tuning in crystalline GST may enable novel multilevel data storage devices.

  13. External non-white noise and nonequilibrium phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sancho, J.M.; San Miguel, M.

    1980-01-01

    Langevin equations with external non-white noise are considered. A Fokker Planck equation valid in general in first order of the correlation time tau of the noise is derived. In some cases its validity can be extended to any value of tau. The effect of a finite tau in the nonequilibrium phase transitions induced by the noise is analyzed, by means of such Fokker Planck equation, in general, for the Verhulst equation under two different kind of fluctuations, and for a genetic model. It is shown that new transitions can appear and that the threshold value of the parameter can be changed. (orig.)

  14. Chiral phase transition and Anderson localization in the instanton liquid model for QCD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia-Garcia, Antonio M.; Osborn, James C.

    2006-01-01

    We study the spectrum and eigenmodes of the QCD Dirac operator in a gauge background given by an instanton liquid model (ILM) at temperatures around the chiral phase transition. Generically we find the Dirac eigenvectors become more localized as the temperature is increased. At the chiral phase transition, both the low lying eigenmodes and the spectrum of the QCD Dirac operator undergo a transition to localization similar to the one observed in a disordered conductor. This suggests that Anderson localization is the fundamental mechanism driving the chiral phase transition. We also find an additional temperature dependent mobility edge (separating delocalized from localized eigenstates) in the bulk of the spectrum which moves toward lower eigenvalues as the temperature is increased. In both regions, the origin and the bulk, the transition to localization exhibits features of a 3D Anderson transition including multifractal eigenstates and spectral properties that are well described by critical statistics. Similar results are obtained in both the quenched and the unquenched case though the critical temperature in the unquenched case is lower. Finally we argue that our findings are not in principle restricted to the ILM approximation and may also be found in lattice simulations

  15. The effect of point defects on ferroelastic phase transition of lanthanum-doped calcium titanate ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ni, Yan; Zhang, Zhen; Wang, Dong; Wang, Yu; Ren, Xiaobing

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► The effect of point defects on phase transitions in Ca (1−x) La 2x/3 TiO 3 was studied. ► When x = 0.45, normal ferroelastic phase transition happens. ► When x = 0.7, a “glassy-like” frozen process appears. ► Point defects weaken the thermodynamic stability of ferroelastic phase. ► Point defects induce a “glassy-like” frozen process. -- Abstract: In the present paper, La-doped CaTiO 3 is studied to investigate the effect of point defects on ferroelastic phase transition of the ceramics. The dynamic mechanical measurements show that the transition temperature of the orthorhombic to tetragonal phase transition of Ca (1−x) La 2x/3 TiO 3 decreases with increasing dopant (La) concentration x. The samples with the dopant content of x = 0.45 and 0.7 exhibit different structure evolution features during their transition processes as revealed by in situ powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. Moreover, when x = 0.7, the storage modulus shows a frequency-dependent minimum at T g , which can be well fitted with the Vogel–Fulcher relation, and the corresponding internal friction also exhibits a frequency-dependent peak within the same temperature regime. These results thus indicate that doping La suppresses ferroelastic phase transition in CaTiO 3 and induces a “glassy-like” behavior in Ca (1−x) La 2x/3 TiO 3 , which is similar to “strain glass” in Ni-doped Ti 50−x Ni 50+x

  16. Effect of ionic size on the orbital ordering transition in RMnO3+δ

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maris, G.; Volotchaev, V.; Palstra, T.T.M.

    2004-01-01

    We present high-temperature powder x-ray diffraction data of the orbital-order-induced structural distortion of RMnO3, with R a rare earth element. The associated phase transition takes place in a temperature interval of ≈200K in which the orbitally ordered phase and the orbitally disordered phase

  17. Quasi-dynamic pressure and temperature initiated βδ solid phase transitions in HMX

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaug, Joseph M.; Farber, Daniel L.; Craig, Ian M.; Blosch, Laura L.; Shuh, David K.; Hansen, Donald W.; Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel M.

    2000-04-01

    The phase transformation of β-HMX (>0.5% RDX) to δ phase has been studied for over twenty years and more recently with an high-contrast optical second harmonic generation technique. Shock studies of the plastic binder composites of HMX have indicated that the transition is perhaps irreversible, a result that concurs with the static pressure results published by F. Goetz et al. [1] in 1978. However, the stability field favors the β polymorph over δ as pressure is increased (up to 5.4 GPa) along any thermodynamically reasonable isotherm. In this experiment, strict control of pressure and temperature is maintained while x-ray and optical diagnostics are applied to monitor the conformational dynamics of HMX. Unlike the temperature induced β→δ transition, the pressure induced is heterogeneous in nature. The 1 bar 25 °C δ→β transition is not immediate, occuring over tens of hours. Transition points and kinetics are path dependent and consequently this paper describes our work in progress.

  18. Kinetics of the stress induced phase transition in quartz by real-time neutron scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibhardt, H.; Eckold, G.; Guethoff, F.

    1999-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. The stability regime of the incommensurate phase of quartz is influenced by uniaxial stress. Hence, the phase transition can be induced under isothermal conditions by the application of external mechanical forces. Using real-time neutron scattering the time evolution of structural changes is investigated id detail during stress variations. The time dependent behaviour of the satellite reflection is compared with that one of the fundamental Bragg reflection which - via primary extinction - gives information about the perfection of the crystal. On increasing stress the perfection of the lattice is destroyed immediately while the modulated structure is built up with a delay of about 1 s. Decreasing the stress leads to a reverse behaviour. Moreover, there is evidence that under periodical load residual non-relaxed strain fields survive leading to a different temperature dependence as compared to static conditions. This finding is compatible with pronounced hysteresis effects observed under cycling stress. It is argued that these residual strains are associated with non-relaxed topological 4-line defects, that drive the structural changes in quartz (1). (author)

  19. Voltage-Controlled Topotactic Phase Transition in Thin-Film SrCoOx Monitored by In Situ X-ray Diffraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Qiyang; Yildiz, Bilge

    2016-02-10

    Topotactic phase transition of functional oxides induced by changes in oxygen nonstoichiometry can largely alter multiple physical and chemical properties, including electrical conductivity, magnetic state, oxygen diffusivity, and electrocatalytic reactivity. For tuning these properties reversibly, feasible means to control oxygen nonstoichiometry-dependent phase transitions in functional oxides are needed. This paper describes the use of electrochemical potential to induce phase transition in strontium cobaltites, SrCoOx (SCO) between the brownmillerite (BM) phase, SrCoO₂.₅, and the perovskite (P) phase, SrCoO₃₋δ. To monitor the structural evolution of SCO, in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed on an electrochemical cell having (001) oriented thin-film SrCoOx as the working electrode on a single crystal (001) yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte in air. In order to change the effective pO₂ in SCO and trigger the phase transition from BM to P, external electrical biases of up to 200 mV were applied across the SCO film. The phase transition from BM to P phase could be triggered at a bias as low as 30 mV, corresponding to an effective pO₂ of 1 atm at 500 °C. The phase transition was fully reversible and the epitaxial film quality was maintained after reversible phase transitions. These results demonstrate the use of electrical bias to obtain fast and easily accessible switching between different phases as well as distinct physical and chemical properties of functional oxides as exemplified here for SCO.

  20. Diamond to β-Sn phase transition of silicon under hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic compressions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durandurdu, Murat

    2008-01-01

    We have carried out constant pressure ab initio simulations to study the pressure-induced phase transition of silicon. The diamond to β-Sn phase change under hydrostatic pressure is successfully observed in the simulation. The transformation is based on a fourfold coordinated tetragonal intermediate state having the space group I4 1 /amd. The energy barrier for the transformation is calculated to be about 0.35 eV/atom. Additionally, we investigate the influence of nonhydrostatic compressions on the phase transition of silicon and find that up to 20% stress deviations, silicon converts to a β-Sn structure with a reduced transition pressure. The triaxial compressions cause more reduction in the transition pressure than the uniaxial compressions. The transformation mechanism is practically identical under both hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic conditions

  1. Modern theories of phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajaraman, R.

    1979-01-01

    Modern applications of the ideas of phase transitions to nuclear systems and the modern techniques as applied to familiar phase transitions in solid-state physics are discussed with illustrations. The phenomenon of pion condensation in nuclei and neutron stars, is presented as an example of phase transitions in nuclear systems. The central physical ideas behind this subject as well as techniques used to tackle it are broadly summarised. It is pointed out that unlike familiar examples of ferromagnetism or superconductivity, the order parameter here has spatial variation even in the ground state. Possible experimental consequences are discussed. As an example of the second category, the use of renormalisation group techniques in solid state physics is reviewed. The basic idea behind the renormalisation group in the infra-red (thermodynamic) limit is presented. The observed universality and scaling of critical exponents in second order phase transitions is explained in a model-independent way. (auth.)

  2. In-situ investigation of the order-disorder transition in Cu2ZnSnSe4 by optical transmission spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christiane Stroth

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The existence of disorder is one possible reason for the limited performance of kesterite solar cells. Therefore further knowledge of the order-disorder phase transition, of factors which influence the degree of order and of methods to determine this material property is still required. In this study we investigated the order-disorder transition in the kesterite material Cu2ZnSnSe4 by in-situ optical transmission spectroscopy during heat treatments. We show in-situ results for the temperature dependence of the band gap and its tailing properties. The influence of cooling rates on the phase transition was analyzed as well as the ordering kinetics during annealing at a constant temperature. The critical temperature of the phase transition was determined and the existence of a control temperature range is shown, which allows for controlling the degree of order by the cooling rate within this range. Additionally we performed Raman analysis to link Raman spectra to the degree of order in Cu2ZnSnSe4. A correlation between the intensity ratio of A-modes as well as B-/ E- Raman modes and the degree of order was found.

  3. Structural phase transition and erasable optically memorized effect in layered γ-In2Se3 crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ho, Ching-Hwa; Chen, Ying-Cen; Pan, Chia-Chi

    2014-01-01

    We have grown In 2 Se 3 layered-type crystals using chemical vapor transport method with ICl 3 as the transport agent. The as-grown crystals show two different color groups of black shiny for α-phase In 2 Se 3 and red to yellow for γ-phase In 2 Se 3 . High-resolution transmission electron micro scopy verifies crystalline state and structural polytype of the as-grown In 2 Se 3 . The results indicate that the α-In 2 Se 3 crystals present more crystalline states than those of the other amorphous γ-In 2 Se 3 . The amorphous effect on the advancing of optoelectronic property of γ-In 2 Se 3 shows erasable optical-memorized effect in the disordered and polycrystalline γ-In 2 Se 3 layers. Laser-induced photodarkening and annealed-recovery test verified that a reversible structural-phase transition of γ↔α can occur inside the γ-In 2 Se 3 . Thermoreflectance and Raman scattering measurements are carried out to identify the inter-phase transformation of the γ-In 2 Se 3 polycrystals using different heat treatments. Direct band gaps and Raman vibration modes for the γ- and α-In 2 Se 3 crystalline phases are, respectively, characterized and identified. The character of γ↔α inter-phase transition promotes feasible optical and optoelectronic applications of the γ-In 2 Se 3 material in optical memory, optics, and solar-energy devices

  4. Structural phase transition and erasable optically memorized effect in layered γ-In2Se3 crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Ching-Hwa; Chen, Ying-Cen; Pan, Chia-Chi

    2014-01-01

    We have grown In2Se3 layered-type crystals using chemical vapor transport method with ICl3 as the transport agent. The as-grown crystals show two different color groups of black shiny for α-phase In2Se3 and red to yellow for γ-phase In2Se3. High-resolution transmission electron micro scopy verifies crystalline state and structural polytype of the as-grown In2Se3. The results indicate that the α-In2Se3 crystals present more crystalline states than those of the other amorphous γ-In2Se3. The amorphous effect on the advancing of optoelectronic property of γ-In2Se3 shows erasable optical-memorized effect in the disordered and polycrystalline γ-In2Se3 layers. Laser-induced photodarkening and annealed-recovery test verified that a reversible structural-phase transition of γ↔α can occur inside the γ-In2Se3. Thermoreflectance and Raman scattering measurements are carried out to identify the inter-phase transformation of the γ-In2Se3 polycrystals using different heat treatments. Direct band gaps and Raman vibration modes for the γ- and α-In2Se3 crystalline phases are, respectively, characterized and identified. The character of γ↔α inter-phase transition promotes feasible optical and optoelectronic applications of the γ-In2Se3 material in optical memory, optics, and solar-energy devices.

  5. Multiple pathways in pressure-induced phase transition of coesite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wei; Wu, Xuebang; Liu, Changsong; Miranda, Caetano R.; Scandolo, Sandro

    2017-01-01

    High-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction method with precise control of hydrostatic conditions, typically with helium or neon as the pressure-transmitting medium, has significantly changed our view on what happens with low-density silica phases under pressure. Coesite is a prototype material for pressure-induced amorphization. However, it was found to transform into a high-pressure octahedral (HPO) phase, or coesite-II and coesite-III. Given that the pressure is believed to be hydrostatic in two recent experiments, the different transformation pathways are striking. Based on molecular dynamic simulations with an ab initio parameterized potential, we reproduced all of the above experiments in three transformation pathways, including the one leading to an HPO phase. This octahedral phase has an oxygen hcp sublattice featuring 2 × 2 zigzag octahedral edge-sharing chains, however with some broken points (i.e., point defects). It transforms into α-PbO2 phase when it is relaxed under further compression. We show that the HPO phase forms through a continuous rearrangement of the oxygen sublattice toward hcp arrangement. The high-pressure amorphous phases can be described by an fcc and hcp sublattice mixture. PMID:29162690

  6. A Review on Disorder-Driven Metal–Insulator Transition in Crystalline Vacancy-Rich GeSbTe Phase-Change Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiang-Jing; Xu, Ya-Zhi; Mazzarello, Riccardo; Wuttig, Matthias; Zhang, Wei

    2017-01-01

    Metal–insulator transition (MIT) is one of the most essential topics in condensed matter physics and materials science. The accompanied drastic change in electrical resistance can be exploited in electronic devices, such as data storage and memory technology. It is generally accepted that the underlying mechanism of most MITs is an interplay of electron correlation effects (Mott type) and disorder effects (Anderson type), and to disentangle the two effects is difficult. Recent progress on the crystalline Ge1Sb2Te4 (GST) compound provides compelling evidence for a disorder-driven MIT. In this work, we discuss the presence of strong disorder in GST, and elucidate its effects on electron localization and transport properties. We also show how the degree of disorder in GST can be reduced via thermal annealing, triggering a disorder-driven metal–insulator transition. The resistance switching by disorder tuning in crystalline GST may enable novel multilevel data storage devices. PMID:28773222

  7. Crystalline-to-amorphous phase transition in irradiated silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seidman, D.N.; Averback, R.S.; Okamoto, P.R.; Baily, A.C.

    1986-01-01

    The amorphous(a)-to-crystalline (c) phase transition has been studied in electron(e - ) and/or ion irradiated silicon (Si). The irradiations were performed in situ in the Argonne High Voltage Microscope-Tandem Facility. The irradiation of Si, at 0 K, with 1-MeV e - to a fluence of 14 dpa failed to induce the c-to-a transition. Whereas an irradiation, at 0 K, with 1.0 or 1.5-MeV Kr+ ions induced the c-to-a transition by a fluence of approx.0.37 dpa. Alternatively a dual irradiation, at 10 0 K, with 1.0-MeV e - and 1.0 or 1.5-MeV Kr+ to a Kr+ fluence of 1.5 dpa - where the ratio of the displacement rates for e - to ions was approx.0.5 - resulted in the Si specimen retaining a degree of crystallinity. These results are discussed in terms of the degree of dispersion of point defects in the primary state of damage and the mobilities of point defects

  8. Quantum phase transition in strongly correlated many-body system

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Wenlong

    The past decade has seen a substantial rejuvenation of interest in the study of quantum phase transitions (QPTs), driven by experimental advance on the cuprate superconductors, the heavy fermion materials, organic conductors, Quantum Hall effect, Fe-As based superconductors and other related compounds. It is clear that strong electronic interactions play a crucial role in the systems of current interest, and simple paradigms for the behavior of such systems near quantum critical points remain unclear. Furthermore, the rapid progress in Feshbach resonance and optical lattice provides a flexible platform to study QPT. Quantum Phase Transition (QPT) describes the non-analytic behaviors of the ground-state properties in a many-body system by varying a physical parameter at absolute zero temperature - such as magnetic field or pressure, driven by quantum fluctuations. Such quantum phase transitions can be first-order phase transition or continuous. The phase transition is usually accompanied by a qualitative change in the nature of the correlations in the ground state, and describing this change shall clearly be one of our major interests. We address this issue from three prospects in a few strong correlated many-body systems in this thesis, i.e., identifying the ordered phases, studying the properties of different phases, characterizing the QPT points. In chapter 1, we give an introduction to QPT, and take one-dimensional XXZ model as an example to illustrate the QPT therein. Through this simple example, we would show that when the tunable parameter is varied, the system evolves into different phases, across two quantum QPT points. The distinct phases exhibit very different behaviors. Also a schematic phase diagram is appended. In chapter 2, we are engaged in research on ordered phases. Originating in the work of Landau and Ginzburg on second-order phase transition, the spontaneous symmetry breaking induces nonzero expectation of field operator, e.g., magnetization M

  9. Disordered resonant media: Self-induced transparency versus light localization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novitsky, Denis V.

    2018-01-01

    We propose a concept of disordered resonant media, which are characterized by random variations of their parameters along the light propagation direction. In particular, a simple model of disorder considered in the paper implies random change of the density of active particles (two-level atoms). Within this model, the effect of disorder on self-induced transparency (SIT) is analyzed using numerical simulations of light pulse propagation through the medium. The transition from the SIT to localization regime is revealed as well as its dependence on the disorder level, atom density, medium thickness, and period of random variations.

  10. On the search for experimentally observed grain boundary phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balluffi, R.W.; Hsieh, T.E.

    1987-07-01

    The phase space for a heterogeneous system containing a grain boundary involves a relatively large number of variables (i.e., at least six plus the number of components), and it is therefore conceptually possible to induce a large variety of grain boundary phase transitions by selectively varying these parameters. Despite this, a review of the literature reveals that there have been virtually no clear-cut experimental observations of transitions reported in which the boundary structure has been observed as a function of time under well defined conditions. In current work, we are searching for roughening/faceting transitions and melting transitions for boundaries in Al by hot stage transmission electron microscopy. A clear example of a reversible roughening/faceting transition has been found. No evidence for melting has been found for temperatures as high as 0.96 T/sub m/ (by monitoring GBD core delocalization in several special boundaries with Σ ≤ 13) or 0.999 T/sub m/ (by observing the local diffraction contrast at general boundaries in polycrystalline specimens)

  11. Permittivity disorder induced Anderson localization in magnetophotonic crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdi-Ghaleh, R., E-mail: r.abdi@bonabu.ac.ir [Department of Laser and Optical Engineering, University of Bonab, 5551761167 Bonab (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Namdar, A. [Faculty of Physics, University of Tabriz, 5166614766 Tabriz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-11-15

    This theoretical study was carried out to investigate the permittivity disorder induced Anderson localization of light in one-dimensional magnetophotonic crystals. It was shown that the disorder create the resonant transmittance modes associated with enhanced Faraday rotations inside the photonic band gap. The average localization length of the right- and left-handed circular polarizations (RCP and LCP), the total transmittance together with the ensemble average of the RCP and LCP phases, and the Faraday rotation of the structure were also investigated. For this purpose, the off-diagonal elements of the permittivity tensor were varied for various wavelengths of incident light. The obtained results revealed the nonreciprocal property of circular eigen modes. This study can potentially open up a new aspect for utilizing the disorder magnetophotonic structures in nonreciprocal systems such as isolators and circulators. - Highlights: • We theoretically investigated the permittivity disorder induced Anderson localization of light in magnetophotonic crystals. • The disorder considered in the diagonal elements of the permittivity tensor of magneto-optical layers. • The disorder create the resonant transmittance modes associated with enhanced Faraday rotations in the photonic band gap. • The average localization length of the circular polarizations and the ensemble average of their phases were investigated. • The obtained results revealed the nonreciprocal property of circular eigen modes.

  12. Topological phase transitions and quantum Hall effect in the graphene family

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ledwith, P.; Kort-Kamp, W. J. M.; Dalvit, D. A. R.

    2018-04-01

    Monolayer staggered materials of the graphene family present intrinsic spin-orbit coupling and can be driven through several topological phase transitions using external circularly polarized lasers and static electric or magnetic fields. We show how topological features arising from photoinduced phase transitions and the magnetic-field-induced quantum Hall effect coexist in these materials and simultaneously impact their Hall conductivity through their corresponding charge Chern numbers. We also show that the spectral response of the longitudinal conductivity contains signatures of the various phase-transition boundaries, that the transverse conductivity encodes information about the topology of the band structure, and that both present resonant peaks which can be unequivocally associated with one of the four inequivalent Dirac cones present in these materials. This complex optoelectronic response can be probed with straightforward Faraday rotation experiments, allowing the study of the crossroads between quantum Hall physics, spintronics, and valleytronics.

  13. High-pressure phase transitions of deep earth materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirose, Kei

    2009-01-01

    Recent developments in synchrotron XRD measurements combined with laser-heated diamond-anvil cell (LHDAC) techniques have enabled us to search for a novel phase transition at extremely high pressure and temperature. A phase transition from MgSiO 3 perovskite to post-perovskite was discovered through a drastic change in XRD patterns above 120 GPa and 2500 K, corresponding to the condition in the lowermost mantle (Murakami et al., 2004; Oganov and Ono, 2004). A pressure-induced phase transformation from ABO 3 -type perovskite to any denser structures was not known at that time. This new MgSiO 3 polymorph called post-perovskite has an orthorhombic symmetry (space group: Cmcm) with a sheet-stacking structure. The Mg site in post-perovskite is smaller than that in perovskite, which results in a volume reduction by 1.0-1.5% from perovskite structure. The electrical conductivity of post-perovskite is higher by three orders of magnitude than that of perovskite at similar pressure range (Ohta et al., 2008). This is likely due to a shorter Fe-Fe distance in post-perovskite structure, while conduction mechanism is yet to be further examined. Phase transition boundary between perovskite and post-perovskite has been determined in a wide temperature range up to 4400 K at 170 GPa (Tateno et al., 2008). Phase relations of Fe alloys have been also studied at core pressures (>135 GPa), although the generation of high temperature is more difficult at higher pressures. A new high-pressure B2 phase of B2 phase of FeS was recently discovered above 180 GPa (Sata et al., 2008). The Fe-Ni alloys have a wide pressure-temperature stability field of fcc phase at the core pressure range, depending on the Ni content (Kuwayama et al., 2008). (author)

  14. Raman-scattering observation of the rutile-to-CaCl2 phase transition in RuO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenblum, S.S.; Weber, W.H.; Chamberland, B.L.

    1997-01-01

    Using a diamond-anvil cell, we have probed the pressure-induced rutile-to-CaCl 2 ferroelastic phase transition in RuO 2 with Raman spectroscopy. The transition is marked by a splitting of the degenerate E g mode of the rutile phase into two nondegenerate components and by an abrupt change in the Grueneisen parameters for all the phonons. The behavior of this splitting shows good agreement with Landau close-quote s theory for a second-order phase transition, application of which yields a transition pressure of 11.8±0.3 GPa. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  15. Vacuum instability, anomalous asymmetry effect, phase transition and band mixing in strongly deformed nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, L.; Sperber, D.

    1976-01-01

    In two recent papers the instability of the quasi-particle vacuum was related to the high-spin anomaly in rotational nuclear states. The direct consequence of this fact is that the system will make a ''phase transition'' under that situation. Studying the induced rotational asymmetry effect, in the present paper another theoretical fact is discussed, which support this ''phase transition''. Furthermore, it is shown that when this ''phase transition'' occurs, in order to have a proper description of the system, a modification of the physical ground state is necessary which suggests a microscopic theory of band mixing for high spin anomaly in rotational nuclear states

  16. Electric response of Pb0.99[(Zr0.90Sn0.10)0.968Ti0.032]0.98Nb0.02O3 ceramics to the shock-wave-induced ferroelectric-to-antiferroelectric phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Dongdong; Zhang Na; Feng Yujun; Du Jinmei; Gu Yan

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Shock wave induces the FE-to-AFE phase transition in PbNb(Zr,Sn,Ti)O 3 . ► Depoling current due to phase transition depends on shock pressure and load resistance. ► Shock pressure promotes the phase transition in short-circuit case. ► Increasing load resistance decreases the released charge. - Abstract: Shock-wave-enforced ferroelectric (FE)-to-antiferroelectric (AFE) phase transition releases a large electrical polarization, having application in pulse power technology. In the present work, the depoling currents under shock wave compression were investigated in Pb 0.99 [(Zr 0.90 Sn 0.10 ) 0.968 Ti 0.032 ] 0.98 Nb 0.02 O 3 (PZST) ceramics with composition close to the FE/AFE phase boundary. Shock wave was generated by gas-gun and propagated in a direction perpendicular to the remanent polarization. It was found that the shock pressure promoted the phase transition under the short-circuit condition. The shock pressure dependence of the released charge was associated with the evolution of FE-to-AFE phase transition. The onset of phase transition was about 0.40 GPa and complete transformation occurred at 1.23 GPa. However, the released charge decreased with increasing load resistance. The reason may be that the electric field suppresses the phase transition in uncompressed zone and/or shock induces conductivity in compressed zone. Results lay the foundation for application of PZST ceramics in shock-activated power supply.

  17. Geometric structure and information change in phase transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Eun-jin; Hollerbach, Rainer

    2017-06-01

    We propose a toy model for a cyclic order-disorder transition and introduce a geometric methodology to understand stochastic processes involved in transitions. Specifically, our model consists of a pair of forward and backward processes (FPs and BPs) for the emergence and disappearance of a structure in a stochastic environment. We calculate time-dependent probability density functions (PDFs) and the information length L , which is the total number of different states that a system undergoes during the transition. Time-dependent PDFs during transient relaxation exhibit strikingly different behavior in FPs and BPs. In particular, FPs driven by instability undergo the broadening of the PDF with a large increase in fluctuations before the transition to the ordered state accompanied by narrowing the PDF width. During this stage, we identify an interesting geodesic solution accompanied by the self-regulation between the growth and nonlinear damping where the time scale τ of information change is constant in time, independent of the strength of the stochastic noise. In comparison, BPs are mainly driven by the macroscopic motion due to the movement of the PDF peak. The total information length L between initial and final states is much larger in BPs than in FPs, increasing linearly with the deviation γ of a control parameter from the critical state in BPs while increasing logarithmically with γ in FPs. L scales as |lnD | and D-1 /2 in FPs and BPs, respectively, where D measures the strength of the stochastic forcing. These differing scalings with γ and D suggest a great utility of L in capturing different underlying processes, specifically, diffusion vs advection in phase transition by geometry. We discuss physical origins of these scalings and comment on implications of our results for bistable systems undergoing repeated order-disorder transitions (e.g., fitness).

  18. Quantum phase transitions of strongly correlated electron systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imada, Masatoshi

    1998-01-01

    Interacting electrons in solids undergo various quantum phase transitions driven by quantum fluctuations. The quantum transitions take place at zero temperature by changing a parameter to control quantum fluctuations rather than thermal fluctuations. In contrast to classical phase transitions driven by thermal fluctuations, the quantum transitions have many different features where quantum dynamics introduces a source of intrinsic fluctuations tightly connected with spatial correlations and they have been a subject of recent intensive studies as we see below. Interacting electron systems cannot be fully understood without deep analyses of the quantum phase transitions themselves, because they are widely seen and play essential roles in many phenomena. Typical and important examples of the quantum phase transitions include metal-insulator transitions, (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) metal-superconductor transitions, superconductor-insulator transitions, magnetic transitions to antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic phases in metals as well as in Mott insulators, and charge ordering transitions. Here, we focus on three different types of transitions

  19. Decoherence-induced transition from photon correlation to anti-correlation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Q

    2014-01-01

    Decoherence tends to induce the quantum-to-classical transition, which leads to a crucial obstacle in the realization of reliable quantum information processing. Counterintuitively, we propose that the decoherence due to phase decay brings about the switch from photon correlation to anti-correlation. Stronger decoherence also gives rise to an enhancement of the transition from photon correlation to anti-correlation. This breaks the conventional correlation of strong decoherence with fast decorrelation. (letters)

  20. Sampling microcanonical measures of the 2D Euler equations through Creutz’s algorithm: a phase transition from disorder to order when energy is increased

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Potters, Max; Vaillant, Timothee; Bouchet, Freddy

    2013-01-01

    The 2D Euler equations are basic examples of fluid models for which a microcanonical measure can be constructed from first principles. This measure is defined through finite-dimensional approximations and a limiting procedure. Creutz’s algorithm is a microcanonical generalization of the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm (to sample Gibbs measures, in the canonical ensemble). We prove that Creutz’s algorithm can sample finite-dimensional approximations of the 2D Euler microcanonical measures (incorporating fixed energy and other invariants). This is essential as microcanonical and canonical measures are known to be inequivalent at some values of energy and vorticity distribution. Creutz’s algorithm is used to check predictions from the mean-field statistical mechanics theory of the 2D Euler equations (the Robert–Sommeria–Miller theory). We find full agreement with theory. Three different ways to compute the temperature give consistent results. Using Creutz’s algorithm, a first-order phase transition never observed previously and a situation of statistical ensemble inequivalence are found and studied. Strikingly, and in contrast to the usual statistical mechanics interpretations, this phase transition appears from a disordered phase to an ordered phase (with fewer symmetries) when the energy is increased. We explain this paradox. (paper)

  1. Phase transition study in strongly correlated VO{sub 2} based sensing systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Simo, A., E-mail: alinesimo.aline@gmail.com [UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanoscience’s/Nanotechnology, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa, Muckleneuk ridge, P.O. Box 392, Pretoria (South Africa); Nanosciences African Network (NANOAFNET), iThemba LABS-National Research Foundation, 1 Old Faure road, Somerset West 7129, P.O. Box 722, Somerset West, Western Cape Province (South Africa); Kaviyarasu, K. [UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanoscience’s/Nanotechnology, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa, Muckleneuk ridge, P.O. Box 392, Pretoria (South Africa); Nanosciences African Network (NANOAFNET), iThemba LABS-National Research Foundation, 1 Old Faure road, Somerset West 7129, P.O. Box 722, Somerset West, Western Cape Province (South Africa); Mwakikunga, B. [Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001 (South Africa); Madjoe, R. [Physics Department, University of Western Cape, 7535 Belville Cape Town (South Africa); Gibaud, A. [Laboratoire de Physique de l’Etat Condensé, Université du Maine Faculte des sciences, UPRESA 6087, 72085, Le Mans Cedex 9 (France); Maaza, M. [UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanoscience’s/Nanotechnology, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa, Muckleneuk ridge, P.O. Box 392, Pretoria (South Africa); Nanosciences African Network (NANOAFNET), iThemba LABS-National Research Foundation, 1 Old Faure road, Somerset West 7129, P.O. Box 722, Somerset West, Western Cape Province (South Africa)

    2017-04-15

    Highlights: • At 230 °C for about 48 h to prepare successfully VO{sub 2} nanobelts. • 1D shows good sensing performance due to the large active surface of the material. • The good selectivity of methanol compared to acetone and isopropanol. • VOC compounds was observed at room temperature. - Abstract: Intermediate phase monoclinic M2 was observed by inducing in situ X-ray thermo diffraction on VO{sub 2} (M) nanoplatelets. The solid-solid phase transition occurs at around 65 °C assisted with the percolative transition metal-insulator. The existence of an intermediate crystalline phase with room temperature insulator phase and high temperature metallic phase across MIT in VO{sub 2} could be of relevance to understand structural contributions to the phase transition dynamics. In addition, pellet of VO{sub 2} nanostructures have shown to present good sensing properties to various alcohols vapors at room temperature and good selectivity of methanol with 5.54% sensitivity and limit detection below 5 ppm, compared to isopropanol 3.2% and acetone 2.4% respectively.

  2. High temperature-induced phase transitions in Sr2GdRuO6 complex perovskite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Triana, C.A.; Corredor, L.T.; Landínez Téllez, D.A.; Roa-Rojas, J.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: ► Crystal structure, thermal expansion and phase transitions at high-temperature of Sr 2 GdRuO 6 perovskite has been investigated. ► X-ray diffraction pattern at 298 K of Sr 2 GdRuO 6 corresponds to monoclinic perovskite-type structure with P2 1 /n space group. ► Evolution of X-ray diffraction patterns at high-temperature shows that the Sr 2 GdRuO 6 perovskite suffers two-phase transitions. ► At 573 K the X-ray diffraction pattern of Sr 2 GdRuO 6 corresponds to monoclinic perovskite-type structure with I2/m space group. ► At 1273 K the Sr 2 GdRuO 6 perovskite suffers a complete phase-transition from monoclinic I2/m (no. 12) to tetragonal I4/m (no. 87). -- Abstract: The crystal structure behavior of the Sr 2 GdRuO 6 complex perovskite at high-temperature has been investigated over a wide temperature range between 298 K ≤ T ≤ 1273 K. Measurements of X-ray diffraction at room-temperature and Rietveld analysis of the experimental patterns show that this compound crystallizes in a monoclinic perovskite-like structure, which belongs to the P2 1 /n (no. 14) space group and 1:1 ordered arrangement of Ru 5+ and Gd 3+ cations over the six-coordinate M sites. Experimental lattice parameters were obtained to be a =5.8103(5) Å, b =5.8234(1) Å, c =8.2193(9) Å, V = 278.11(2) Å 3 and angle β = 90.310(5)°. The high-temperature analysis shows the occurrence of two-phase transitions on this material. First, at 573 K it adopts a monoclinic perovskite-type structure with I2/m (no. 12) space group with lattice parameters a = 5.8275(6) Å, b = 5.8326(3) Å, c = 8.2449(2) Å, V = 280.31(3) Å 3 and angle β = 90.251(3)°. Close to 1273 K it undergoes a complete phase-transition from monoclinic I2/m (no. 12) to tetragonal I4/m (no. 87), with lattice parameters a = 5.8726(1) Å, c = 8.3051(4) Å, V = 286.39(8) Å 3 and angle β = 90.0°. The high-temperature phase transition from monoclinic I2/m (no. 12) to tetragonal I4/m (no. 87) is characterized

  3. Phase engineering of monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide through coupled electron doping and lattice deformation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouyang, Bin; Lan, Guoqiang; Song, Jun; Guo, Yinsheng; Mi, Zetian

    2015-01-01

    First-principles calculations were performed to investigate the phase stability and transition within four monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) systems, i.e., MX 2 (M = Mo or W and X = S or Se) under coupled electron doping and lattice deformation. With the lattice distortion and electron doping density treated as state variables, the energy surfaces of different phases were computed, and the diagrams of energetically preferred phases were constructed. These diagrams assess the competition between different phases and predict conditions of phase transitions for the TMDs considered. The interplay between lattice deformation and electron doping was identified as originating from the deformation induced band shifting and band bending. Based on our findings, a potential design strategy combining an efficient electrolytic gating and a lattice straining to achieve controllable phase engineering in TMD monolayers was demonstrated

  4. Phase transitions in finite systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chomaz, Ph. [Grand Accelerateur National d' Ions Lourds (GANIL), DSM-CEA / IN2P3-CNRS, 14 - Caen (France); Gulminelli, F. [Caen Univ., 14 (France). Lab. de Physique Corpusculaire

    2002-07-01

    In this series of lectures we will first review the general theory of phase transition in the framework of information theory and briefly address some of the well known mean field solutions of three dimensional problems. The theory of phase transitions in finite systems will then be discussed, with a special emphasis to the conceptual problems linked to a thermodynamical description for small, short-lived, open systems as metal clusters and data samples coming from nuclear collisions. The concept of negative heat capacity developed in the early seventies in the context of self-gravitating systems will be reinterpreted in the general framework of convexity anomalies of thermo-statistical potentials. The connection with the distribution of the order parameter will lead us to a definition of first order phase transitions in finite systems based on topology anomalies of the event distribution in the space of observations. Finally a careful study of the thermodynamical limit will provide a bridge with the standard theory of phase transitions and show that in a wide class of physical situations the different statistical ensembles are irreducibly inequivalent. (authors)

  5. Phase transitions in finite systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chomaz, Ph.; Gulminelli, F.

    2002-01-01

    In this series of lectures we will first review the general theory of phase transition in the framework of information theory and briefly address some of the well known mean field solutions of three dimensional problems. The theory of phase transitions in finite systems will then be discussed, with a special emphasis to the conceptual problems linked to a thermodynamical description for small, short-lived, open systems as metal clusters and data samples coming from nuclear collisions. The concept of negative heat capacity developed in the early seventies in the context of self-gravitating systems will be reinterpreted in the general framework of convexity anomalies of thermo-statistical potentials. The connection with the distribution of the order parameter will lead us to a definition of first order phase transitions in finite systems based on topology anomalies of the event distribution in the space of observations. Finally a careful study of the thermodynamical limit will provide a bridge with the standard theory of phase transitions and show that in a wide class of physical situations the different statistical ensembles are irreducibly inequivalent. (authors)

  6. Thermoelectric power and phase transitions in lanthanides under pressure up to 20 GPa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ovsyannikov, Sergey V.; Shchennikov, Vladimir V.; Goshchitskii, Boris N.

    2007-01-01

    Pressure dependencies of thermopower S of rare-earth metals (Ce and Pr) in a pressure P range of 0-20 GPa and at room temperature are reported. A non-monotonic behaviour of S(P) has been established both at pressure-induced phase transitions: fcc → modified fcc → monoclinic → tetragonal lattice for Ce, and double hexagonal close packed (dhcp) → fcc → modified fcc → monoclinic for Pr. S kept a positive sign for the all high-pressure phases mentioned. Simultaneous measurements of sample contraction have revealed anomalies in the vicinity of the transitions in qualitative agreement with diffraction volumetric data published before. The S(P) dependencies were analysed on the basis of the known results of electronic structure calculation for the Ce and Pr phases. An advantage was demonstrated of the thermopower method in the study of phase transitions and electronic structure of high-pressure phases

  7. Disorder Induced Dynamic Equilibrium Localization and Random Phase Steps of Bose—Einstein Condensates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duan Ya-Fan; Xu Zhen; Qian Jun; Sun Jian-Fang; Jiang Bo-Nan; Hong Tao

    2011-01-01

    We numerically analyze the dynamic behavior of Bose—Einstein condensate (BEC) in a one-dimensional disordered potential before it completely loses spatial quantum coherence. We find that both the disorder statistics and the atom interactions produce remarkable effects on localization. We also find that the single phase of the initial condensate is broken into many small pieces while the system approaches localization, showing a counter-intuitive step-wise phase but not a thoroughly randomized phase. Although the condensates as a whole show less flow and expansion, the currents between adjacent phase steps retain strong time dependence. Thus we show explicitly that the localization of a finite size Bose—Einstein condensate is a dynamic equilibrium state. (general)

  8. Non-equilibrium phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mottola, E.; Cooper, F.M.; Bishop, A.R.; Habib, S.; Kluger, Y.; Jensen, N.G.

    1998-01-01

    This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Non-equilibrium phase transitions play a central role in a very broad range of scientific areas, ranging from nuclear, particle, and astrophysics to condensed matter physics and the material and biological sciences. The aim of this project was to explore the path to a deeper and more fundamental understanding of the common physical principles underlying the complex real time dynamics of phase transitions. The main emphasis was on the development of general theoretical tools to deal with non-equilibrium processes, and of numerical methods robust enough to capture the time-evolving structures that occur in actual experimental situations. Specific applications to Laboratory multidivisional efforts in relativistic heavy-ion physics (transition to a new phase of nuclear matter consisting of a quark-gluon plasma) and layered high-temperature superconductors (critical currents and flux flow at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory) were undertaken

  9. Boundary Induced Phase Transition in Cellular Automata Models of Pedestrian Flow

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bukáček, M.; Hrabák, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 11, č. 4 (2016), s. 327-338 ISSN 1557-5969 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-13502S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Adaptive time-span * Cellular automata model * Floor-field * Pedestrian flow * Phase transition * Principle of bonds Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information Impact factor: 0.696, year: 2016

  10. Predicting a new phase (T'') of two-dimensional transition metal di-chalcogenides and strain-controlled topological phase transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Fengxian; Gao, Guoping; Jiao, Yalong; Gu, Yuantong; Bilic, Ante; Zhang, Haijun; Chen, Zhongfang; Du, Aijun

    2016-02-01

    Single layered transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted tremendous research interest due to their structural phase diversities. By using a global optimization approach, we have discovered a new phase of transition metal dichalcogenides (labelled as T''), which is confirmed to be energetically, dynamically and kinetically stable by our first-principles calculations. The new T'' MoS2 phase exhibits an intrinsic quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect with a nontrivial gap as large as 0.42 eV, suggesting that a two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator can be achieved at room temperature. Most interestingly, there is a topological phase transition simply driven by a small tensile strain of up to 2%. Furthermore, all the known MX2 (M = Mo or W; X = S, Se or Te) monolayers in the new T'' phase unambiguously display similar band topologies and strain controlled topological phase transitions. Our findings greatly enrich the 2D families of transition metal dichalcogenides and offer a feasible way to control the electronic states of 2D topological insulators for the fabrication of high-speed spintronics devices.Single layered transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted tremendous research interest due to their structural phase diversities. By using a global optimization approach, we have discovered a new phase of transition metal dichalcogenides (labelled as T''), which is confirmed to be energetically, dynamically and kinetically stable by our first-principles calculations. The new T'' MoS2 phase exhibits an intrinsic quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect with a nontrivial gap as large as 0.42 eV, suggesting that a two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator can be achieved at room temperature. Most interestingly, there is a topological phase transition simply driven by a small tensile strain of up to 2%. Furthermore, all the known MX2 (M = Mo or W; X = S, Se or Te) monolayers in the new T'' phase unambiguously display similar band topologies and strain controlled topological

  11. A phase transition close to room temperature in BiFeO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kreisel, J; Jadhav, P; Chaix-Pluchery, O [Laboratoire des Materiaux et du Genie Physique, Grenoble INP, CNRS, Minatec, 3, parvis Louis Neel, 38016 Grenoble (France); Varela, M [Departamento Fisica Aplicada i Optica, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer MartI i Franques 1. 08028 Campus UAB, Bellaterra 08193 (Spain); Dix, N; Sanchez, F; Fontcuberta, J, E-mail: jens.kreisel@grenoble-inp.fr [Institut de Ciencia de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus UAB, Bellaterra 08193 (Spain)

    2011-08-31

    BiFeO{sub 3} (BFO) multiferroic oxide has a complex phase diagram that can be mapped by using appropriately substrate-induced strain in epitaxial films. By using Raman spectroscopy, we conclusively show that films of the so-called supertetragonal T-BFO phase, stabilized under compressive strain, display a reversible temperature-induced phase transition at about 100 deg. C, and thus close to room temperature. (fast track communication)

  12. Theoretical study of orbital ordering induced structural phase transition in iron pnictides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jena, Sushree Sangita, E-mail: sushree@iopb.res.in; Rout, G. C., E-mail: gcr@iopb.res.in [Physics Enclave, Plot No-664/4825, Lane-4A, Shree Vihar, Bhubaneswar-24, Odisha (India); Panda, S. K., E-mail: skp@iopb.res.in

    2016-05-06

    We attribute the structural phase transition (SPT) in the parent compounds of the iron pnictides to orbital ordering. Due to anisotropy of the d{sub xz} and d{sub yz} orbitals in the xy plane, orbital ordering makes the orthorhombic structure more favorable and thus inducing the SPT. We consider a one band model Hamiltonian consisting of first and second-nearest-neighbor hopping of the electrons. We introduce Jahn-Tellar (JT) distortion in the system arising due to the orbital ordering present in this system. We calculate the electron Green’s function by using Zuvareb’s Green’s function technique and hence calculate an expression for the temperature dependent lattice strain which is computed numerically and self-consistently. The temperature dependent electron specific heat is calculated by minimizing the free energy of the system. The lattice strain is studied by varying the JT coupling and elastic constant of the system. The structural anomaly is studied through the electron occupation number and the specific heat by varying the physical parameters like JT coupling, lattice constant, chemical potential and hopping integrals of the system.

  13. Quark–hadron phase transition in massive gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Atazadeh, K., E-mail: atazadeh@azaruniv.ac.ir

    2016-11-15

    We study the quark–hadron phase transition in the framework of massive gravity. We show that the modification of the FRW cosmological equations leads to the quark–hadron phase transition in the early massive Universe. Using numerical analysis, we consider that a phase transition based on the chiral symmetry breaking after the electroweak transition, occurred at approximately 10 μs after the Big Bang to convert a plasma of free quarks and gluons into hadrons.

  14. Effect of fluctuations on electron and phonon processes and thermodynamic parameters of Ag2Te and Ag2Se in the region of phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aliev, S. A.; Aliev, F. F.

    2008-01-01

    Temperature dependences of electrical conductivity σ, thermoelectric power α, results of differential thermal analysis ΔT y , thermal conductivity χ, temperature conductivity κ, and heat capacity C p were studied in Ag 2 Te and Ag 2 Se semiconductors in the region of the phase transition. Two extrema are observed in the temperature dependence χ(T): a maximum in the region of the α' → β' transition and a minimum in the region of the β' → β transition; these extrema are caused by the similar dependence C p (T). It is shown that the α → α' and β' → β transitions are displacement transitions, while the α' → β' transition is of reconstruction type. It is established that the disorder parameter η in silver chalcogenides is highly smeared in the region of the phase transition; therefore, disordering of phases at the point of the phase transition is incomplete: 73, 62, and 48% in Ag 2 Te, Ag 2 Se, and Ag 2 S, respectively. The minimum volumes V ph for new phases are calculated; it is shown that the value of V ph in displacement transitions is larger than in the reconstruction-type transitions

  15. Two-fold origin of the deformation-induced ferromagnetism in bulk Fe60Al40 (at.%) alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menendez, E; Surinach, S; Baro, M D; Sort, J; Liedke, M O; Fassbender, J; Nogues, J

    2008-01-01

    The transition from the atomically ordered B2-phase to the chemically disordered A2-phase and the concomitant deformation-induced ferromagnetism have been investigated in bulk polycrystalline Fe 60 Al 40 (at.%) alloys subjected to compression processes. A detailed correlation between structural, magnetic and mechanical properties reveals that the generated ferromagnetism depends on the stress level but is virtually independent of the loading rate. The mechanisms governing the induced ferromagnetism also vary as the stress level is increased. Namely, in the low-stress regime both lattice cell expansion and atomic intermixing play a role in the induced ferromagnetic behavior. Conversely, lattice expansion seems to become the main mechanism contributing to the generated ferromagnetism in the high-stress regime. Furthermore, a correlation is also observed between the order-disorder transition and the mechanical hardness. Hence, a combination of magnetic and mechanical measurements can be used, in synergetic manner, to investigate this deformation-induced phase transition.

  16. First order electroweak phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buchmueller, W.; Fodor, Z.

    1993-01-01

    In this work, the authors have studied the phase transition in the SU(2)gauge theory at finite temperature. The authors' improved perturbative approach does not suffer from the infrared problems appearing in the ordinary loop expansion. The authors have calculated the effective potential up to cubic terms in the couplings. The higher order terms suggest that the method is reliable for Higgs masses smaller than 80 GeV. The authors have obtained a non-vanishing magnetic mass which further weakens the transitions. By use of Langer's theory of metastability, the authors have calculated the nucleation rate for critical bubbles and have discussed some cosmological consequences. For m H <80 GeV the phase transition is first order and proceeds via bubble nucleation and growth. The thin wall approximation is only marginally applicable. Since the phase transition is quite weak SM baryogenesis is unlikely. 8 refs., 5 figs

  17. Electron correlation influenced magnetic phase transitions in f-electron systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frauenheim, T.; Ropke, G.

    1980-01-01

    The temperature-induced phase transition (on lowering the temperature) antiferromagnet-ferromagnet in the heavy rare earth and some of actinide compounds is qualitatively explained in the scope of a two-band Hubbard model and the more complex RKKY model as the result of electron correlation effects in the conduction bands. (orig.)

  18. How to quantify the transition phase during golf swing performance: Torsional load affects low back complaints during the transition phase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sim, Taeyong; Choi, Ahnryul; Lee, Soeun; Mun, Joung Hwan

    2017-10-01

    The transition phase of a golf swing is considered to be a decisive instant required for a powerful swing. However, at the same time, the low back torsional loads during this phase can have a considerable effect on golf-related low back pain (LBP). Previous efforts to quantify the transition phase were hampered by problems with accuracy due to methodological limitations. In this study, vector-coding technique (VCT) method was proposed as a comprehensive methodology to quantify the precise transition phase and examine low back torsional load. Towards this end, transition phases were assessed using three different methods (VCT, lead hand speed and X-factor stretch) and compared; then, low back torsional load during the transition phase was examined. As a result, the importance of accurate transition phase quantification has been documented. The largest torsional loads were observed in healthy professional golfers (10.23 ± 1.69 N · kg -1 ), followed by professional golfers with a history of LBP (7.93 ± 1.79 N · kg -1 ), healthy amateur golfers (1.79 ± 1.05 N · kg -1 ) and amateur golfers with a history of LBP (0.99 ± 0.87 N · kg -1 ), which order was equal to that of the transition phase magnitudes of each group. These results indicate the relationship between the transition phase and LBP history and the dependency of the torsional load magnitude on the transition phase.

  19. New bounds on the phase transition line in a non-compact abelian lattice Higgs model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nill, F.

    1987-01-01

    The Higgs expectation value and the 't Hooft loop are investigated as order respectively disorder parameters in a fixed-length Higgs model of Villain type with gauge group R. Based on either observable the phase transition line is shown to be monotonically decreasing and Lipschitz continuous with Lipschitz constant 4d in dimension d ≥ 3. This gives new bounds on the phase transition line in terms of its endpoints, i.e. the critical couplings of the Z-gauge model and the XY-model with Villain action, respectively. (orig.)

  20. Phase Defects as a Measure of Disorder in Traveling-Wave Convection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La Porta, A.; Surko, C.M.

    1996-01-01

    Spatiotemporal disorder is studied in traveling-wave convection in an ethanol-water mixture. A technique for calculating the complex order parameter of the pattern is described, and the identification of phase defects is demonstrated. Point defects, domain boundaries, and standing wave patterns are shown to produce unique defect structures. The transition from a disordered state to a more ordered pattern is described in terms of the dynamics of defects and their statistics. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  1. Field-induced phase transition in a metalorganic spin-dimer system-a potential model system to study Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsui, Y.; Bruehl, A.; Removic-Langer, K.; Pashchenko, V.; Wolf, B.; Donath, G.; Pikul, A.; Kretz, T.; Lerner, H.-W.; Wagner, M.; Salguero, A.; Saha-Dasgupta, T.; Rahaman, B.; Valenti, R.; Lang, M.

    2007-01-01

    We report on the results obtained from studying electron spin resonance, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and thermal expansion experiments on a metalorganic spin-dimer system, C 36 H 48 Cu 2 F 6 N 8 O 12 S 2 (TK91). According to the first principle Density Functional Theory calculations, the compound represents a 3D-coupled dimer system with intradimer coupling J 1 /k B ∼ 10K and interdimer couplings J 2 /k B ∼J 3 /k B ∼ 1K. The measurements have been performed on both pressed powder and single-crystal samples in external magnetic fields up to 12T and at low temperatures down to ∼ 0.2K. Susceptibility measurements reveal a spin-gap behavior consistent with the theoretical results. Furthermore, clear indications of a field-induced phase transition have been observed. A similar field-induced phase transition was also detected in an inorganic compound TlCuCl 3 and was interpreted as Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of magnons. The possibility of changing both the intradimer and interdimer couplings in TK91 by chemical substitutions makes the system a potentially good system to study BEC of magnons

  2. Internal phase transition induced by external forces in Finsler geometric model for membranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koibuchi, Hiroshi; Shobukhov, Andrey

    2016-10-01

    In this paper, we numerically study an anisotropic shape transformation of membranes under external forces for two-dimensional triangulated surfaces on the basis of Finsler geometry. The Finsler metric is defined by using a vector field, which is the tangential component of a three-dimensional unit vector σ corresponding to the tilt or some external macromolecules on the surface of disk topology. The sigma model Hamiltonian is assumed for the tangential component of σ with the interaction coefficient λ. For large (small) λ, the surface becomes oblong (collapsed) at relatively small bending rigidity. For the intermediate λ, the surface becomes planar. Conversely, fixing the surface with the boundary of area A or with the two-point boundaries of distance L, we find that the variable σ changes from random to aligned state with increasing of A or L for the intermediate region of λ. This implies that an internal phase transition for σ is triggered not only by the thermal fluctuations, but also by external mechanical forces. We also find that the frame (string) tension shows the expected scaling behavior with respect to A/N (L/N) at the intermediate region of A (L) where the σ configuration changes between the disordered and ordered phases. Moreover, we find that the string tension γ at sufficiently large λ is considerably smaller than that at small λ. This phenomenon resembles the so-called soft-elasticity in the liquid crystal elastomer, which is deformed by small external tensile forces.

  3. Pressure induced phase transition in HfTiO4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishra, A.K.; Garg, Nandini; Sharma, Surinder M.; Panneerselvam, G.

    2012-01-01

    Hafnium titanate is a low thermal expansion ceramic with a very good absorption cross section for thermal neutrons and a high refractoriness, thus making it a desirable nuclear material. At ambient conditions it crystallizes with the orthorhombic structure (space group Pbcn). The material properties of this ceramic have been studied as a function of temperature. However, apart from a lone shock study several decades ago there is no study at static high pressure on this compound. Since this ceramic is used as control rods in nuclear reactors it is important to understand its phase stability at different thermodynamic conditions. Therefore to understand the high pressure behaviour of hafnium titanate we have carried out diamond anvil cell based X-ray diffraction studies up to ∼20 GPa. The studies on this ceramic show that its structure is stable till 11 GPa. However, at ∼11.7 GPa appearance of new diffraction peaks indicate that it undergoes a structural phase transition to a low symmetry structure

  4. Comments on the electroweak phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dine, M.; Leigh, R.G.; Huet, P.; Linde, A.; Linde, D.

    1992-01-01

    We report on an investigation of various problems related to the theory of the electroweak phase transition. This includes a determination of the nature of the phase transition, a discussion of the possible role of higher order radiative corrections and the theory of the formation and evolution of the bubbles of the new phase. We find in particular that no dangerous linear terms appear in the effective potential. However, the strength of the first-order phase transition is 2/3 times less than what follows from the one-loop approximation. This rules out baryogenesis in the minimal version of the electroweak theory with light Higgs bosons. (orig.)

  5. Effect of hyperons on nuclear phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, P.; Mallik, S.; Chaudhuri, G.

    2016-01-01

    Phase transition of nuclear system in heavy ion-collisions at intermediate energy has been studied well for many years and it has also been extended to strange nuclear matter. Recently, using the Canonical Thermodynamical Model (CTM), detailed work on multiplicity distribution of fragments produced from fragmentation of hypernuclear system shows the existence of phase transition or phase coexistence in strange system with Λ-hyperons. In present work we want to continue the investigation on phase transition with respect to some other thermodynamic observables like free energy, specific heat etc. in order to be confirmed about the nature of the transition

  6. The role of solid-solid phase transitions in mantle convection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faccenda, Manuele; Dal Zilio, Luca

    2017-01-01

    With changing pressure and temperature conditions, downwelling and upwelling crustal and mantle rocks experience several solid-solid phase transitions that affect the mineral physical properties owing to structural changes in the crystal lattice and to the absorption or release of latent heat. Variations in density, together with phase boundary deflections related to the non-null reaction slope, generate important buoyancy forces that add to those induced by thermal perturbations. These buoyancy forces are proportional to the density contrast between reactant and product phases, their volume fraction, the slope and the sharpness of the reaction, and affect the style of mantle convection depending on the system composition. In a homogeneous pyrolitic mantle there is little tendency for layered convection, with slabs that may stagnate in the transition zone because of the positive buoyancy caused by post-spinel and post-ilmenite reactions, and hot plumes that are accelerated by phase transformations in the 600-800 km depth range. By adding chemical and mineralogical heterogeneities as on Earth, phase transitions introduce bulk rock and volatiles filtering effects that generate a compositional gradient throughout the entire mantle, with levels that are enriched or depleted in one or more of these components. Phase transitions often lead to mechanical softening or hardening that can be related to a different intrinsic mechanical behaviour and volatile solubility of the product phases, the heating or cooling associated with latent heat, and the transient grain size reduction in downwelling cold material. Strong variations in viscosity would enhance layered mantle convection, causing slab stagnation and plume ponding. At low temperatures and relatively dry conditions, reactions are delayed due to the sluggish kinetics, so that non-equilibrium phase aggregates can persist metastably beyond the equilibrium phase boundary. Survival of low-density metastable olivine

  7. Dual role of an ac driving force and the underlying two distinct order–disorder transitions in the vortex phase diagram of Ca{sub 3}Ir{sub 4}Sn{sub 13}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Santosh, E-mail: santoshkumar@phy.iitb.ac.in [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076 (India); Singh, Ravi P.; Thamizhavel, A. [Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005 (India); Tomy, C.V., E-mail: tomy@phy.iitb.ac.in [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076 (India); Grover, A.K. [Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005 (India); Department of Physics, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014 (India)

    2014-11-15

    Highlights: • This work pertains to new findings related to a broad SMP anomaly. • Broad SMP prima facie encompasses two phase transformations in vortex matter. • We demarcated two phase boundaries pertaining to order–disorder transitions which have quasi first-order nature. - Abstract: We present distinct demarcation of the Bragg glass (BG) to multi-domain vortex glass (VG) transition line and the eventual amorphization of the VG phase in a weakly pinned single crystal of the superconducting compound Ca{sub 3}Ir{sub 4}Sn{sub 13} on the basis of comprehension of the different yields about the second magnetization peak (SMP) anomaly in the dc magnetization and the corresponding anomalous feature in the ac susceptibility measurements. The shaking by a small ac magnetic field, inevitably present in the ac susceptibility measurements, is seen to result in contrasting responses in two different portions of the field-temperature (H, T) phase space of the multi-domain VG. In one of the portions, embracing the BG to VG transition across the onset of the SMP anomaly, the ac drive is surprisingly seen to assist the transformation of the well ordered BG phase to a lesser ordered VG phase. The BG phase exists as a superheated state over a small portion of the VG space and this attests to the first order nature of the BG to VG transition.

  8. Generalized definitions of phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chomaz, Ph.; Gulminelli, F.

    2001-09-01

    We define a first order phase transition as a bimodality of the event distribution in the space of observations and we show that this is equivalent to a curvature anomaly of the thermodynamical potential and that it implies the Yang Lee behavior of the zeros of the partition sum. Moreover, it allows to study phase transitions out of equilibrium. (authors)

  9. Phase transition and gravitational wave phenomenology of scalar conformal extensions of the Standard Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marzola, Luca; Racioppi, Antonio; Vaskonen, Ville [National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn (Estonia)

    2017-07-15

    Thermal corrections in classically conformal models typically induce a strong first-order electroweak phase transition, thereby resulting in a stochastic gravitational background that could be detectable at gravitational wave observatories. After reviewing the basics of classically conformal scenarios, in this paper we investigate the phase transition dynamics in a thermal environment and the related gravitational wave phenomenology within the framework of scalar conformal extensions of the Standard Model. We find that minimal extensions involving only one additional scalar field struggle to reproduce the correct phase transition dynamics once thermal corrections are accounted for. Next-to-minimal models, instead, yield the desired electroweak symmetry breaking and typically result in a very strong gravitational wave signal. (orig.)

  10. Pressure induced magneto-structural phase transitions in layered RMn2X2 compounds (invited)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kennedy, Shane; Wang, Jianli; Campbell, Stewart; Hofmann, Michael; Dou, Shixue

    2014-01-01

    We have studied a range of pseudo-ternaries derived from the parent compound PrMn 2 Ge 2 , substituting for each constituent element with a smaller one to contract the lattice. This enables us to observe the magneto-elastic transitions that occur as the Mn-Mn nearest neighbour distance is reduced and to assess the role of Pr on the magnetism. Here, we report on the PrMn 2 Ge 2−x Si x , Pr 1−x Y x Mn 2 Ge 2 , and PrMn 2−x Fe x Ge 2 systems. The pressure produced by chemical substitution in these pseudo-ternaries is inherently non-uniform, with local pressure variations dependent on the local atomic distribution. We find that concentrated chemical substitution on the R or X site (e.g., in Pr 0.5 Y 0.5 Mn 2 Ge 2 and PrMn 2 Ge 0.8 Si 1.2 ) can produce a separation into two distinct magnetic phases, canted ferromagnetic and canted antiferromagnetic, with a commensurate phase gap in the crystalline lattice. This phase gap is a consequence of the combination of phase separation and spontaneous magnetostriction, which is positive on transition to the canted ferromagnetic phase and negative on transition to the canted antiferromagnetic phase. Our results show that co-existence of canted ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases depends on chemical pressure from the rare earth and metalloid sites, on local lattice strain distributions and on applied magnetic field. We demonstrate that the effects of chemical pressure bear close resemblance to those of mechanical pressure on the parent compound

  11. The order-to-disorder transition behavior of PS-b-P2VP thin film system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, Hyungju; Ryu, Du

    2013-03-01

    We investigated the transition behavior such as the order-to-disorder transition (ODT) for symmetric poly(styrene)-block-poly(2-vinly pridine) (PS-b-P2VP) using SAXS and GISAXS for block copolymer bulks and films. The bulk transition temperature of PS-b-P2VP was significantly influenced by the interfacial interactions in thin films, leading to the different transition temperature. From these results, we will discuss about the interfacial interaction effects on the phase behaviors in bulks and thin films system of PS-b-P2VP.

  12. An exceptional series of phase transitions in hydrophobic amino acids with linear side chains

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Görbitz, C.H.; Karen, P.; Dušek, Michal; Petříček, Václav

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 3, Sep (2016), s. 341-353 ISSN 2052-2525 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LO1603 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) CZ.2.16/3.1.00/24510 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : amino acids * disorder * hydrogen bonding * modulated phases * phase transitions * side-chain stacking * polymorphism * molecular crystals Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 5.793, year: 2016

  13. Antiferrodistortive phase transitions and ground state of PZT ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pandey, Dhananjai

    2013-01-01

    The ground state of the technologically important Pb(Zr x Ti (1-x) )O 3 , commonly known as PZT, ceramics is currently under intense debate. The phase diagram of this material shows a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) for x∼0.52 at 300K, across which a composition induced structural phase transition occurs leading to maximization of the piezoelectric properties. In search for the true ground state of the PZT in the MPB region, Beatrix Noheda and coworkers first discovered a phase transition from tetragonal (space group P4mm) to an M A type monoclinic phase (space group Cm) at low temperatures for x=0.52. Soon afterwards, we discovered yet another low temperature phase transition for the same composition in which the M A type (Cm) monoclinic phase transforms to another monoclinic phase with Cc space group. We have shown that the Cm to Cc phase transition is an antiferrodistortive (AFD) transition involving tilting of oxygen octahedra leading to unit cell doubling and causing appearance of superlattice reflections which are observable in the electron and neutron diffraction patterns only and not in the XRD patterns, as a result of which Noheda and coworkers missed the Cc phase in their synchrotron XRD studies at low temperatures. Our findings were confirmed by leading groups using neutron, TEM, Raman and high pressure diffraction studies. The first principles calculations also confirmed that the true ground state of PZT in the MPB region has Cc space group. However, in the last couple of years, the Cc space group of the ground state has become controversial with an alternative proposal of R3c as the space group of the ground state phase which is proposed to coexist with the metastable Cm phase. In order to resolve this controversy, we recently revisited the issue using pure PZT and 6% Sr 2+ substituted PZT, the latter samples show larger tilt angle on account of the reduction in the average cationic radius at the Pb 2+ site. Using high wavelength neutrons and high

  14. Invasion-wave-induced first-order phase transition in systems of active particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ihle, Thomas

    2013-10-01

    An instability near the transition to collective motion of self-propelled particles is studied numerically by Enskog-like kinetic theory. While hydrodynamics breaks down, the kinetic approach leads to steep solitonlike waves. These supersonic waves show hysteresis and lead to an abrupt jump of the global order parameter if the noise level is changed. Thus they provide a mean-field mechanism to change the second-order character of the phase transition to first order. The shape of the wave is shown to follow a scaling law and to quantitatively agree with agent-based simulations.

  15. A pressure-induced displacive phase transition in Tris(ethylenediamine) Nickel(II) nitrate

    OpenAIRE

    Cameron, C.A.; Allan, D.R.; Kamenev, K.V.; Moggach, S.A.; Murrie, M.; Parsons, S.

    2014-01-01

    [Ni(en)(3)] [NO3](2) undergoes a displacive phase transition from P6(3)22 at ambient pressure to a lower symmetry P6(1)22/P6(5)22 structure between 0.82 and 0.87 GPa, which is characterized by a tripling of the unit cell c-axis and the number of molecules per unit cell. The same transition has been previously observed at 108 K. The application of pressure leads to a general shortening of O H hydrogen bonding interactions in the structure, with the greatest contraction (24%) occurring diagonal...

  16. Quantum percolation phase transition and magnetoelectric dipole glass in hexagonal ferrites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowley, S. E.; Vojta, T.; Jones, A. T.; Guo, W.; Oliveira, J.; Morrison, F. D.; Lindfield, N.; Baggio Saitovitch, E.; Watts, B. E.; Scott, J. F.

    2017-07-01

    Hexagonal ferrites not only have enormous commercial impact (£2 billion/year in sales) due to applications that include ultrahigh-density memories, credit-card stripes, magnetic bar codes, small motors, and low-loss microwave devices, they also have fascinating magnetic and ferroelectric quantum properties at low temperatures. Here we report the results of tuning the magnetic ordering temperature in PbF e12 -xG axO19 to zero by chemical substitution x . The phase transition boundary is found to vary as TN˜(1-x /xc ) 2 /3 with xc very close to the calculated spin percolation threshold, which we determine by Monte Carlo simulations, indicating that the zero-temperature phase transition is geometrically driven. We find that this produces a form of compositionally tuned, insulating, ferrimagnetic quantum criticality. Close to the zero-temperature phase transition, we observe the emergence of an electric dipole glass induced by magnetoelectric coupling. The strong frequency behavior of the glass freezing temperature Tm has a Vogel-Fulcher dependence with Tm finite, or suppressed below zero in the zero-frequency limit, depending on composition x . These quantum-mechanical properties, along with the multiplicity of low-lying modes near the zero-temperature phase transition, are likely to greatly extend applications of hexaferrites into the realm of quantum and cryogenic technologies.

  17. Order-disorder transition and electrical conductivity of the brownmillerite solid-solutions system Ba sub 2 (In, M) sub 2 O sub 5 (M=Ga, Al)

    CERN Document Server

    Yamamura, H; Kakinuma, K; Mori, T; Haneda, H

    1999-01-01

    The brownmillerite solid-solution systems Ba sub 2 (In sub 1 sub - sub x M sub x) sub 2 O sub 5 (M=Ga, Al) were investigated by means of high-temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD), dilatometry, and electrical-conductivity measurements. XRD showed that the Ba sub 2 (In sub 1 sub - sub x Ga sub x) sub 2 O sub 5 system had orthorhombic symmetry in the composition range 0.0<=x<=0.2 and cubic symmetry in the range 0.3<=x. The Al system also changed to cubic symmetry from orthorhombic symmetry in the range 0.2<=x. While the orthorhombic phase showed an order-disorder transition in the electrical conductivity measurements, the transition temperature decreased with increasing the M content. The order-disorder transition temperature and the crystal-structure transition temperature were very different. Such a transition was not observed in the cubic phases, and their electrical conductivity were fairly low compared to those of the disordered cubic phase after the transition due to the heating process. These p...

  18. Dynamic phase transition in the kinetic spin-3/2 Blume-Emery-Griffiths model in an oscillating field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Canko, Osman; Deviren, Bayram; Keskin, Mustafa [Department of Physics, Erciyes University, 38039 Kayseri (Turkey)

    2006-07-26

    The dynamic phase transitions are studied, within a mean-field approach, in the kinetic Blume-Emery-Griffiths model under the presence of a time varying (sinusoidal) magnetic field by using the Glauber-type stochastic dynamics. The behaviour of the time-dependence of the order parameters and the behaviour of the average order parameters in a period, which is also called the dynamic order parameters, as a function of reduced temperature, are investigated. The nature (continuous and discontinuous) of transition is characterized by studying the average order parameters in a period. The dynamic phase transition points are obtained and the phase diagrams are presented in the reduced magnetic field amplitude and reduced temperature plane. The phase diagrams exhibit one, two, or three dynamic tricritical points and a dynamic double critical end point, and besides a disordered and two ordered phases, seven coexistence phase regions exist, which strongly depend on interaction parameters. We also calculate the Liapunov exponent to verify the stability of solutions and the dynamic phase transition points.

  19. Dynamic phase transition in the kinetic spin-3/2 Blume-Emery-Griffiths model in an oscillating field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canko, Osman; Deviren, Bayram; Keskin, Mustafa

    2006-01-01

    The dynamic phase transitions are studied, within a mean-field approach, in the kinetic Blume-Emery-Griffiths model under the presence of a time varying (sinusoidal) magnetic field by using the Glauber-type stochastic dynamics. The behaviour of the time-dependence of the order parameters and the behaviour of the average order parameters in a period, which is also called the dynamic order parameters, as a function of reduced temperature, are investigated. The nature (continuous and discontinuous) of transition is characterized by studying the average order parameters in a period. The dynamic phase transition points are obtained and the phase diagrams are presented in the reduced magnetic field amplitude and reduced temperature plane. The phase diagrams exhibit one, two, or three dynamic tricritical points and a dynamic double critical end point, and besides a disordered and two ordered phases, seven coexistence phase regions exist, which strongly depend on interaction parameters. We also calculate the Liapunov exponent to verify the stability of solutions and the dynamic phase transition points

  20. Disorder-induced transition from grain boundary to bulk dominated ionic diffusion in pyrochlores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perriot, Romain; Dholabhai, Pratik P.; Uberuaga, Blas P.

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the role of grain boundaries (GBs) on ionic diffusion in pyrochlores, as a function of the GB type, chemistry of the compound, and level of cation disorder. We observe that the presence of GBs promotes oxygen transport in ordered and low-disordered systems, as the GBs are found to have a higher concentration of mobile carriers with higher mobilities than in the bulk. Thus, in ordered samples, the ionic diffusion is 2D, localized along the grain boundary. When cation disorder is introduced, bulk carriers begin to contribute to the overall diffusion, while the GB contribution is only slightly enhanced. In highly disordered samples, the diffusive behavior at the GBs is bulk-like, and the two contributions (bulk vs. GB) can no longer be distinguished. There is thus a transition from 2D/GB dominated oxygen diffusivity to 3D/bulk dominated diffusivity versus disorder in pyrochlores. Finally, these results provide new insights into the possibility of using internal interfaces to enhance ionic conductivity in nanostructured complex oxides.

  1. Quantum disordered phase in a doped antiferromagnet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuebert, C.; Muramatsu, A.

    1995-01-01

    A quantitative description of the transition to a quantum disordered phase in a doped antiferromagnet is obtained for the long-wavelength limit of the spin-fermion model, which is given by the O(3) non-linear σ model, a free fermionic part and current-current interactions. By choosing local spin quantization axes for the fermionic spinor we show that the low-energy limit of the model is equivalent to a U(1) gauge theory, where both the bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom are minimally coupled to a vector gauge field. Within a large-N expansion, the strength of the gauge fields is found to be determined by the gap in the spin-wave spectrum, which is dynamically generated. The explicit doping dependence of the spin-gap is determined as a function of the parameters of the original model. As a consequence of the above, the gauge-fields mediate a long-range interaction among dopant holes and S-1/2 magnetic excitations only in the quantum disordered phase. The possible bound-states in this regime correspond to charge-spin separation and pairing

  2. Phase Transitions on Surfaces. An International Conference. Abstracts and Program, 3-7 August 1981, Orono, Maine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-04-16

    P. J. Estrup Chemisorption-Induced Phase Transitions and Adatom Interactions on GaAs(110) P. Skeath, C. Y. Su, P. W. Chye , I. Lindau and W. E. Spicer...Transitions and Adatom Interactions on GaAs(ll0)* Perry Skeath, C. Y. Su, P. W. Chye , I Lindau, and W. E. Spicer Stanford Electronics Labs Stanford...ORDER PHASE TRANSITIONS* P. KLEBAN and CHIN -KUN HU, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology University of

  3. Microscopic origin of black hole reentrant phase transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zangeneh, M. Kord; Dehyadegari, A.; Sheykhi, A.; Mann, R. B.

    2018-04-01

    Understanding the microscopic behavior of the black hole ingredients has been one of the important challenges in black hole physics during the past decades. In order to shed some light on the microscopic structure of black holes, in this paper, we explore a recently observed phenomenon for black holes namely reentrant phase transition, by employing the Ruppeiner geometry. Interestingly enough, we observe two properties for the phase behavior of small black holes that leads to reentrant phase transition. They are correlated and they are of the interaction type. For the range of pressure in which the system underlies reentrant phase transition, it transits from the large black holes phase to the small one which possesses higher correlation than the other ranges of pressures. On the other hand, the type of interaction between small black holes near the large/small transition line differs for usual and reentrant phase transitions. Indeed, for the usual case, the dominant interaction is repulsive whereas for the reentrant case we encounter an attractive interaction. We show that in the reentrant phase transition case, the small black holes behave like a bosonic gas whereas in the usual phase transition case, they behave like a quantum anyon gas.

  4. NMR study of distinct phase transitional behaviors in (CnH2n+1NH3)2SnCl6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, K. W.; Lee, C. E.; Choi, J. Y.; Kim, J.

    2005-01-01

    Phase transitions in bis-(n-C n H 2n+1 NH 3 ) 2 SnCl 6 , where the hydrocarbon part is analogous to lipid membrane, were investigated by means of 200-MHz 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance. As a result, critical fluctuations and molecular dynamics associated with the phase transitions, an order-disorder and a conformational phase transition, were distinguished in a wide temperature range. The critical dynamics, observed in the long-chain compounds but not in the short-chain compounds by laboratory frame spin-lattice relaxation measurements, is discussed in view of the chain length dependence of molecular dynamics.

  5. Phase transitions and structures of methylammonium compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamuro, Osamu; Onoda-Yamamuro, Noriko; Matsuo, Takasuke; Suga, Hiroshi; Kamiyama, Takashi; Asano, Hajime; Ibberson, R.M.; David, W.I.F.

    1993-01-01

    The structures of CD 3 ND 3 Cl, CD 3 ND 3 I, CD 3 ND 3 BF 4 , (CD 3 ND 3 ) 2 SnCl 6 , and CD 3 ND 3 SnBr 3 crystals were studied with time-of-flight type high-resolution powder diffractometers using spallation pulsed neutron sources. The orientations of the CD 3 ND 3 cations, including the positions of the D atoms, were determined at all the room temperature phases and at the low temperature phases of CD 3 ND 3 I and (CD 3N D 3 ) 2 SnCl 6 . The heat capacity experiments were also performed for both protonated and deuterated analogs of these compounds. From both structural and thermodynamic points of view, it was found that the transitions are mainly associated with the order-disorder change of the orientations of the CD 3 ND 3 cations. (author)

  6. Phase-Transition-Induced Pattern Formation Applied to Basic Research on Homeopathy: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokornaczyk, Maria Olga; Scherr, Claudia; Bodrova, Natalia Borisovna; Baumgartner, Stephan

    2018-05-16

     Methods based on phase-transition-induced pattern formation (PTPF) are increasingly used in medical research. Frequent application fields are medical diagnosis and basic research in homeopathy. Here, we present a systematic review of experimental studies concerning PTPF-based methods applied to homeopathy research. We also aimed at categorizing the PTPF methods included in this review.  Experimental studies were collected from scientific databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Russian eLibrary) and from experts in the research field in question, following the PRISMA guidelines. The studies were rated according to pre-defined scientific criteria.  The review included 15 experimental studies. We identified seven different PTPF methods applied in 12 experimental models. Among these methods, phase-transition was triggered through evaporation, freezing, or solution, and in most cases led to the formation of crystals. First experimental studies concerning the application of PTPF methods in homeopathic research were performed in the first half of the 20th century; however, they were not continued in the following years. Only in the last decade, different research groups re-launched the idea, introducing new experimental approaches and computerized pattern evaluation techniques. The here-identified PTPF methods are for the first time proposed to be classified as one group of methods based on the same basic physical phenomenon.  Although the number of experimental studies in the area is still rather limited, the long tradition in the application of PTPF methods and the dynamics of the present developments point out the high potential of these methods and indicate that they might meet the demand for scientific methods to study potentized preparations. The Faculty of Homeopathy.

  7. Strain effects on point defects and chain-oxygen order-disorder transition in 123 cuprate compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su Haibin; Welch, David O.; Wong-Ng, Winnie

    2004-01-01

    The energetics of Schottky defects in 123 cuprate superconductor series RBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (where R=lanthandies) and YA 2 Cu 3 O 7 (A=alkali earths), were found to have unusual relations if one considers only the volumetric strain. Our calculations reveal the effect of nonuniform changes of interatomic distances within the R-123 structures, introduced by doping homovalent elements, on the Schottky defect formation energy. The energy of formation of Frenkel pair defects, which is an elementary disordering event, in 123 compounds can be substantially altered under both stress and chemical doping. Scaling the oxygen-oxygen short-range repulsive parameter using the calculated formation energy of Frenkel pair defects, the transition temperature between orthorhombic and tetragonal phases is computed by quasichemical approximations (QCA's). The theoretical results illustrate the same trend as the experimental measurements in that the larger the ionic radius of R, the lower the orthorhombic/tetragonal phase transition temperature. This study provides strong evidence of the strain effects on order-disorder transition due to oxygens in the CuO chain sites

  8. Characteristics of the Current-Controlled Phase Transition of VO2 Microwires for Hybrid Optoelectronic Devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arash Joushaghani

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The optical and electrical characteristics of the insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide (VO2 enable the realization of power-efficient, miniaturized hybrid optoelectronic devices. This work studies the current-controlled, two-step insulator-metal phase transition of VO2 in varying microwire geometries. Geometry-dependent scaling trends extracted from current-voltage measurements show that the first step induced by carrier injection is delocalized over the microwire, while the second, thermally-induced step is localized to a filament about 1 to 2 μm wide for 100 nm-thick sputtered VO2 films on SiO2. These effects are confirmed by direct infrared imaging, which also measures the change in optical absorption in the two steps. The difference between the threshold currents of the two steps increases as the microwires are narrowed. Micron- and sub-micron-wide VO2 structures can be used to separate the two phase transition steps in photonic and electronic devices.

  9. Field-induced valence transition in rare-earth system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chattopadhaya, A.; Ghatak, S.K.

    2000-01-01

    The magnetic field-induced valence transition in rare-earth compound has been examined based on a pseudospin S=1 Ising model proposed earlier for valence transition. The model includes finite mixing between two pertinent ionic configurations (magnetic and non-magnetic) separated by an energy gap and with intersite interaction between rare-earth ions. Using the mean field approximation the magnetic behaviour and the critical field (H c ) for transition are obtained as a function of energy gap and temperature. The phase boundary defined in terms of reduced field H c /H co and reduced temperature T/T v (T v being valence transition temperature in absence of field) is nearly independent of energy gap. These results are in qualitative agreement with experimental observation in Yb- and Eu-compounds

  10. Orientational order-disorder γ $ β $ a0 $ a phase transitions in Sr.sub.2./sub.B.sub.2./sub.O.sub.5./sub. pyroborate and crystal structures of β and a phases

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Volkov, S.; Dušek, Michal; Bubnova, R.; Krzhizhanovskaya, M.; Ugolkov, V.; Obozova, E.; Filatov, S.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 73, č. 6 (2017), s. 1056-1067 ISSN 2052-5206 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1603 EU Projects: European Commission(CZ) CZ.2.16/3.1.00/24510 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : phase transitions * order-disorder * thermal expansion * commensurate modulated structure * high-temperature X-ray diffraction Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 2.032, year: 2016

  11. The quantum phase-transitions of water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fillaux, François

    2017-08-01

    It is shown that hexagonal ices and steam are macroscopically quantum condensates, with continuous spacetime-translation symmetry, whereas liquid water is a quantum fluid with broken time-translation symmetry. Fusion and vaporization are quantum phase-transitions. The heat capacities, the latent heats, the phase-transition temperatures, the critical temperature, the molar volume expansion of ice relative to water, as well as neutron scattering data and dielectric measurements are explained. The phase-transition mechanisms along with the key role of quantum interferences and that of Hartley-Shannon's entropy are enlightened. The notions of chemical bond and force-field are questioned.

  12. Phase transitions in the random field Ising model in the presence of a transverse field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dutta, A.; Chakrabarti, B.K. [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Bidhannagar, Calcutta (India); Stinchcombe, R.B. [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Bidhannagar, Calcutta (India); Department of Physics, Oxford (United Kingdom)

    1996-09-07

    We have studied the phase transition behaviour of the random field Ising model in the presence of a transverse (or tunnelling) field. The mean field phase diagram has been studied in detail, and in particular the nature of the transition induced by the tunnelling (transverse) field at zero temperature. Modified hyper-scaling relation for the zero-temperature transition has been derived using the Suzuki-Trotter formalism and a modified 'Harris criterion'. Mapping of the model to a randomly diluted antiferromagnetic Ising model in uniform longitudinal and transverse field is also given. (author)

  13. Unconventional Topological Phase Transition in Two-Dimensional Systems with Space-Time Inversion Symmetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, Junyeong; Yang, Bohm-Jung

    2017-04-01

    We study a topological phase transition between a normal insulator and a quantum spin Hall insulator in two-dimensional (2D) systems with time-reversal and twofold rotation symmetries. Contrary to the case of ordinary time-reversal invariant systems, where a direct transition between two insulators is generally predicted, we find that the topological phase transition in systems with an additional twofold rotation symmetry is mediated by an emergent stable 2D Weyl semimetal phase between two insulators. Here the central role is played by the so-called space-time inversion symmetry, the combination of time-reversal and twofold rotation symmetries, which guarantees the quantization of the Berry phase around a 2D Weyl point even in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling. Pair creation and pair annihilation of Weyl points accompanying partner exchange between different pairs induces a jump of a 2D Z2 topological invariant leading to a topological phase transition. According to our theory, the topological phase transition in HgTe /CdTe quantum well structure is mediated by a stable 2D Weyl semimetal phase because the quantum well, lacking inversion symmetry intrinsically, has twofold rotation about the growth direction. Namely, the HgTe /CdTe quantum well can show 2D Weyl semimetallic behavior within a small but finite interval in the thickness of HgTe layers between a normal insulator and a quantum spin Hall insulator. We also propose that few-layer black phosphorus under perpendicular electric field is another candidate system to observe the unconventional topological phase transition mechanism accompanied by the emerging 2D Weyl semimetal phase protected by space-time inversion symmetry.

  14. Phase transition in SO(3) gauge theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Datta, Saumen; Gavai, Rajiv V.

    1998-01-01

    The phase transition in SO(3) lattice gauge theory is investigated by Monte Carlo techniques with a view (i) to understand the relationship between the bulk transition and the deconfinement transition, and (ii) to resolve the current ambiguity about the nature of the high temperature phase. By introduction of a magnetic field, it was shown that the +ve and -ve values of a > correspond to the same phase. Studies on different sized lattices lead to the conclusion that in SO(3), there is only one transition, which is deconfining in nature. (author)

  15. What's new with the electroweak phase transition?

    CERN Document Server

    Laine, M.

    1999-01-01

    We review the status of non-perturbative lattice studies of the electroweak phase transition. In the Standard Model, the complete phase diagram has been reliably determined, and the conclusion is that there is no phase transition at all for the experimentally allowed Higgs masses. In the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), in contrast, there can be a strong first order transition allowing for baryogenesis. Finally, we point out possibilities for future simulations, such as the problem of CP-violation at the MSSM electroweak phase boundary.

  16. Radiation-induced phase transformation in ferromagnetic perovskite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Podsekin, A K; Dem' yanov, V V; Ivanova, V V; Venevtsev, Yu N [Nauchno-Issledovatel' skij Fiziko-Khimicheskij Inst., Moscow (USSR)

    1976-12-01

    An effect of neutron irradiation inducing a phase transition in ferromagnetic perovskite, Sr/sub 0.3/La/sub 0.7/MnO/sub 3/, has been discovered and studied. It is shown that a change in the Curie temperature is proportional to the dose of reactor irradiation. A decrease in the temperature of the phase transition with the concentration of radiation defects is accompanied by an increase in the electrical specific resistance and a change in the initial lattice parameters. It is shown that the radiation shift is due to at least two causes, viz. to an increase in the parameters of the elementary cell and the growth of the electrical specific resistance as a result of bounded electron states' forming on the radiation defects.

  17. Microgravity Two-Phase Flow Transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parang, M.; Chao, D.

    1999-01-01

    Two-phase flows under microgravity condition find a large number of important applications in fluid handling and storage, and spacecraft thermal management. Specifically, under microgravity condition heat transfer between heat exchanger surfaces and fluids depend critically on the distribution and interaction between different fluid phases which are often qualitatively different from the gravity-based systems. Heat transfer and flow analysis in two-phase flows under these conditions require a clear understanding of the flow pattern transition and development of appropriate dimensionless scales for its modeling and prediction. The physics of this flow is however very complex and remains poorly understood. This has led to various inadequacies in flow and heat transfer modeling and has made prediction of flow transition difficult in engineering design of efficient thermal and flow systems. In the present study the available published data for flow transition under microgravity condition are considered for mapping. The transition from slug to annular flow and from bubbly to slug flow are mapped using dimensionless variable combination developed in a previous study by the authors. The result indicate that the new maps describe the flow transitions reasonably well over the range of the data available. The transition maps are examined and the results are discussed in relation to the presumed balance of forces and flow dynamics. It is suggested that further evaluation of the proposed flow and transition mapping will require a wider range of microgravity data expected to be made available in future studies.

  18. Wilson loop's phase transition probed by non-local observable

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Ling Li

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In order to give further insights into the holographic Van der Waals phase transition, it would be of great interest to investigate the behavior of Wilson loop across the holographic phase transition for a higher dimensional hairy black hole. We offer a possibility to proceed with a numerical calculation in order to discussion on the hairy black hole's phase transition, and show that Wilson loop can serve as a probe to detect a phase structure of the black hole. Furthermore, for a first order phase transition, we calculate numerically the Maxwell's equal area construction; and for a second order phase transition, we also study the critical exponent in order to characterize the Wilson loop's phase transition.

  19. Crystal structure and phase transition in (NH4)3WO2F5: from dynamic to static orientational disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udovenko, Anatoly; Laptash, Natalia

    2015-08-01

    Single crystals of tungsten double salt (NH4)3WO2F5 = (NH4)3[WO2F4]F have been synthesized by solid-state reaction or from fluoride solution and its crystal structures at 296 and 193 K were determined by X-ray diffraction. At room temperature, the crystal structure of the compound is dynamically disordered with the ligand atoms statistically distributed on two positions (6e and 24m) of the Pm3m unit cell [a = 6.0298 (1) Å], and the tungsten atom dynamically disordered on 12 orientations forming a spatial cuboctahedron [W12] that enables the real geometry of cis-WO2F4 octahedron to be determined with two short W-O distances. On cooling, the compound undergoes a first-order phase transition with the symmetry change Pm3m → Pa3 and a doubling of the unit-cell parameter [a = 11.9635 (7) Å]. The ligand F(O) atoms statistically occupy two general 24d sites and form W1X6 and W2X6 octahedra, in which the O and F atoms are not crystallographically different that means a static orientational disorder of (NH4)3WO2F5.

  20. First-principles study of lattice dynamics, structural phase transition, and thermodynamic properties of barium titanate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Huai-Yong; Zhao, Ying-Qin; Lu, Qing [Sichuan Univ., Chengdu (China). Inst. of Atomic and Molecular Physics; Zeng, Zhao-Yi [Chongqing Normal Univ. (China). College of Physics and Electronic Engineering; Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang (China). National Key Laboratory for Shock Wave and Detonation Physics Research; Cheng, Yan [Sichuan Univ., Chengdu (China). Inst. of Atomic and Molecular Physics; Sichuan Univ., Chengdu (China). Key Laboratory of High Energy Density Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education

    2016-11-01

    Lattice dynamics, structural phase transition, and the thermodynamic properties of barium titanate (BaTiO{sub 3}) are investigated by using first-principles calculations within the density functional theory (DFT). It is found that the GGA-WC exchange-correlation functional can produce better results. The imaginary frequencies that indicate structural instability are observed for the cubic, tetragonal, and orthorhombic phases of BaTiO{sub 3} and no imaginary frequencies emerge in the rhombohedral phase. By examining the partial phonon density of states (PDOSs), we find that the main contribution to the imaginary frequencies is the distortions of the perovskite cage (Ti-O). On the basis of the site-symmetry consideration and group theory, we give the comparative phonon symmetry analysis in four phases, which is useful to analyze the role of different atomic displacements in the vibrational modes of different symmetry. The calculated optical phonon frequencies at Γ point for the four phases are in good agreement with other theoretical and experimental data. The pressure-induced phase transition of BaTiO{sub 3} among four phases and the thermodynamic properties of BaTiO{sub 3} in rhombohedral phase have been investigated within the quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA). The sequence of the pressure-induced phase transition is rhombohedral → orthorhombic → tetragonal → cubic, and the corresponding transition pressure is 5.17, 5.92, 6.65 GPa, respectively. At zero pressure, the thermal expansion coefficient α{sub V}, heat capacity C{sub V}, Grueneisen parameter γ, and bulk modulus B of the rhombohedral phase BaTiO{sub 3} are estimated from 0 K to 200 K.

  1. Dynamic freeze-in: impact of thermal masses and cosmological phase transitions on dark matter production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Michael J.; Breitbach, Moritz; Kopp, Joachim; Mittnacht, Lukas

    2018-03-01

    The cosmological abundance of dark matter can be significantly influenced by the temperature dependence of particle masses and vacuum expectation values. We illustrate this point in three simple freeze-in models. The first one, which we call kinematically induced freeze-in, is based on the observation that the effective mass of a scalar temporarily becomes very small as the scalar potential undergoes a second order phase transition. This opens dark matter production channels that are otherwise forbidden. The second model we consider, dubbed vev-induced freeze-in, is a fermionic Higgs portal scenario. Its scalar sector is augmented compared to the Standard Model by an additional scalar singlet, S, which couples to dark matter and temporarily acquires a vacuum expectation value (a two-step phase transition or "vev flip-flop"). While ≠ 0, the modified coupling structure in the scalar sector implies that dark matter production is significantly enhanced compared to the = 0 phases realised at very early times and again today. The third model, which we call mixing-induced freeze-in, is similar in spirit, but here it is the mixing of dark sector fermions, induced by non-zero , that temporarily boosts the dark matter production rate. For all three scenarios, we carefully dissect the evolution of the dark sector in the early Universe. We compute the DM relic abundance as a function of the model parameters, emphasising the importance of thermal corrections and the proper treatment of phase transitions in the calculation.

  2. Pressure induced structural phase transition in SnS—An ab initio study

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    Abstract. The structural behaviour of SnS under pressure has been investigated by first principle density functional ... tural phase transition from orthorhombic type to monoclinic type structure around 17 GPa which is in good agreement with the ... is achieved by performing the electronic structure and total energy calculation ...

  3. Problem-Solving Phase Transitions During Team Collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiltshire, Travis J; Butner, Jonathan E; Fiore, Stephen M

    2018-01-01

    Multiple theories of problem-solving hypothesize that there are distinct qualitative phases exhibited during effective problem-solving. However, limited research has attempted to identify when transitions between phases occur. We integrate theory on collaborative problem-solving (CPS) with dynamical systems theory suggesting that when a system is undergoing a phase transition it should exhibit a peak in entropy and that entropy levels should also relate to team performance. Communications from 40 teams that collaborated on a complex problem were coded for occurrence of problem-solving processes. We applied a sliding window entropy technique to each team's communications and specified criteria for (a) identifying data points that qualify as peaks and (b) determining which peaks were robust. We used multilevel modeling, and provide a qualitative example, to evaluate whether phases exhibit distinct distributions of communication processes. We also tested whether there was a relationship between entropy values at transition points and CPS performance. We found that a proportion of entropy peaks was robust and that the relative occurrence of communication codes varied significantly across phases. Peaks in entropy thus corresponded to qualitative shifts in teams' CPS communications, providing empirical evidence that teams exhibit phase transitions during CPS. Also, lower average levels of entropy at the phase transition points predicted better CPS performance. We specify future directions to improve understanding of phase transitions during CPS, and collaborative cognition, more broadly. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  4. Disorder-Induced Order in Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niederberger, A.; Schulte, T.; Wehr, J.; Lewenstein, M.; Sanchez-Palencia, L.; Sacha, K.

    2008-01-01

    We propose and analyze a general mechanism of disorder-induced order in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates, analogous to corresponding effects established for XY spin models. We show that a random Raman coupling induces a relative phase of π/2 between the two BECs and that the effect is robust. We demonstrate it in one, two, and three dimensions at T=0 and present evidence that it persists at small T>0. Applications to phase control in ultracold spinor condensates are discussed

  5. Mott-Hubbard transition and Anderson localization: A generalized dynamical mean-field theory approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuchinskii, E. Z.; Nekrasov, I. A.; Sadovskii, M. V.

    2008-01-01

    The DOS, the dynamic (optical) conductivity, and the phase diagram of a strongly correlated and strongly disordered paramagnetic Anderson-Hubbard model are analyzed within the generalized dynamical mean field theory (DMFT + Σ approximation). Strong correlations are taken into account by the DMFT, and disorder is taken into account via an appropriate generalization of the self-consistent theory of localization. The DMFT effective single-impurity problem is solved by a numerical renormalization group (NRG); we consider the three-dimensional system with a semielliptic DOS. The correlated metal, Mott insulator, and correlated Anderson insulator phases are identified via the evolution of the DOS and dynamic conductivity, demonstrating both the Mott-Hubbard and Anderson metal-insulator transition and allowing the construction of the complete zero-temperature phase diagram of the Anderson-Hubbard model. Rather unusual is the possibility of a disorder-induced Mott insulator-to-metal transition

  6. Chimera at the phase-flip transition of an ensemble of identical nonlinear oscillators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopal, R.; Chandrasekar, V. K.; Senthilkumar, D. V.; Venkatesan, A.; Lakshmanan, M.

    2018-06-01

    A complex collective emerging behavior characterized by coexisting coherent and incoherent domains is termed as a chimera state. We bring out the existence of a new type of chimera in a nonlocally coupled ensemble of identical oscillators driven by a common dynamic environment. The latter facilitates the onset of phase-flip bifurcation/transitions among the coupled oscillators of the ensemble, while the nonlocal coupling induces a partial asynchronization among the out-of-phase synchronized oscillators at this onset. This leads to the manifestation of coexisting out-of-phase synchronized coherent domains interspersed by asynchronous incoherent domains elucidating the existence of a different type of chimera state. In addition to this, a rich variety of other collective behaviors such as clusters with phase-flip transition, conventional chimera, solitary state and complete synchronized state which have been reported using different coupling architectures are found to be induced by the employed couplings for appropriate coupling strengths. The robustness of the resulting dynamics is demonstrated in ensembles of two paradigmatic models, namely Rössler oscillators and Stuart-Landau oscillators.

  7. Late-time cosmological phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schramm, D.N.

    1990-11-01

    It is shown that the potential galaxy formation and large-scale structure problems of objects existing at high redshifts (Z approx-gt 5), structures existing on scales of 100M pc as well as velocity flows on such scales, and minimal microwave anisotropies (ΔT/T) approx-lt 10 -5 can be solved if the seeds needed to generate structure form in a vacuum phase transition after decoupling. It is argued that the basic physics of such a phase transition is no more exotic than that utilized in the more traditional GUT scale phase transitions, and that, just as in the GUT case, significant random gaussian fluctuations and/or topological defects can form. Scale lengths of ∼100M pc for large-scale structure as well as ∼1 M pc for galaxy formation occur naturally. Possible support for new physics that might be associated with such a late-time transition comes from the preliminary results of the SAGE solar neutrino experiment, implying neutrino flavor mixing with values similar to those required for a late-time transition. It is also noted that a see-saw model for the neutrino masses might also imply a tau neutrino mass that is an ideal hot dark matter candidate. However, in general either hot or cold dark matter can be consistent with a late-time transition. 47 refs., 2 figs

  8. Reduction in L10 phase transition temperature of PLD grown FePt thin by pre-annealing pulse laser exposure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Y.; Rawat, R.S.; Bisht, A.

    2013-01-01

    A pre-annealing atmospheric pulsed laser exposure was applied to decrease the phase transition (from chemically disordered A1 phase to chemically ordered L1 0 phase) temperature of FePt nano-particles on a Si (100) substrate. Different pre-annealing laser energy densities of 0.024 and 0.079 J/cm2 were utilized to expose the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) FePt thin film samples under atmospheric conditions. Subsequently, FePt thin film samples were annealed at different temperatures of 300 and 400 ºC to observe the influence of laser exposure on the phase transition temperature. The phase transition temperature was decreased from conventional 600 ºC to 400 ºC by one shot pre-annealing atmospheric pulsed laser exposure. (author)

  9. Energy barriers between metastable states in first-order quantum phase transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wald, Sascha; Timpanaro, André M.; Cormick, Cecilia; Landi, Gabriel T.

    2018-02-01

    A system of neutral atoms trapped in an optical lattice and dispersively coupled to the field of an optical cavity can realize a variation of the Bose-Hubbard model with infinite-range interactions. This model exhibits a first-order quantum phase transition between a Mott insulator and a charge density wave, with spontaneous symmetry breaking between even and odd sites, as was recently observed experimentally [Landig et al., Nature (London) 532, 476 (2016), 10.1038/nature17409]. In the present paper, we approach the analysis of this transition using a variational model which allows us to establish the notion of an energy barrier separating the two phases. Using a discrete WKB method, we then show that the local tunneling of atoms between adjacent sites lowers this energy barrier and hence facilitates the transition. Within our simplified description, we are thus able to augment the phase diagram of the model with information concerning the height of the barrier separating the metastable minima from the global minimum in each phase, which is an essential aspect for the understanding of the reconfiguration dynamics induced by a quench across a quantum critical point.

  10. Second Law Violation By Magneto-Caloric Effect Adiabatic Phase Transition of Type I Superconductive Particles

    OpenAIRE

    Keefe, Peter

    2004-01-01

    Abstract: The nature of the thermodynamic behavior of Type I superconductor particles, having a cross section less than the Ginzburg-Landau temperature dependent coherence length is discussed for magnetic field induced adiabatic phase transitions from the superconductive state to the normal state. Argument is advanced supporting the view that when the adiabatic magneto-caloric process is applied to particles, the phase transition is characterized by a decrease in entropy in violation of tradi...

  11. Structural and electronic phase transitions of ThS2 from first-principles calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Yongliang; Wang, Changying; Qiu, Wujie; Ke, Xuezhi

    2016-01-01

    Performed a systematic study using first-principles methods of the pressure-induced structural and electronic phase transitions in ThS_2, which may play an important role in the next generation nuclear energy fuel technology.

  12. Phase transitions and neutron scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirane, G.

    1993-01-01

    A review is given of recent advances in neutron scattering studies of solid state physics. I have selected the study of a structural phase transition as the best example to demonstrate the power of neutron scattering techniques. Since energy analysis is relatively easy, the dynamical aspects of a transition can be elucidated by the neutron probe. I shall discuss in some detail current experiments on the 100 K transition in SrTiO 3 , the crystal which has been the paradigm of neutron studies of phase transitions for many years. This new experiment attempts to clarify the relation between the neutron central peak, observed in energy scans, and the two length scales observed in recent x-ray diffraction studies where only scans in momentum space are possible. (author)

  13. Do medium heavy fragments give evidence for a liquid-gas phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trockel, R.; Hildenbrand, K.D.; Lynen, U.; Mueller, W.F.J.; Rabe, H.J.; Sann, H.; Stelzer, H.; Wada, R.; Brummund, N.; Glasow, R.; Kampert, K.H.; Santo, R.; Pelte, D.; Pochodzalla, J.; Eckert, E.

    1985-09-01

    Light and medium heavy fragments have been measured in light ion induced reactions at intermediate energies. The energy spectra have been parametrized with moving source fits. The resulting temperatures and yields do not confirm the expectations of a liquid-gas phase transition. (orig.)

  14. Phase transition phenomenon: A compound measure analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Bo Soo; Park, Chanhi; Ryu, Doojin; Song, Wonho

    2015-06-01

    This study investigates the well-documented phenomenon of phase transition in financial markets using combined information from both return and volume changes within short time intervals. We suggest a new measure for the phase transition behaviour of markets, calculated as a return distribution conditional on local variance in volume imbalance, and show that this measure successfully captures phase transition behaviour under various conditions. We analyse the intraday trade and quote dataset from the KOSPI 200 index futures, which includes detailed information on the original order size and the type of each initiating investor. We find that among these two competing factors, the submitted order size yields more explanatory power on the phenomenon of market phase transition than the investor type.

  15. Resistive transition in disordered superconductors with varying intergrain coupling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ponta, L; Carbone, A; Gilli, M

    2011-01-01

    The effect of disorder is investigated in granular superconductive materials with strong- and weak-links. The transition is controlled by the interplay of the tunneling g and intragrain g intr conductances, which depend on the strength of the intergrain coupling. For g intr , the transition first involves the grain boundary, while for g ∼ g intr the transition occurs into the whole grain. The different intergrain couplings are considered by modeling the superconducting material as a disordered network of Josephson junctions. Numerical simulations show that on increasing the disorder, the resistive transition occurs for lower temperatures and the curve broadens. These features are enhanced in disordered superconductors with strong-links. The different behavior is further checked by estimating the average network resistance for weak- and strong-links in the framework of the effective medium approximation theory. These results may shed light on long standing puzzles such as: (i) enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature of many metals in the granular states; (ii) suppression of superconductivity in homogeneously disordered films compared to standard granular systems close to the metal-insulator transition; (iii) enhanced degradation of superconductivity by doping and impurities in strongly linked materials, such as magnesium diboride, compared to weakly linked superconductors, such as cuprates.

  16. Behavior of the antiferromagnetic phase transition near the fermion condensation quantum phase transition in YbRh{sub 2}Si{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaginyan, V.R., E-mail: vrshag@thd.pnpi.spb.r [Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, RAS, Gatchina 188300 (Russian Federation); Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel); Amusia, M.Ya. [Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel); Popov, K.G. [Komi Science Center, Ural Division, RAS, Syktyvkar 167982 (Russian Federation)

    2010-01-11

    Low-temperature specific-heat measurements on YbRh{sub 2}Si{sub 2} at the second order antiferromagnetic (AF) phase transition reveal a sharp peak at T{sub N}=72 mK. The corresponding critical exponent alpha turns out to be alpha=0.38, which differs significantly from that obtained within the framework of the fluctuation theory of second order phase transitions based on the scale invariance, where alphaapprox =0.1. We show that under the application of magnetic field the curve of the second order AF phase transitions passes into a curve of the first order ones at the tricritical point leading to a violation of the critical universality of the fluctuation theory. This change of the phase transition is generated by the fermion condensation quantum phase transition. Near the tricritical point the Landau theory of second order phase transitions is applicable and gives alphaapprox =1/2. We demonstrate that this value of alpha is in good agreement with the specific-heat measurements.

  17. Substrate effects on photoluminescence and low temperature phase transition of methylammonium lead iodide hybrid perovskite thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shojaee, S. A.; Harriman, T. A.; Han, G. S.; Lee, J.-K.; Lucca, D. A.

    2017-07-01

    We examine the effects of substrates on the low temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra and phase transition in methylammonium lead iodide hybrid perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) thin films. Structural characterization at room temperature with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy indicated that while the chemical structure of films deposited on glass and quartz was similar, the glass substrate induced strain in the perovskite films and suppressed the grain growth. The luminescence response and phase transition of the perovskite thin films were studied by PL spectroscopy. The induced strain was found to affect both the room temperature and low temperature PL spectra of the hybrid perovskite films. In addition, it was found that the effects of the glass substrate inhibited a tetragonal to orthorhombic phase transition such that it occurred at lower temperatures.

  18. Structural Phase Transition Nomenclature, Report of an IUCr Working Group on Phase Transition Nomenclature

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toleddano, J.C.; Glazer, A.M.; Hahn, Th.; Parthe, E.; Roth, R.S.; Berry, R.S.; Metselaar, R.; Abrahams, S.C.

    1998-01-01

    A compact and intuitive nomenclature is recommended for naming each phase formed by a given material in a sequence of phase transitions as a function of temperature and/or pressure. The most commonly used label for each phase in a sequence, such as [alpha], [beta], ..., I, II, ... etc., is included

  19. Phase transition in one Josephson junction with a side-coupled magnetic impurity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhi, Li-Ming; Wang, Xiao-Qi; Jiang, Cui; Yi, Guang-Yu; Gong, Wei-Jiang

    2018-04-01

    This work focuses on one Josephson junction with a side-coupled magnetic impurity. And then, the Josephson phase transition is theoretically investigated, with the help of the exact diagonalization approach. It is found that even in the absence of intradot Coulomb interaction, the magnetic impurity can efficiently induce the phenomenon of Josephson phase transition, which is tightly related to the spin correlation manners (i.e., ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic) between the impurity and the junction. Moreover, the impurity plays different roles when it couples to the dot and superconductor, respectively. This work can be helpful in describing the influence of one magnetic impurity on the supercurrent through the Josephson junction.

  20. An exceptional series of phase transitions in hydrophobic amino acids with linear side chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carl Henrik Görbitz

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The solid-state phase transitions and intermediate structures of S-2-aminobutanoic acid (l-2-aminobutyric acid, S-2-aminopentanoic acid (l-norvaline, S-2-aminohexanoic acid (l-norleucine and l-methionine between 100 and 470 K, identified by differential scanning calorimetry, have been characterized in a comprehensive single-crystal X-ray diffraction investigation. Unlike other enantiomeric amino acids investigated until now, this group featuring linear side chains displays up to five distinct phases. The multiple transitions between them involve a number of different processes: alteration of the hydrogen-bond pattern, to our knowledge the first example of this observed for an amino acid, sliding of molecular bilayers, seen previously only for racemates and quasiracemates, concerted side-chain rearrangements and abrupt as well as gradual modifications of the side-chain disorder. Ordering of l-norleucine upon cooling even proceeds via an incommensurately modulated structure. l-Methionine has previously been described as being fully ordered at room temperature. An accurate refinement now reveals extensive disorder for both molecules in the asymmetric unit, while two previously unknown phases occur above room temperature.

  1. High temperature phase transition of Tm2Ti2O7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shlyakhtina, A.V.; Shcherbakova, L.G.; Knot'ko, A.V.; Larina, L.L.; Borichev, S.A.

    2004-01-01

    A high temperature phase transition type order-disorder is investigated in Tm 2 Ti 2 O 7 at t>1600 Deg C. It is shown that this transformation is irreversible. Ion conductivity of synthesized at 1670 Deg C nanocrystalline Tm 2 Ti 2 O 7 constitutes 2x10 -3 S/cm at 740 Deg C and remains constant after heat treatment at 860 Deg C for 240 h in the air. It is revealed that the conductivity of specimens (grain size of 20-30 nm) on the basis of Tm 2 Ti 2 O 7 high temperature modification with a structure of disordered pyrochlore is independent of grain size [ru

  2. Effective field theory with differential operator technique for dynamic phase transition in ferromagnetic Ising model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinoshita, Takehiro; Fujiyama, Shinya; Idogaki, Toshihiro; Tokita, Masahiko

    2009-01-01

    The non-equilibrium phase transition in a ferromagnetic Ising model is investigated by use of a new type of effective field theory (EFT) which correctly accounts for all the single-site kinematic relations by differential operator technique. In the presence of a time dependent oscillating external field, with decrease of the temperature the system undergoes a dynamic phase transition, which is characterized by the period averaged magnetization Q, from a dynamically disordered state Q = 0 to the dynamically ordered state Q ≠ 0. The results of the dynamic phase transition point T c determined from the behavior of the dynamic magnetization and the Liapunov exponent provided by EFT are improved than that of the standard mean field theory (MFT), especially for the one dimensional lattice where the standard MFT gives incorrect result of T c = 0 even in the case of zero external field.

  3. Partial phase transition and quantum effects in helimagnetic films under an applied magnetic field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El Hog, Sahbi, E-mail: sahbi.el-hog@u-cergy.fr; Diep, H.T., E-mail: diep@u-cergy.fr

    2017-05-01

    We study the phase transition in a helimagnetic film with Heisenberg spins under an applied magnetic field in the c direction perpendicular to the film. The helical structure is due to the antiferromagnetic interaction between next-nearest neighbors in the c direction. Helimagnetic films in zero field are known to have a strong modification of the in-plane helical angle near the film surfaces. We show that spins react to a moderate applied magnetic field by creating a particular spin configuration along the c axis. With increasing temperature (T), using Monte Carlo simulations we show that the system undergoes a phase transition triggered by the destruction of the ordering of a number of layers. This partial phase transition is shown to be intimately related to the ground-state spin structure. We show why some layers undergo a phase transition while others do not. The Green's function method for non collinear magnets is also carried out to investigate effects of quantum fluctuations. Non-uniform zero-point spin contractions and a crossover of layer magnetizations at low T are shown and discussed. - Highlights: • Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to study a helimagnetic film in a field. • Partial phase transition is found in some layers of the film. • Mechanism leading to the partial disordering is analyzed using the ground state symmetry. • Quantum fluctuations at surface are calculated using the Green's function.

  4. Phase transition detection by surface photo charge effect in liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, O.; Petrov, M.; Naradikian, H.; Perez-Diaz, J. L.

    2018-05-01

    The surface photo charge effect (SPCE) was applied for the first time at structure and phase transitions study of hydrogen bonded in dimer liquid crystals (HBDLCs). Due to the high sensitivity of this method, besides first-order phase transitions, characteristic for the p,n-octyloxibenzoic acids (8OBA), an order transition was definitely detected within the nematic range. We state that the SPCE, arising at the solid-HBDLCs interface due to the double electrical layer, is invariably concomitant with solid surface-liquid interfaces, and indicates that the changes of the characteristics of this layer, under incident optical irradiation, induce surface charge rearrangement and alternating potential difference. A mechanism of induction of the SPCE at the interface of solid surface-anisotropic liquids is proposed. We also indicate that this mechanism can be adapted for solid surface-isotropic liquid interface, including colloids (milk) and fog (aerosols)-condensed medium.

  5. The Structural Phase Transition in Octaflournaphtalene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mackenzie, Gordon A.; Arthur, J. W.; Pawley, G. S.

    1977-01-01

    The phase transition in octafluoronaphthalene has been investigated by Raman scattering and neutron powder diffraction. The weight of the experimental evidence points to a unit cell doubling in the a direction, but with no change in space group symmetry. Lattice dynamics calculations support...... this evidence and indicate that the mechanism of the phase transition may well be the instability of a zone boundary acoustic mode of librational character. The structure of the low-temperature phase has been refined and the Raman spectra of the upper and lower phases are reported....

  6. Windows open for highly tunable magnetostructural phase transitions

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Y.

    2016-07-18

    An attempt was made to tailor the magnetostructural transitions over a wide temperature range under the principle of isostructural alloying. A series of wide Curie-temperature windows (CTWs) with a maximal width of 377 K between 69 and 446 K were established in the Mn1− yCoyNiGe1− xSix system. Throughout the CTWs, the magnetic-field-induced metamagnetic behavior and giant magnetocaloric effects are obtained. The (Mn,Co)Ni(Ge,Si) system shows great potential as multifunctional phase-transition materials that work in a wide range covering liquid-nitrogen and above water-boiling temperatures. Moreover, general understanding of isostructural alloying and CTWs constructed in (Mn,Co)Ni(Ge,Si) as well as (Mn,Fe)Ni(Ge,Si) is provided.

  7. Quantum pumping induced by disorder in one dimension

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qin, Jihong [Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Guo, Huaiming, E-mail: hmguo@buaa.edu.cn [Department of Physics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China)

    2016-07-01

    The topological property in one dimension is protected by symmetry. Based on a concrete model, we study the effect of disorder preserving or breaking the symmetry and show the nature of symmetry protecting in the one dimensional topological phase. A stable quantum pumping can be constructed within the topological model. It is shown that an integer charge is pumped across a periodic chain in a cyclic process. Furthermore we find that not only the quantum pumping is stable to on-site disorder, but also can be induced by it. These results may be realized experimentally using quasicrystals. - Highlights: • We study the effect of disorder preserving or breaking the symmetry. • We show that an integer charge is pumped across a periodic chain in a cyclic process. • Not only the quantum pumping is stable to on-site disorder, but also can be induced by it.

  8. Phases and phase transitions of S=1 bosons

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    smukerjee

    Quantum phases and phase transitions of bosons. Subroto Mukerjee. Dept. of Physics & Centre for Quantum. Information and Quantum Computing (CQIQC). Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. 77th annual meeting of the IAS, Nov. 20 2011, PRL Ahmedabad ...

  9. Uniaxial pressure-induced half-metallic ferromagnetic phase transition in LaMnO3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivero, Pablo; Meunier, Vincent; Shelton, William

    2016-03-01

    We use first-principles theory to predict that the application of uniaxial compressive strain leads to a transition from an antiferromagnetic insulator to a ferromagnetic half-metal phase in LaMnO3. We identify the Q2 Jahn-Teller mode as the primary mechanism that drives the transition, indicating that this mode can be used to tune the lattice, charge, and spin coupling. Applying ≃6 GPa of uniaxial pressure along the [010] direction activates the transition to a half-metallic pseudocubic state. The half-metallicity opens the possibility of producing colossal magnetoresistance in the stoichiometric LaMnO3 compound at significantly lower pressure compared to recently observed investigations using hydrostatic pressure.

  10. Unconventional phase transitions in a constrained single polymer chain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klushin, L I; Skvortsov, A M

    2011-01-01

    Phase transitions were recognized among the most fascinating phenomena in physics. Exactly solved models are especially important in the theory of phase transitions. A number of exactly solved models of phase transitions in a single polymer chain are discussed in this review. These are three models demonstrating the second order phase transitions with some unusual features: two-dimensional model of β-structure formation, the model of coil–globule transition and adsorption of a polymer chain grafted on the solid surface. We also discuss models with first order phase transitions in a single macromolecule which admit not only exact analytical solutions for the partition function with explicit finite-size effects but also the non-equilibrium free energy as a function of the order parameter (Landau function) in closed analytical form. One of them is a model of mechanical desorption of a macromolecule, which demonstrates an unusual first order phase transition with phase coexistence within a single chain. Features of first and second order transitions become mixed here due to phase coexistence which is not accompanied by additional interfacial free energy. Apart from that, there exist several single-chain models belonging to the same class (adsorption of a polymer chain tethered near the solid surface or liquid–liquid interface, and escape transition upon compressing a polymer between small pistons) that represent examples of a highly unconventional first order phase transition with several inter-related unusual features: no simultaneous phase coexistence, and hence no phase boundary, non-concave thermodynamic potential and non-equivalence of conjugate ensembles. An analysis of complex zeros of partition functions upon approaching the thermodynamic limit is presented for models with and without phase coexistence. (topical review)

  11. Indirect phase transition of TiC, ZrC, and HfC crystal structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abavare, Eric K.K.; Dodoo, Samuel N.A. [Department of Physics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (Ghana); Uchida, Kazuyuki; Oshiyama, Atsushi [Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo (Japan); Nkurumah-Buandoh, George K.; Yaya, Abu [Department of Physics, University of Ghana, Legon (Ghana)

    2016-06-15

    We have performed first-principles calculations to analyze the electronic structures, static, and dynamical structural stabilities of the pressure-induced phase transformation of refractory compounds (transition-metal carbides) from NaCl-type (B1) to CsCl-type (B2) via zinc-blende phase using the plane-wave pseudopotential approach in the framework of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange and correlation functional. The ground-state properties, equilibrium lattice constant, bulk moduli, and band structures are determined for the stoichiometry of the compounds and compared with known experimental and theoretical values. We find that the phase-transition pressure for the indirect phase transition from B1→B2 via zinc-blende structure is about 17-fold for TiC, 12-fold for both ZrC and HfC, respectively, when compared with the direct phase transition. Calculated phonon instability exists for the CsCl-B2 phase, which can prevent the structures from forming and contrary to the zinc-blende and the NaCl-B1 phases. The band dispersion and electronic density of states for B1 and B2 crystal phases were explored and found to indicate metallic character in contrast with the zinc-blende phase, which has a pseudogap opening in the bandgap region suggesting a semiconducting property and also a frequency gap in the phonon spectrum. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  12. Graphene/phase change material nanocomposites: light-driven, reversible electrical resistivity regulation via form-stable phase transitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yunming; Mi, Hongyi; Zheng, Qifeng; Ma, Zhenqiang; Gong, Shaoqin

    2015-02-04

    Innovative photoresponsive materials are needed to address the complexity of optical control systems. Here, we report a new type of photoresponsive nanomaterial composed of graphene and a form-stable phase change material (PCM) that exhibited a 3 orders of magnitude change in electrical resistivity upon light illumination while retaining its overall original solid form at the macroscopic level. This dramatic change in electrical resistivity also occurred reversibly through the on/off control of light illumination. This was attributed to the reversible phase transition (i.e., melting/recrystallization) behavior of the microscopic crystalline domains present in the form-stable PCM. The reversible phase transition observed in the graphene/PCM nanocomposite was induced by a reversible temperature change through the on/off control of light illumination because graphene can effectively absorb light energy and convert it to thermal energy. In addition, this graphene/PCM nanocomposite also possessed excellent mechanical properties. Such photoresponsive materials have many potential applications, including flexible electronics.

  13. Phase transitions and baryogenesis from decays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuve, Brian; Tamarit, Carlos

    2017-10-01

    We study scenarios in which the baryon asymmetry is generated from the decay of a particle whose mass originates from the spontaneous breakdown of a symmetry. This is realized in many models, including low-scale leptogenesis and theories with classical scale invariance. Symmetry breaking in the early universe proceeds through a phase transition that gives the parent particle a time-dependent mass, which provides an additional departure from thermal equilibrium that could modify the efficiency of baryogenesis from out-of-equilibrium decays. We characterize the effects of various types of phase transitions and show that an enhancement in the baryon asymmetry from decays is possible if the phase transition is of the second order, although such models are typically fine-tuned. We also stress the role of new annihilation modes that deplete the parent particle abundance in models realizing such a phase transition, reducing the efficacy of baryogenesis. A proper treatment of baryogenesis in such models therefore requires the inclusion of the effects we study in this paper.

  14. Critical behavior within 20 fs drives the out-of-equilibrium laser-induced magnetic phase transition in nickel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tengdin, Phoebe; You, Wenjing; Chen, Cong; Shi, Xun; Zusin, Dmitriy; Zhang, Yingchao; Gentry, Christian; Blonsky, Adam; Keller, Mark; Oppeneer, Peter M; Kapteyn, Henry C; Tao, Zhensheng; Murnane, Margaret M

    2018-03-01

    It has long been known that ferromagnets undergo a phase transition from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic at the Curie temperature, associated with critical phenomena such as a divergence in the heat capacity. A ferromagnet can also be transiently demagnetized by heating it with an ultrafast laser pulse. However, to date, the connection between out-of-equilibrium and equilibrium phase transitions, or how fast the out-of-equilibrium phase transitions can proceed, was not known. By combining time- and angle-resolved photoemission with time-resolved transverse magneto-optical Kerr spectroscopies, we show that the same critical behavior also governs the ultrafast magnetic phase transition in nickel. This is evidenced by several observations. First, we observe a divergence of the transient heat capacity of the electron spin system preceding material demagnetization. Second, when the electron temperature is transiently driven above the Curie temperature, we observe an extremely rapid change in the material response: The spin system absorbs sufficient energy within the first 20 fs to subsequently proceed through the phase transition, whereas demagnetization and the collapse of the exchange splitting occur on much longer, fluence-independent time scales of ~176 fs. Third, we find that the transient electron temperature alone dictates the magnetic response. Our results are important because they connect the out-of-equilibrium material behavior to the strongly coupled equilibrium behavior and uncover a new time scale in the process of ultrafast demagnetization.

  15. Superconductor-Metal-Insulator transition in two dimensional Ta thin Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sun-Gyu; Kim, Eunseong

    2013-03-01

    Superconductor-insulator transition has been induced by tuning film thickness or magnetic field. Recent electrical transport measurements of MoGe, Bi, Ta thin films revealed an interesting intermediate metallic phase which intervened superconducting and insulating phases at certain range of magnetic field. Especially, Ta thin films show the characteristic IV behavior at each phase and the disorder tuned intermediate metallic phase [Y. Li, C. L. Vicente, and J. Yoon, Physical Review B 81, 020505 (2010)]. This unexpected metallic phase can be interpreted as a consequence of vortex motion or contribution of fermionic quasiparticles. In this presentation, we report the scaling behavior during the transitions in Ta thin film as well as the transport measurements in various phases. Critical exponents v and z are obtained in samples with wide ranges of disorder. These results reveal new universality class appears when disorder exceeds a critical value. Dynamical exponent z of Superconducting sample is found to be 1, which is consistent with theoretical prediction of unity. z in a metallic sample is suddenly increased to be approximately 2.5. This critical exponent is much larger than the value found in other system and theoretical prediction. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the National Research Foundation of Korea through the Creative Research Initiatives.

  16. Sound speed during the QCD phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagasawa, Michiyasu; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

    1998-01-01

    The Jeans scale is estimated during the coexistence epoch of quark-gluon and hadron phases in the first-order QCD phase transition. It is shown that, contrary to previous claims, reduction of the sound speed is so little that the phase transition does not affect evolution of cosmological density fluctuations appreciably. (author)

  17. Modulated phases of phospholipid bilayers induced by tocopherols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamal, Md Arif; Raghunathan, V A

    2012-11-01

    The influence of α-, γ- and δ-tocopherols on the structure and phase behavior of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers has been determined from X-ray diffraction studies on oriented multilayers. In all the three cases the main-transition temperature (T(m)) of DPPC was found to decrease with increasing tocopherol concentration up to around 25 mol%. Beyond this the main transition is suppressed in the case of γ-tocopherol, whereas T(m) becomes insensitive to composition in the other two cases. The pre-transition is found to be suppressed over a narrow tocopherol concentration range between 7.5 and 10 mol% in DPPC-γ-tocopherol and DPPC-δ-tocopherol bilayers, and the ripple phase occurs down to the lowest temperature studied. In all the three cases a modulated phase is observed above a tocopherol concentration of about 10 mol%, which is similar to the P(β) phase reported in DPPC-cholesterol bilayers. This phase is found to occur even in excess water conditions at lower tocopherol concentrations, and consists of bilayers with periodic height modulation. These results indicate the ability of tocopherols to induce local curvature in membranes, which could be important for some of their biological functions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. REVIEWS OF TOPICAL PROBLEMS: Order-disorder transformations and phase equilibria in strongly nonstoichiometric compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gusev, Aleksandr I.

    2000-01-01

    Data on order-disorder phase transformations in strongly nonstoichiometric carbides and nitrides MXy (X=C, N) of Group IV and V transition metals at temperatures below 1300-1400 K are reviewed. The order-parameter functional method as applied to atomic and vacancy ordering in strongly nonstoichiometric MXy compounds and to phase equilibrium calculations for M-X systems is discussed. Phase diagram calculations for the Ti-C, Zr-C, Hf-C, V-C, Nb-C, Ta-C, Ti-N, and Ti-B-C systems (with the inclusion of the ordering of nonstoichiometric carbides and nitrides) and those for pseudobinary carbide M(1)C-M(2)C systems are presented. Heat capacity, electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility changes at reversible order-disorder phase transformations in nonstoichiometric carbides are considered.

  19. Order-disorder criticality, wetting, and morphological phase transitions in the irreversible growth of far-from-equilibrium magnetic films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Candia, J.Julian; Albano, E.V.Ezequiel V.

    2003-01-01

    An exhaustive numerical investigation of the growth of magnetic films in confined (d+1)-dimensional stripped geometries (d=1,2) is carried out by means of extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Films in contact with a thermal bath at temperature T, are grown by adding spins having two possible orientations and considering ferromagnetic (nearest-neighbor) interactions. At low temperatures, thin films of thickness L are constituted by a sequence of well-ordered domains of average length l D >>L. These domains have opposite magnetization. So, the films exhibit 'spontaneous magnetization reversal' during the growth process. Such reversal occurs within a short characteristic length l R , such that l D >>l R ∼L. Furthermore, it is found that for d=1 the system is non-critical, while a continuous order-disorder phase transition at finite temperature takes place in the d=2 case. Using standard finite-size scaling procedures, the critical temperature and some relevant critical exponents are determined. Finally, the growth of magnetic films in (2+1) dimensions with competing short-range magnetic fields acting along the confinement walls is studied. Due to the antisymmetric condition considered, an interface between domains with spins having opposite orientation develops along the growing direction. Such an interface undergoes a localization-delocalization transition that is the precursor of a wetting transition in the thermodynamic limit. Furthermore, the growing interface also undergoes morphological transitions in the growth mode. A comparison between the well-studied equilibrium Ising model and the studied irreversible magnetic growth model is performed throughout. Although valuable analogies are encountered, it is found that the non-equilibrium nature of the latter introduces new and rich physical features of interest

  20. Local distortion induced metal-to-insulator phase transition in PrRu4P12

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, D.; Heffner, R.H.; Jeong, I.-K.; Bauer, E.D.; Bridges, F.; Yuhasz, W.M.; Maple, M.B.

    2005-01-01

    Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments have been carried out on PrRu 4 P 12 and PrOs 4 P 12 to study the metal-to-insulator (MI) phase transition in PrRu 4 P 12 . No Pr displacement was observed across the MI transition temperature from the EXAFS data. Instead, our EXAFS data clearly show that a Ru displacement is associated with this MI transition. The very high Debye temperature for the Ru-P bond (Θ D =690 K) suggests that a slight rotation/displacement of relatively rigid RuP 6 octahedra leads to this small Ru displacement, which accompanies the MI transition at 62 K in PrRu 4 P 12

  1. Pressure-induced quantum phase transition in the itinerant ferromagnet UCoGa

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Míšek, Martin; Prokleška, J.; Opletal, P.; Proschek, P.; Kaštil, Jiří; Kamarád, Jiří; Sechovský, V.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 7, č. 5 (2017), s. 1-4, č. článku 055712. ISSN 2158-3226 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-06422S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : quantum phase transition * high pressure * itinerant ferromagnet * UCoGa Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 1.568, year: 2016 http://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.4976300

  2. Reconstructive phase transition in (NH4)3TiF7 accompanied by the ordering of TiF6 octahedra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molokeev, Maxim; Misjul, S V; Flerov, I N; Laptash, N M

    2014-12-01

    An unusual phase transition P4/mnc → Pa\\bar 3 has been detected after cooling the (NH4)3TiF7 compound. Some TiF6 octahedra, which are disordered in the room-temperature tetragonal structure, become ordered in the low-temperature cubic phase due to the disappearance of the fourfold axis. Other TiF6 octahedra undergo large rotations resulting in huge displacements of the F atoms by 1.5-1.8 Å that implies a reconstructive phase transition. It was supposed that phases P4/mbm and Pm\\bar 3m could be a high-temperature phase and a parent phase, respectively, in (NH4)3TiF7. Therefore, the sequence of phase transitions can be written as Pm\\bar 3m → P4/mbm → P4/mnc → Pa\\bar 3. The interrelation between (NH4)3TiF7, (NH4)3GeF7 and (NH4)3PbF7 is found, which allows us to suppose phase transitions in relative compounds.

  3. Non-equilibrium phase transitions in complex plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suetterlin, K R; Raeth, C; Ivlev, A V; Thomas, H M; Khrapak, S; Zhdanov, S; Rubin-Zuzic, M; Morfill, G E; Wysocki, A; Loewen, H; Goedheer, W J; Fortov, V E; Lipaev, A M; Molotkov, V I; Petrov, O F

    2010-01-01

    Complex plasma being the 'plasma state of soft matter' is especially suitable for investigations of non-equilibrium phase transitions. Non-equilibrium phase transitions can manifest in dissipative structures or self-organization. Two specific examples are lane formation and phase separation. Using the permanent microgravity laboratory PK-3 Plus, operating onboard the International Space Station, we performed unique experiments with binary mixtures of complex plasmas that showed both lane formation and phase separation. These observations have been augmented by comprehensive numerical and theoretical studies. In this paper we present an overview of our most important results. In addition we put our results in context with research of complex plasmas, binary systems and non-equilibrium phase transitions. Necessary and promising future complex plasma experiments on phase separation and lane formation are briefly discussed.

  4. Phase transition of aragonite in abalone nacre

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Yuanlin; Liu, Zhiming; Wu, Wenjian

    2013-04-01

    Nacre is composed of about 95 vol.% aragonite and 5 vol.% biopolymer and famous for its "brick and mortar" microstructure. The phase transition temperature of aragonite in nacre is lower than the pure aragonite. In situ XRD was used to identify the phase transition temperature from aragonite to calcite in nacre, based on the analysis of TG-DSC of fresh nacre and demineralized nacre. The results indicate that the microstructure and biopolymer are the two main factors that influence the phase transition temperature of aragonite in nacre.

  5. The phase transition in the anisotropic Heisenberg model with long range dipolar interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mól, L.A.S.; Costa, B.V.

    2014-01-01

    In this work we have used extensive Monte Carlo calculations to study the planar to paramagnetic phase transition in the two-dimensional anisotropic Heisenberg model with dipolar interactions (AHd) considering the true long-range character of the dipolar interactions by means of the Ewald summation. Our results are consistent with an order–disorder phase transition with unusual critical exponents in agreement with our previous results for the Planar Rotator model with dipolar interactions. Nevertheless, our results disagree with the Renormalization Group results of Maier and Schwabl [Phys. Rev. B, 70, 134430 (2004)] [13] and the results of Rapini et al. [Phys. Rev. B, 75, 014425 (2007)] [12], where the AHd was studied using a cut-off in the evaluation of the dipolar interactions. We argue that besides the long-range character of dipolar interactions their anisotropic character may have a deeper effect in the system than previously believed. Besides, our results show that the use of a cut-off radius in the evaluation of dipolar interactions must be avoided when analyzing the critical behavior of magnetic systems, since it may lead to erroneous results. - Highlights: • The anisotropic Heisenberg model with dipolar interactions is studied. • True long-range interactions were considered by means of Ewald summation. • We found an order–disorder phase transition with unusual critical exponents. • Previous results show a different behavior when a cut-off radius is introduced. • The use of a cut-off radius must be avoided when dealing with dipolar systems

  6. Critical current anomaly at the topological quantum phase transition in a Majorana Josephson junction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Hong [School of Physics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Liang, Qi-Feng [Department of Physics, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000 (China); Yao, Dao-Xin, E-mail: yaodaox@mail.sysu.edu.cn [School of Physics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Wang, Zhi, E-mail: physicswangzhi@gmail.com [School of Physics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China)

    2017-06-28

    Majorana bound states in topological Josephson junctions induce a 4π period current-phase relation. Direct detection of the 4π periodicity is complicated by the quasiparticle poisoning. We reveal that Majorana bound states are also signaled by the anomalous enhancement on the critical current of the junction. We show the landscape of the critical current for a nanowire Josephson junction under a varying Zeeman field, and reveal a sharp step feature at the topological quantum phase transition point, which comes from the anomalous enhancement of the critical current at the topological regime. In multi-band wires, the anomalous enhancement disappears for an even number of bands, where the Majorana bound states fuse into Andreev bound states. This anomalous critical current enhancement directly signals the existence of the Majorana bound states, and also provides a valid signature for the topological quantum phase transition. - Highlights: • We introduce the critical current step as a signal for the topological quantum phase transition. • We study the quantum phase transition in the topological nanowire under a rotating Zeeman field. • We show that the critical current anomaly gradually disappears for systems with more sub-bands.

  7. Gravitational waves from global second order phase transitions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jr, John T. Giblin [Department of Physics, Kenyon College, 201 North College Rd, Gambier, OH 43022 (United States); Price, Larry R.; Siemens, Xavier; Vlcek, Brian, E-mail: giblinj@kenyon.edu, E-mail: larryp@caltech.edu, E-mail: siemens@gravity.phys.uwm.edu, E-mail: bvlcek@uwm.edu [Center for Gravitation and Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201 (United States)

    2012-11-01

    Global second-order phase transitions are expected to produce scale-invariant gravitational wave spectra. In this manuscript we explore the dynamics of a symmetry-breaking phase transition using lattice simulations. We explicitly calculate the stochastic gravitational wave background produced during the transition and subsequent self-ordering phase. We comment on this signal as it compares to the scale-invariant spectrum produced during inflation.

  8. High temperature phase transitions without infrared divergences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tetradis, N.; Wetterich, C.

    1993-09-01

    The most commonly used method for the study of high temperature phase transitions is based on the perturbative evaluation of the temperature dependent effective potential. This method becomes unreliable in the case of a second order or weakly first order phase transition, due to the appearance of infrared divergences. These divergences can be controlled through the method of the effective average action which employs renormalization group ideas. We report on the study of the high temperature phase transition for the N-component φ 4 theory. A detailed quantitative picture of the second order phase transition is presented, including the critical exponents for the behaviour in the vicinity of the critical temperature. An independent check of the results is obtained in the large N limit, and contact with the perturbative approach is established through the study of the Schwinger-Dyson equations. (orig.)

  9. The effect of quenched disorder in neutral theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borile, Claudio; Maritan, Amos; Muñoz, Miguel A

    2013-01-01

    We study systems with two symmetric absorbing states, such as the voter model and its variations, which have been broadly used as minimal neutral models in genetics, population ecology, sociology, etc. We analyze the effects of a key ingredient inevitably present in most real applications: random-field-like quenched disorder. In accord with simulations and previous findings, coexistence between the two competing states/opinions turns out to be strongly favored by disorder in the standard voter model; actually, a disorder-induced phase transition is generated for any finite system size in the presence of an arbitrarily small spontaneous-inversion rate (preventing absorbing states from being stable). For nonlinear versions of the voter model a general theory (by Al Hammal et al) explains that the spontaneous breaking of the up/down symmetry and an absorbing state phase transition can occur either together or separately, giving rise to two different scenarios. Here, we show that the presence of quenched disorder in nonlinear voter models does not allow the separation of the up–down (Ising-like) symmetry breaking from the active-to-absorbing phase transition in low-dimensional systems: both phenomena can occur only simultaneously, as a consequence of the well-known Imry–Ma argument generalized to these non-equilibrium problems. When the two phenomena occur in unison, resulting in a genuinely non-equilibrium (‘generalized voter’) transition, the Imry–Ma argument is violated and the symmetry can be spontaneously broken even in low dimensions. (paper)

  10. Transitional Phenomena on Phase Change Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wójcik Tadeusz M.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available One of the most significant problem with technology development is transferring of large heat fluxes, which requires constant heat transfer temperature (in the specified temperature range. This problem concern mainly the nuclear energetics, space technologies, military technologies and most of all electronics containing integrated circuits with very large scale of integrations. Intensive heat transfer and thermal energy storage are possible by the use of phase change materials (PCMs. In the paper there are presented preliminary results of research on the use of liquid-gas (L-G PCMs and solid-solid phase change materials (S-S PCMs. For L-G PCMs the boiling characteristics were determined by increasing and decreasing the heat flux, which for certain sets of structural parameters of the heating surface and the physical properties of the liquid induce a variety of forms of transitional phenomena. Thermal energy storage is much more effective when using PCMs than sensible heat.

  11. Detecting critical state before phase transition of complex biological systems by hidden Markov model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Pei; Liu, Rui; Li, Yongjun; Chen, Luonan

    2016-07-15

    Identifying the critical state or pre-transition state just before the occurrence of a phase transition is a challenging task, because the state of the system may show little apparent change before this critical transition during the gradual parameter variations. Such dynamics of phase transition is generally composed of three stages, i.e. before-transition state, pre-transition state and after-transition state, which can be considered as three different Markov processes. By exploring the rich dynamical information provided by high-throughput data, we present a novel computational method, i.e. hidden Markov model (HMM) based approach, to detect the switching point of the two Markov processes from the before-transition state (a stationary Markov process) to the pre-transition state (a time-varying Markov process), thereby identifying the pre-transition state or early-warning signals of the phase transition. To validate the effectiveness, we apply this method to detect the signals of the imminent phase transitions of complex systems based on the simulated datasets, and further identify the pre-transition states as well as their critical modules for three real datasets, i.e. the acute lung injury triggered by phosgene inhalation, MCF-7 human breast cancer caused by heregulin and HCV-induced dysplasia and hepatocellular carcinoma. Both functional and pathway enrichment analyses validate the computational results. The source code and some supporting files are available at https://github.com/rabbitpei/HMM_based-method lnchen@sibs.ac.cn or liyj@scut.edu.cn Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Pressure controlled transition into a self-induced topological superconducting surface state

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Zhiyong; Cheng, Yingchun; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

    2014-01-01

    Ab-initio calculations show a pressure induced trivial-nontrivial-trivial topological phase transition in the normal state of 1T-TiSe2. The pressure range in which the nontrivial phase emerges overlaps with that of the superconducting ground state. Thus, topological superconductivity can be induced in protected surface states by the proximity effect of superconducting bulk states. This kind of self-induced topological surface superconductivity is promising for a realization of Majorana fermions due to the absence of lattice and chemical potential mismatches. For appropriate electron doping, the formation of the topological superconducting surface state in 1T-TiSe 2 becomes accessible to experiments as it can be controlled by pressure.

  13. Pressure controlled transition into a self-induced topological superconducting surface state

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Zhiyong

    2014-02-07

    Ab-initio calculations show a pressure induced trivial-nontrivial-trivial topological phase transition in the normal state of 1T-TiSe2. The pressure range in which the nontrivial phase emerges overlaps with that of the superconducting ground state. Thus, topological superconductivity can be induced in protected surface states by the proximity effect of superconducting bulk states. This kind of self-induced topological surface superconductivity is promising for a realization of Majorana fermions due to the absence of lattice and chemical potential mismatches. For appropriate electron doping, the formation of the topological superconducting surface state in 1T-TiSe 2 becomes accessible to experiments as it can be controlled by pressure.

  14. Renormalization group approach to QCD phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Midorikawa, S.; Yoshimoto, S.; So, H.

    1987-01-01

    Effective scalar theories for QCD are proposed to investigate the deconfining and chiral phase transitions. The orders of the phase transitions are determined by infrared stabilities of the fixed points. It is found that the transitions in SU(3) gauge theories are of 1st order for any number of massless flavors. The cases of SU(2) and SU(4) gauge theories are also discussed. (orig.)

  15. Phase transitions in nonequilibrium traffic theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, H.M.

    2000-02-01

    This paper uses the center difference scheme of Lax-Friedrichs to numerically solve a newly developed continuum traffic flow theory and the kinematic theory of Lighthill and Whitham, and Richards, and it studies the flow-concentration phase transitions in flow containing both shock and rarefaction waves. A homogeneous road with finite length was modeled by both theories. Numerical simulations show that both theories yield nearly identical results for two representative Riemann problems--one has a shock solution and the other a rarefaction wave solution. Their phase transition curves, however, are different: those derived from the new theory have two branches--one for acceleration flow and one for deceleration flow, whereas those derived from the LWR theory comprise a single curve--the equilibrium curve. The phase transition curves in the shock case agree well with certain experimental observations but disagree with others. This disagreement may be resolved by studying transitions among nonequilibrium states, which awaits further development of a more accurate finite difference approximation of the nonequilibrium theory.

  16. Field-induced cluster spin glass and inverse symmetry breaking enhanced by frustration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, M.; Zimmer, F. M.; Magalhaes, S. G.

    2018-03-01

    We consider a cluster disordered model to study the interplay between short- and long-range interactions in geometrically frustrated spin systems under an external magnetic field (h). In our approach, the intercluster long-range disorder (J) is analytically treated to get an effective cluster model that is computed exactly. The clusters follow a checkerboard lattice with first-neighbor (J1) and second-neighbor (J2) interactions. We find a reentrant transition from the cluster spin-glass (CSG) state to a paramagnetic (PM) phase as the temperature decreases for a certain range of h. This inverse symmetry breaking (ISB) appears as a consequence of both quenched disorder with frustration and h, that introduce a CSG state with higher entropy than the polarized PM phase. The competitive scenario introduced by antiferromagnetic (AF) short-range interactions increases the CSG state entropy, leading to continuous ISB transitions and enhancing the ISB regions, mainly in the geometrically frustrated case (J1 =J2). Remarkably, when strong AF intracluster couplings are present, field-induced CSG phases can be found. These CSG regions are strongly related to the magnetization plateaus observed in this cluster disordered system. In fact, it is found that each field-induced magnetization jump brings a CSG region. We notice that geometrical frustration, as well as cluster size, play an important role in the magnetization plateaus and, therefore, are also relevant in the field-induced glassy states. Our findings suggest that competing interactions support ISB and field-induced CSG phases in disordered cluster systems under an external magnetic field.

  17. A computational study of pressure-induced structural transition in ThSb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trinadh, Ch.U.M.; Rajagopalan, M.; Natarajan, S.

    1997-01-01

    The pressure induced phase transition from NaCl-type to CsCl-type structure in ThSb was studied using total energy calculations by tight-binding linear muffin tin orbital (TBLMTO) method within atomic sphere approximation (ASA). The density of states (DOS) at ambient pressure was compared with resonant photoemission studies (PES). The variation in interatomic distances during the transition was found to be in agreement with high pressure x-ray diffraction (HPXRD) studies. (author)

  18. Dynamical quantum phase transitions: a review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heyl, Markus

    2018-05-01

    Quantum theory provides an extensive framework for the description of the equilibrium properties of quantum matter. Yet experiments in quantum simulators have now opened up a route towards the generation of quantum states beyond this equilibrium paradigm. While these states promise to show properties not constrained by equilibrium principles, such as the equal a priori probability of the microcanonical ensemble, identifying the general properties of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics remains a major challenge, especially in view of the lack of conventional concepts such as free energies. The theory of dynamical quantum phase transitions attempts to identify such general principles by lifting the concept of phase transitions to coherent quantum real-time evolution. This review provides a pedagogical introduction to this field. Starting from the general setting of nonequilibrium dynamics in closed quantum many-body systems, we give the definition of dynamical quantum phase transitions as phase transitions in time with physical quantities becoming nonanalytic at critical times. We summarize the achieved theoretical advances as well as the first experimental observations, and furthermore provide an outlook to major open questions as well as future directions of research.

  19. Dynamical quantum phase transitions: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heyl, Markus

    2018-05-01

    Quantum theory provides an extensive framework for the description of the equilibrium properties of quantum matter. Yet experiments in quantum simulators have now opened up a route towards the generation of quantum states beyond this equilibrium paradigm. While these states promise to show properties not constrained by equilibrium principles, such as the equal a priori probability of the microcanonical ensemble, identifying the general properties of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics remains a major challenge, especially in view of the lack of conventional concepts such as free energies. The theory of dynamical quantum phase transitions attempts to identify such general principles by lifting the concept of phase transitions to coherent quantum real-time evolution. This review provides a pedagogical introduction to this field. Starting from the general setting of nonequilibrium dynamics in closed quantum many-body systems, we give the definition of dynamical quantum phase transitions as phase transitions in time with physical quantities becoming nonanalytic at critical times. We summarize the achieved theoretical advances as well as the first experimental observations, and furthermore provide an outlook to major open questions as well as future directions of research.

  20. Density Functional Theory for Phase-Ordering Transitions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Jianzhong [Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States)

    2016-03-30

    Colloids display astonishing structural and dynamic properties that can be dramatically altered by modest changes in the solution condition or an external field. This complex behavior stems from a subtle balance of colloidal forces and intriguing mesoscopic and macroscopic phase transitions that are sensitive to the processing conditions and the dispersing environment. Whereas the knowledge on the microscopic structure and phase behavior of colloidal systems at equilibrium is now well-advanced, quantitative predictions of the dynamic properties and the kinetics of phase-ordering transitions in colloids are not always realized. Many important mesoscopic and off-equilibrium colloidal states remain poorly understood. The proposed research aims to develop a new, unifying approach to describe colloidal dynamics and the kinetics of phase-ordering transitions based on accomplishments from previous work for the equilibrium properties of both uniform and inhomogeneous systems and on novel concepts from the state-of-the-art dynamic density functional theory. In addition to theoretical developments, computational research is designed to address a number of fundamental questions on phase-ordering transitions in colloids, in particular those pertinent to a competition of the dynamic pathways leading to various mesoscopic structures, off-equilibrium states, and crystalline phases. By providing a generic theoretical framework to describe equilibrium, metastable as well as non-ergodic phase transitions concurrent with the colloidal self-assembly processes, accomplishments from this work will have major impacts on both fundamental research and technological applications.

  1. Problem-solving phase transitions during team collaboration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wiltshire, Travis; Butner, Jonathan E.; Fiore, Stephen M.

    2018-01-01

    ) with dynamical systems theory suggesting that when a system is undergoing a phase transition it should exhibit a peak in entropy and that entropy levels should also relate to team performance. Communications from 40 teams that collaborated on a complex problem were coded for occurrence of problem......-solving processes. We applied a sliding window entropy technique to each team's communications and specified criteria for (a) identifying data points that qualify as peaks and (b) determining which peaks were robust. We used multilevel modeling, and provide a qualitative example, to evaluate whether phases exhibit...... phases. Peaks in entropy thus corresponded to qualitative shifts in teams’ CPS communications, providing empirical evidence that teams exhibit phase transitions during CPS. Also, lower average levels of entropy at the phase transition points predicted better CPS performance. We specify future directions...

  2. Easing the transition to secondary education for children with autism spectrum disorder: An evaluation of the Systemic Transition in Education Programme for Autism Spectrum Disorder (STEP-ASD)

    OpenAIRE

    Mandy, William; Murin, Marianna; Baykaner, Ozlem; Staunton, Sara; Cobb, Robert; Hellriegel, Josselyn; Anderson, Seonaid; Skuse, David

    2015-01-01

    In mainstream education, the transition from primary to secondary school ('school transition') is difficult for children with autism spectrum disorder, being marked by high levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The Systemic Transition in Education Programme for Autism Spectrum Disorder (STEP-ASD) is a new, manualised school transition intervention. We investigated its feasibility and efficacy for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (N = 37; mean age = 11.47 years; mea...

  3. Structural Phase Transition and Compressibility of CaF2 Nanocrystals under High Pressure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingshu Wang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The structural phase transition and compressibility of CaF2 nanocrystals with size of 23 nm under high pressure were investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurement. A pressure-induced fluorite to α-PbCl2-type phase transition starts at 9.5 GPa and completes at 20.2 GPa. The phase-transition pressure is lower than that of 8 nm CaF2 nanocrystals and closer to bulk CaF2. Upon decompression, the fluorite and α-PbCl2-type structure co-exist at the ambient pressure. The bulk modulus B0 of the 23 nm CaF2 nanocrystals for the fluorite and α-PbCl2-type phase are 103(2 and 78(2 GPa, which are both larger than those of the bulk CaF2. The CaF2 nanocrystals exhibit obviously higher incompressibility compare to bulk CaF2. Further analysis demonstrates that the defect effect in our CaF2 nanocrystals plays a dominant role in the structural stability.

  4. Computational advances in transition phase analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morita, K.; Kondo, S.; Tobita, Y.; Shirakawa, N.; Brear, D.J.; Fischer, E.A.

    1994-01-01

    In this paper, historical perspective and recent advances are reviewed on computational technologies to evaluate a transition phase of core disruptive accidents in liquid-metal fast reactors. An analysis of the transition phase requires treatment of multi-phase multi-component thermohydraulics coupled with space- and energy-dependent neutron kinetics. Such a comprehensive modeling effort was initiated when the program of SIMMER-series computer code development was initiated in the late 1970s in the USA. Successful application of the latest SIMMER-II in USA, western Europe and Japan have proved its effectiveness, but, at the same time, several areas that require further research have been identified. Based on the experience and lessons learned during the SIMMER-II application through 1980s, a new project of SIMMER-III development is underway at the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC), Japan. The models and methods of SIMMER-III are briefly described with emphasis on recent advances in multi-phase multi-component fluid dynamics technologies and their expected implication on a future reliable transition phase analysis. (author)

  5. Critical Line of the Deconfinement Phase Transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorenstein, Mark I.

    Phase diagram of strongly interacting matter is discussed within the exactly solvable statistical model of the quark-gluon bags. The model predicts two phases of matter: the hadron gas at a low temperature T and baryonic chemical potential μ B , and the quark-gluon gas at a high T and/or μ B . The nature of the phase transition depends on a form of the bag massvolume spectrum (its pre-exponential factor), which is expected to change with the μ B /T ratio. It is therefore likely that the line of the 1 st order transition at a high μ B/T ratio is followed by the line of the 2 nd order phase transition at an intermediate μ B/T, and then by the lines of "higher order transitions" at a low μ B /T. This talk is based on a recent paper (Gorenstein, Gaździcki, and Greiner, 2005).

  6. Effects of average degree of network on an order–disorder transition in opinion dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cun-Fang, Feng; Jian-Yue, Guan; Ying-Hai, Wang; Zhi-Xi, Wu

    2010-01-01

    We have investigated the influence of the average degree (k) of network on the location of an order-disorder transition in opinion dynamics. For this purpose, a variant of majority rule (VMR) model is applied to Watts–Strogatz (WS) small-world networks and Barabási–Albert (BA) scale-free networks which may describe some non-trivial properties of social systems. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the order–disorder transition point of the VMR model is greatly affected by the average degree (k) of the networks; a larger value of (k) results in a more ordered state of the system. Comparing WS networks with BA networks, we find WS networks have better orderliness than BA networks when the average degree (k) is small. With the increase of (k), BA networks have a more ordered state. By implementing finite-size scaling analysis, we also obtain critical exponents β/ν, γ/ν and 1/ν for several values of average degree (k). Our results may be helpful to understand structural effects on order–disorder phase transition in the context of the majority rule model. (general)

  7. Density induced phase transitions in the Schwinger model. A study with matrix product states

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Banuls, Mari Carmen; Cirac, J. Ignacio; Kuehn, Stefan [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Quantenoptik (MPQ), Garching (Germany); Cichy, Krzysztof [Frankfurt Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Adam Mickiewicz Univ., Poznan (Poland). Faculty of Physics; Jansen, Karl [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC

    2017-02-15

    We numerically study the zero temperature phase structure of the multiflavor Schwinger model at nonzero chemical potential. Using matrix product states, we reproduce analytical results for the phase structure for two flavors in the massless case and extend the computation to the massive case, where no analytical predictions are available. Our calculations allow us to locate phase transitions in the mass-chemical potential plane with great precision and provide a concrete example of tensor networks overcoming the sign problem in a lattice gauge theory calculation.

  8. The MSSM Electroweak Phase Transition on the Lattice

    CERN Document Server

    Laine, Mikko

    1998-01-01

    We study the MSSM finite temperature electroweak phase transition with lattice Monte Carlo simulations, for a large Higgs mass (m_H ~ 95 GeV) and light stop masses (m_tR ~ 150...160 GeV). We employ a 3d effective field theory approach, where the degrees of freedom appearing in the action are the SU(2) and SU(3) gauge fields, the weakly interacting Higgs doublet, and the strongly interacting stop triplet. We determine the phase diagram, the critical temperatures, the scalar field expectation values, the latent heat, the interface tension and the correlation lengths at the phase transition points. Extrapolating the results to the infinite volume and continuum limits, we find that the transition is stronger than indicated by 2-loop perturbation theory, guaranteeing that the MSSM phase transition is strong enough for baryogenesis in this regime. We also study the possibility of a two-stage phase transition, in which the stop field gets an expectation value in an intermediate phase. We find that a two-stage transi...

  9. Thermal properties and phase transition in the fluoride, (NH4)3SnF7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kartashev, A.V.; Gorev, M.V.; Bogdanov, E.V.; Flerov, I.N.; Laptash, N.M.

    2016-01-01

    Calorimetric, dilatometric and differential thermal analysis studies were performed on (NH 4 ) 3 SnF 7 for a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Large entropy (δS 0 =22 J/mol K) and elastic deformation (δ(ΔV/V) 0 =0.89%) jumps have proven that the Pa-3↔Pm-3m phase transition is a strong first order structural transformation. A total entropy change of ΔS 0 =32.5 J/mol K is characteristic for the order–disorder phase transition, and is equal to the sum of entropy changes in the related material, (NH 4 ) 3 TiF 7 , undergoing transformation between the two cubic phases through the intermediate phases. Hydrostatic pressure decreases the stability of the high temperature Pm-3m phase in (NH 4 ) 3 SnF 7 , contrary to (NH 4 ) 3 TiF 7 , characterised by a negative baric coefficient. The effect of experimental conditions on the chemical stability of (NH 4 ) 3 SnF 7 was observed. - Graphical abstract: Strong first order structural transformation Pa-3↔Pm-3m in (NH 4 ) 3 SnF 7 is associated with very large total entropy change of ΔS 0 =32.5 J/mol K characteristic for the ordering processes and equal to the sum of entropy changes in the related (NH 4 ) 3 TiF 7 undergoing transformation between the same two cubic phases through the intermediate phases. - Highlights: • (NH 4 ) 3 SnF 7 undergoes strong first order Pa-3↔Pm-3m phase transition. • Anomalous behaviour of ΔC p and ΔV/V exists far below phase transition temperature. • Structural distortions are accompanied by huge total entropy change ΔS≈Rln50. • High pressure strongly increases the stability of Pa-3 phase in (NH 4 ) 3 SnF 7 . • Entropy of the Pa-3↔Pm-3m phase transition does not depend on pressure.

  10. Hadronization during quark-gluon plasma phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohanty, A.K.; Kataria, S.K.

    1996-01-01

    The hadron multiplicity distributions and factorial moments are studied in the framework of Landau theory of phase transitions. The factorial moments show a scaling law with a scaling exponent ν which characterizes the intermittency properties of the hadron phase for T c (or T t ) where T c (or T t ) is the transition temperature for second (or first) order transition. The scaling exponent ν is weakly dependent on the free energy parameters as well as on temperature. It is shown that ν remains practically constant in the hadron phase for which T c or T t whether the transition is second order or first order of second kind where the free energy expansion includes cubic term. This universality in the scaling exponent is also maintained above T c over a wide range of temperature even if the transition is strongly first order of first kind where the free energy expansion has only even order coefficients, except around the critical temperature T t where T t approx-gt T c . Therefore, the scaling exponent ν is rather more universal and only indicates the presence of a possible phase transition. It is further shown that the hadron multiplicity distribution is quite sensitive to the free energy parameters. The study of hadron multiplicity distribution at various resolution or bin size reveals more information about the dynamics of the phase transition. The calculated hadron multiplicity distributions are also compared with the negative binomial distribution, often used to explain the experimental multiplicity distributions. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  11. Two kinds of phase transitions in a voting model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hisakado, M.; Mori, S.

    2012-08-01

    In this paper, we discuss a voting model with two candidates, C0 and C1. We consider two types of voters—herders and independents. The voting of independents is based on their fundamental values, while the voting of herders is based on the number of previous votes. We can identify two kinds of phase transitions. One is an information cascade transition similar to a phase transition seen in the Ising model. The other is a transition of super and normal diffusions. These phase transitions coexist. We compared our results to the conclusions of experiments and identified the phase transitions in the upper limit of the time t by using the analysis of human behavior obtained from experiments.

  12. Traffic jams induce dynamical phase transition in spatial rock-paper-scissors game

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagatani, Takashi; Ichinose, Genki; Tainaka, Kei-ichi

    2018-02-01

    Spatial and temporal behaviors of the rock-paper-scissors (RPS) game is key to understanding not only biodiversity but also a variety of cyclic systems. It has been demonstrated that, in the stochastic cellular automaton of RPS game, three species cannot survive on one-dimensional (1-d) lattice; only a single species survives. Previous studies have shown that three species are able to coexist if the migration of species is considered. However, their definitions of migration are the swapping of two species or the random walk of species, which rarely occurs in nature. Here, we investigate the effect of migration by using the 1-d lattice traffic model in which species can move rightward if the site ahead is empty. Computer simulations reveal that three species can survive at the same time within the wide range of parameter values. At low densities, all species can coexist. In contrast, the extinction of two species occurs if the density exceeds the critical limit of the jamming transition. This dynamical phase transition between the coexistence and single (non-coexistence) phase clearly separates due to the self-organized pattern: condensation and rarefaction in the stripe-pattern of three species.

  13. Direct Observation of Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions in an Interacting Many-Body System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurcevic, P; Shen, H; Hauke, P; Maier, C; Brydges, T; Hempel, C; Lanyon, B P; Heyl, M; Blatt, R; Roos, C F

    2017-08-25

    The theory of phase transitions represents a central concept for the characterization of equilibrium matter. In this work we study experimentally an extension of this theory to the nonequilibrium dynamical regime termed dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs). We investigate and measure DQPTs in a string of ions simulating interacting transverse-field Ising models. During the nonequilibrium dynamics induced by a quantum quench we show for strings of up to 10 ions the direct detection of DQPTs by revealing nonanalytic behavior in time. Moreover, we provide a link between DQPTs and the dynamics of other quantities such as the magnetization, and we establish a connection between DQPTs and entanglement production.

  14. Direct Observation of Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions in an Interacting Many-Body System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurcevic, P.; Shen, H.; Hauke, P.; Maier, C.; Brydges, T.; Hempel, C.; Lanyon, B. P.; Heyl, M.; Blatt, R.; Roos, C. F.

    2017-08-01

    The theory of phase transitions represents a central concept for the characterization of equilibrium matter. In this work we study experimentally an extension of this theory to the nonequilibrium dynamical regime termed dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs). We investigate and measure DQPTs in a string of ions simulating interacting transverse-field Ising models. During the nonequilibrium dynamics induced by a quantum quench we show for strings of up to 10 ions the direct detection of DQPTs by revealing nonanalytic behavior in time. Moreover, we provide a link between DQPTs and the dynamics of other quantities such as the magnetization, and we establish a connection between DQPTs and entanglement production.

  15. Ultrafast photo-induced hidden phases in strained manganite thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jingdi; McLeod, A. S.; Zhang, Gu-Feng; Stoica, Vladimir; Jin, Feng; Gu, Mingqiang; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Freeland, John W.; Wu, Wenbin; Rondinelli, James; Wen, Haidan; Basov, D. N.; Averitt, R. D.

    Correlated transition metal oxides (TMOs) are particularly sensitive to external control because of energy degeneracy in a complex energy landscape that promote a plethora of metastable states. However, it remains a grand challenge to actively control and fully explore the rich landscape of TMOs. Dynamic control with pulsed photons can overcome energetic barriers, enabling access to transient or metastable states that are not thermally accessible. In the past, we have demonstrated that mode-selective single-laser-pulse excitation of a strained manganite thin film La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 initiates a persistent phase transition from an emergent antiferromagnetic insulating ground state to a ferromagnetic metallic metastable state. Beyond the photo-induced insulator to metal transition, we recently discovered a new peculiar photo-induced hidden phase, identified by an experimental approach that combines ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy, THz spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, cryogenic near-field spectroscopy and SHG probe. This work is funded by the DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Science under Award Numbers DE-SC0012375 and DE-SC0012592.

  16. Polarons and Mobile Impurities Near a Quantum Phase Transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shadkhoo, Shahriar

    derives the effective Euclidean action from the classical equation of motion. We calculate the effective mass of the polaron in the model polar liquid at zero and finite temperatures. The self-trapping transition of this polaron turns out to be discontinuous in certain regions of the phase diagram. In order to systematically investigate the role of quantum fluctuations on the polaron properties, we adopt a quantum field theory which supports nearly-critical local modes: the quantum Landau-Brazovskii (QLB) model, which exhibits fluctuation-induced first order transition (weak crystallization). In the vicinity of the phase transition, the quantum fluctuations are strongly correlated; one can in principle tune the strength of these fluctuations, by adjusting the parameters close to or away from the transition point. Furthermore, sufficiently close to the transition, the theory accommodates "soliton'' solutions, signaling the nonlinear response of the system. Therefore, the model seems to be a promising candidate for studying the effects of strong quantum fluctuations and also failure of linear response theory, in the polaron problem. We observe that at zero temperature, and away from the Brazovskii transition where the linear response approximation is valid, the localization transition of the polaron is discontinuous. Upon enhancing fluctuations---of either thermal or quantum nature---the gap of the effective mass closes at distinct second-order critical points. Sufficiently close to the Brazovskii transition where the nonlinear contributions of the field are significantly large, a new state appears in addition to extended and self-trapped polarons: an impurity-induced soliton. We interpret this as the break-down of linear response, reminiscent of what we observe in a polar liquid. Quantum LB model has been proposed to be realizable in ultracold Bose gases in cavities. We thus discuss the experimental feasibility, and propose a setup which is believed to exhibit the

  17. Quarks-bags phase transition in quantum chromodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gorenshtejn, M.I.

    1981-01-01

    Phase transitions in the quark-gluon plasma are considered at finite temperatures and chemical potentials. A phenomenological account for a complicated structure of the QCD vacuum results in the necessity to use the formalism of isobaric ensembles to describe the system. The phase transition curve separating the regions of the quark-gluon plasma and the hadronic bag phase in the μT plane is calculated [ru

  18. Phase Transitions in Algebraic Cluster Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yepez-Martinez, H.; Cseh, J.; Hess, P.O.

    2006-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. Phase transitions in nuclear systems are of utmost interest. An interesting class of phase transitions can be seen in algebraic models of nuclear structure. They are called shapephase transitions due to the following reason. These models have analytically solvable limiting cases, called dynamical symmetries, which are characterized by a chain of nested subgroups. They correspond to well-defined geometrical shape and behaviour, e.g. to rotation of an ellipsoid, or spherical vibration. The general case of the model, which includes interactions described by more than one groupchain, breaks the symmetry, and changing the relative strengths of these interactions, one can go from one shape to the other. In doing so a phase-transition can be seen. A phase transition is defined as a discontinuity of some quantity as a function of the control parameter, which gives the relative strength of the interactions of different symmetries. Real phase transitions can take place only in infinite systems, like in the classical limits of these algebraic models, when the particle number N is very large: N → ∞. For finite N the discontinuities are smoothed out, nevertheless, some indications of the phase-transitions can still be there. A controlled way of breaking the dynamical symmetries may reveal another very interesting phenomenon, i.e. the appearance of a quasidynamical (or effective) symmetry. This rather general symmetry-concept of quantum mechanics corresponds to a situation, in which the symmetry-breaking interactions are so strong that the energy-eigenfunctions are not symmetric, i.e. are not basis states of an irreducible representation of the symmetry group, rather they are linear combinations of these basis states. However, they are very special linear combinations in the sense that their coefficients are (approximately) identical for states with different spin values. When this is the case, then the underlying intrinsic state is the

  19. Double transitions, non-Ising criticality and the critical absorbing phase in an interacting monomer–dimer model on a square lattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nam, Keekwon; Kim, Bongsoo; Park, Sangwoong; Lee, Sung Jong

    2011-01-01

    We present a numerical study on an interacting monomer–dimer model with nearest neighbor repulsion on a square lattice, which possesses two symmetric absorbing states. The model is observed to exhibit two nearby continuous transitions: the Z 2 symmetry-breaking order–disorder transition and the absorbing transition with directed percolation criticality. We find that the symmetry-breaking transition shows a non-Ising critical behavior, and that the absorbing phase becomes critical, in the sense that the critical decay of the dimer density observed at the absorbing transition persists even within the absorbing phase. Our findings call for further studies on microscopic models and the corresponding continuum description belonging to the generalized voter university class. (letter)

  20. Unconventional transformation of spin Dirac phase across a topological quantum phase transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Su-Yang; Neupane, Madhab; Belopolski, Ilya; Liu, Chang; Alidoust, Nasser; Bian, Guang; Jia, Shuang; Landolt, Gabriel; Slomski, Batosz; Dil, J. Hugo; Shibayev, Pavel P.; Basak, Susmita; Chang, Tay-Rong; Jeng, Horng-Tay; Cava, Robert J.; Lin, Hsin; Bansil, Arun; Hasan, M. Zahid

    2015-01-01

    The topology of a topological material can be encoded in its surface states. These surface states can only be removed by a bulk topological quantum phase transition into a trivial phase. Here we use photoemission spectroscopy to image the formation of protected surface states in a topological insulator as we chemically tune the system through a topological transition. Surprisingly, we discover an exotic spin-momentum locked, gapped surface state in the trivial phase that shares many important properties with the actual topological surface state in anticipation of the change of topology. Using a spin-resolved measurement, we show that apart from a surface bandgap these states develop spin textures similar to the topological surface states well before the transition. Our results offer a general paradigm for understanding how surface states in topological phases arise from a quantum phase transition and are suggestive for the future realization of Weyl arcs, condensed matter supersymmetry and other fascinating phenomena in the vicinity of a quantum criticality. PMID:25882717

  1. Shock wave produced by hadron-quark phase transition in neutron star

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gustavo de Almeida, Luis, E-mail: lgalmeida@cbpf.br [Universidade Federal do Acre – Campus Floresta, Estrada do Canela Fina, km 12, CEP 69980-000, Cruzeiro do Sul, AC (Brazil); Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud, 150, CEP 22290-180, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Duarte, Sérgio José Barbosa, E-mail: sbd@cbpf.br [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud, 150, CEP 22290-180, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Rodrigues, Hilário, E-mail: harg.astrophys@gmail.com [Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca Av. Maracanã, 229, CEP 20271-110, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2015-12-17

    In this work we present a schematic description of the detonation wave in hadronic matter inside a neutron star core. We have used a simplified two shells model where the inner shell medium is initially composed of a small lump of strange quark matter surrounded by a large outer shell composed of hadronic matter. We have utilized an equation of state (EOS) based on Relativistic Mean Field Theory with the parameter set NL3 to describe the nuclear and subnuclear phases. We use the MIT bag model to describe the strange quark matter. The hadron-quark phase transition actually induces highly non equilibrium modes, which may become a detonation process (faster) or a burning process (slower). The main purpose of the work is to study the formation of a remnant quark star and the possibility of mass ejection caused by the hadron-quark phase transition. We have found that the total amount of ejected mass is dependant of the bag constant utilized in the strange matter description.

  2. Coupling-matrix approach to the Chern number calculation in disordered systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yi-Fu; Ju Yan; Sheng Li; Shen Rui; Xing Ding-Yu; Yang Yun-You; Sheng Dong-Ning

    2013-01-01

    The Chern number is often used to distinguish different topological phases of matter in two-dimensional electron systems. A fast and efficient coupling-matrix method is designed to calculate the Chern number in finite crystalline and disordered systems. To show its effectiveness, we apply the approach to the Haldane model and the lattice Hofstadter model, and obtain the correct quantized Chern numbers. The disorder-induced topological phase transition is well reproduced, when the disorder strength is increased beyond the critical value. We expect the method to be widely applicable to the study of topological quantum numbers. (rapid communication)

  3. Complex Nonlinearity Chaos, Phase Transitions, Topology Change and Path Integrals

    CERN Document Server

    Ivancevic, Vladimir G

    2008-01-01

    Complex Nonlinearity: Chaos, Phase Transitions, Topology Change and Path Integrals is a book about prediction & control of general nonlinear and chaotic dynamics of high-dimensional complex systems of various physical and non-physical nature and their underpinning geometro-topological change. The book starts with a textbook-like expose on nonlinear dynamics, attractors and chaos, both temporal and spatio-temporal, including modern techniques of chaos–control. Chapter 2 turns to the edge of chaos, in the form of phase transitions (equilibrium and non-equilibrium, oscillatory, fractal and noise-induced), as well as the related field of synergetics. While the natural stage for linear dynamics comprises of flat, Euclidean geometry (with the corresponding calculation tools from linear algebra and analysis), the natural stage for nonlinear dynamics is curved, Riemannian geometry (with the corresponding tools from nonlinear, tensor algebra and analysis). The extreme nonlinearity – chaos – corresponds to th...

  4. Structural relative stabilities and pressure-induced phase transitions for lanthanide trihydrides REH{sub 3} (RE=Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Lu)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kong Bo, E-mail: kong79@yeah.net [National Key Laboratory for Shock Wave and Detonation Physics Research, Institute of Fluid Physics, Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China); College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China); Zhang Lin, E-mail: zhanglinbox@263.net [National Key Laboratory for Shock Wave and Detonation Physics Research, Institute of Fluid Physics, Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China); Chen Xiangrong [College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China); Zeng Tixian [College of Physics and Electronic Information, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637002 (China); Cai Lingcang [National Key Laboratory for Shock Wave and Detonation Physics Research, Institute of Fluid Physics, Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China)

    2012-06-15

    The structures, structural relative stabilities, pressure-induced phase transitions, and equations of state for lanthanide trihydrides REH{sub 3} (RE=Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Lu) are systematically studied using ab initio calculations under a core state model (CSM). The obtained ground-state parameters, such as lattice constants and bulk modulus, agree well with the available data. Among the P6{sub 3}/mm, P3-bar c1, and P6{sub 3}cm structures, the P6{sub 3}cm structure is found to be the most stable structure for lanthanide trihydride via the comparison of the calculated total energies. With the help of Birch-Murnaghan equation of state, the structural transitions from hexagonal to cubic for REH{sub 3} (RE=Sm, Gd, Ho, Er, and Lu) under pressure are affirmed; especially, the similar behavior of REH{sub 3} (RE= Tb, Dy, and Tm) is reasonably predicted for the first time by this means. For the transitions, the repulsive interactions of H-H atoms may play an important role in terms of the analysis of the structures in the vicinity of the theoretical phase transition.

  5. Quantum trajectory phase transitions in the micromaser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrahan, Juan P; Armour, Andrew D; Lesanovsky, Igor

    2011-08-01

    We study the dynamics of the single-atom maser, or micromaser, by means of the recently introduced method of thermodynamics of quantum jump trajectories. We find that the dynamics of the micromaser displays multiple space-time phase transitions, i.e., phase transitions in ensembles of quantum jump trajectories. This rich dynamical phase structure becomes apparent when trajectories are classified by dynamical observables that quantify dynamical activity, such as the number of atoms that have changed state while traversing the cavity. The space-time transitions can be either first order or continuous, and are controlled not just by standard parameters of the micromaser but also by nonequilibrium "counting" fields. We discuss how the dynamical phase behavior relates to the better known stationary-state properties of the micromaser.

  6. An absorbing phase transition from a structured active particle phase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopez, Cristobal [Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Campus de la Universidad de las Islas Baleares, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca (Spain); Ramos, Francisco [Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Fisica de la Materia and Instituto de Fisica Teorica y Computacional Carlos I, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada (Spain); Hernandez-GarcIa, Emilio [Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Campus de la Universidad de las Islas Baleares, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

    2007-02-14

    In this work we study the absorbing state phase transition of a recently introduced model for interacting particles with neighbourhood-dependent reproduction rates. The novelty of the transition is that as soon as the active phase is reached by increasing a control parameter a periodically arranged structure of particle clusters appears. A numerical study in one and two dimensions shows that the system falls into the directed percolation universality class.

  7. Chiral and color-superconducting phase transitions with vector interaction in a simple model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitazawa, Masakiyo; Koide, Tomoi; Kunihiro, Teiji; Nemoto, Yukio

    2002-01-01

    We investigate effects of the vector interaction on chiral and color superconducting (CSC) phase transitions at finite density and temperature in a simple Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. It is shown that the repulsive density-density interaction coming from the vector term, which is present in the effective chiral models but has been omitted, enhances the competition between the chiral symmetry breaking (χSB) and CSC phase transition, and thereby makes the thermodynamic potential have a shallow minimum over a wide range of values of the correlated chiral and CSC order parameters. We find that when the vector coupling is increased, the first order transition between the χSB and CSC phases becomes weaker, and the coexisting phase in which both the chiral and color-gauge symmetry are dynamically broken comes to exist over a wider range of the density and temperature. We also show that there can exist two endpoints, which are tricritical points in the chiral limit, along the critical line of the first order transition in some range of values of the vector coupling. Although our analysis is based on a simple model, the nontrivial interplay between the χSB and CSC phases induced by the vector interaction is expected to be a universal phenomenon and might give a clue to understanding results obtained with two-color QCD on the lattice. (author)

  8. Phase transitions and molecular motions in [Ni(ND3)6](ClO4)2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Migdal-Mikuli, Anna; Mikuli, Edward; Gorska, Natalia; Kowalska, Aneta; Ulanski, Jacek

    2004-01-01

    [Ni(ND 3 ) 6 ](ClO 4 ) 2 has three solid phases between 100 and 300 K. The phase transitions temperatures at heating (T C1 h =164.1 K and T C2 h =145.1 K) are shifted, as compared to the non-deuterated compound, towards the lower temperature of ca. 8 and 5 K, respectively. The ClO 4 - anions perform fast, picosecond, isotropic reorientation with the activation energy of 6.6 kJ mol -1 , which abruptly slow down at T C1 c phase transition, during sample cooling. The ND 3 ligands perform fast uniaxial reorientation around the Ni-N bond in all three detected phases, with the effective activation energy of 2.9 kJ mol -1 . The reorientational motion of ND 3 is only slightly distorted at the T C1 phase transition due to the dynamical orientational order-disorder process of anions. The low value of the activation energy for the ND 3 reorientation suggests that this reorientation undergoes the translation-rotation coupling, which makes the barrier to the rotation of the ammonia ligands not constant but fluctuating. The phase polymorphism and the dynamics of the molecular reorientations of the title compound are similar but not quite identical with these of the [Ni(NH 3 ) 6 ](ClO 4 ) 2

  9. Rate-induced solubility and suppression of the first-order phase transition in olivine LiFePO4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaoyu; van Hulzen, Martijn; Singh, Deepak P; Brownrigg, Alex; Wright, Jonathan P; van Dijk, Niels H; Wagemaker, Marnix

    2014-05-14

    The impact of ultrahigh (dis)charge rates on the phase transition mechanism in LiFePO4 Li-ion electrodes is revealed by in situ synchrotron diffraction. At high rates the solubility limits in both phases increase dramatically, causing a fraction of the electrode to bypass the first-order phase transition. The small transforming fraction demonstrates that nucleation rates are consequently not limiting the transformation rate. In combination with the small fraction of the electrode that transforms at high rates, this indicates that higher performances may be achieved by further optimizing the ionic/electronic transport in LiFePO4 electrodes.

  10. Dynamic phase transition in the kinetic spin-32 Blume-Capel model: Phase diagrams in the temperature and crystal-field interaction plane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keskin, Mustafa; Canko, Osman; Deviren, Bayram

    2007-01-01

    We analyze, within a mean-field approach, the stationary states of the kinetic spin-32 Blume-Capel (BC) model by the Glauber-type stochastic dynamics and subject to a time-dependent oscillating external magnetic field. The dynamic phase transition (DPT) points are obtained by investigating the behavior of the dynamic magnetization as a function of temperature and as well as calculating the Liapunov exponent. Phase diagrams are constructed in the temperature and crystal-field interaction plane. We find five fundamental types of phase diagrams for the different values of the reduced magnetic field amplitude parameter (h) in which they present a disordered, two ordered phases and the coexistences phase regions. The phase diagrams also exhibit a dynamic double-critical end point for 0 5.06

  11. Liquid-liquid phase transition in Stillinger-Weber silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beaucage, Philippe; Mousseau, Normand

    2005-01-01

    It was recently demonstrated that Stillinger-Weber silicon undergoes a liquid-liquid first-order phase transition deep into the supercooled region (Sastry and Angell 2003 Nat. Mater. 2 739). Here we study the effects of perturbations on this phase transition. We show that the order of the liquid-liquid transition changes with negative pressure. We also find that the liquid-liquid transition disappears when the three-body term of the potential is strengthened by as little as 5%. This implies that the details of the potential could affect strongly the nature and even the existence of the liquid-liquid phase

  12. Singlet Higgs phenomenology and the electroweak phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Profumo, Stefano; Ramsey-Musolf, Michael J.; Shaughnessy, Gabe

    2007-01-01

    We study the phenomenology of gauge singlet extensions of the Standard Model scalar sector and their implications for the electroweak phase transition. We determine the conditions on the scalar potential parameters that lead to a strong first order phase transition as needed to produce the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe. We analyze the constraints on the potential parameters derived from Higgs boson searches at LEP and electroweak precision observables. For models that satisfy these constraints and that produce a strong first order phase transition, we discuss the prospective signatures in future Higgs studies at the Large Hadron Collider and a Linear Collider. We argue that such studies will provide powerful probes of phase transition dynamics in models with an extended scalar sector

  13. paraelectric phase transition

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The ferroelectric phase transition is diffuse in nature and broadening of the peak increases with La content. Keywords. PLZT ... Marssi et al (1998) concluded the PLZTs x/65/35 as a model. ∗ ... by analysing field cooled (FC) and zero field cooled (ZFC) dielectric ... material are fitted with universal dielectric behaviour within.

  14. Spin-glass transition in disordered terbium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hauser, J.J.

    1985-01-01

    While crystalline Tb is a helix antiferromagnet with a Neel temperature of 229 K which becomes ferromagnetic at 222 K, disordered Tb exhibits a spin-glass transition. The spin-glass freezing temperature ranges from 183 to 53 K, the lowest temperatures corresponding to the greatest degree of atomic disorder. These experiments constitute the first evidence for an elemental spin-glass. (author)

  15. Phase-transition-like behaviour of quantum games

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du Jiangfeng; Li Hui; Xu Xiaodong; Zhou Xianyi; Han Rongdian

    2003-01-01

    The discontinuous dependence of the properties of a quantum game on its entanglement has been shown to be very much like phase transitions viewed in the entanglement-payoff diagram (J Du et al 2002 Phys. Rev. Lett. 88 137902). In this paper we investigate such phase-transition-like behaviour of quantum games, by suggesting a method which would help to illuminate the origin of such a kind of behaviour. For the particular case of the generalized Prisoners' Dilemma, we find that, for different settings of the numerical values in the payoff table, even though the classical game behaves the same, the quantum game exhibits different and interesting phase-transition-like behaviour

  16. Phase-transition-like behaviour of quantum games

    CERN Document Server

    Du Jiang Feng; Xu Xiao Dong; Zhou Xian Yi; Han Rong Dian

    2003-01-01

    The discontinuous dependence of the properties of a quantum game on its entanglement has been shown to be very much like phase transitions viewed in the entanglement-payoff diagram (J Du et al 2002 Phys. Rev. Lett. 88 137902). In this paper we investigate such phase-transition-like behaviour of quantum games, by suggesting a method which would help to illuminate the origin of such a kind of behaviour. For the particular case of the generalized Prisoners' Dilemma, we find that, for different settings of the numerical values in the payoff table, even though the classical game behaves the same, the quantum game exhibits different and interesting phase-transition-like behaviour.

  17. Structural response in FeCl2 (iron chloride) to pressure-induced electro-magnetic transitions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, R D [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Rozenberg, G Kh [TEL AVIV UNIV; Pasternak, M P [TEL AVIV UNIV; Gorodetsky, P [TEL AVIV UNIV; Xu, W M [TEL AVIV UNIV; Dubrovinsky, L S [UNIV OF BAYREUTH; Le Bihan, T L [FRANCE

    2009-01-01

    High pressure (HP) synchrotron x-ray diffraction studies were carried out in FeCl{sub 2} together with resistivity (R) studies, at various temperatures and pressures to 65 GPa using diamond anvil cells. This work follows a previous HP {sup 57}Fe Mossbauer study in which two pressure-induced (PI) electronic transitions were found interpreted as: (i) quenching of the orbital-term contribution to the hyperfine field concurring with a tilting of the magnetic moment by 55 degrees and (ii) collapse of the magnetism concurring with a sharp decrease of the isomer shift (IS). The R(P,T) studies affirm that the cause the collapse of the magnetism is a PI p-d correlation breakdown, leading to an insulator-metal transition at {approx}45 GPa and is not due to a spi-Ir,crossover (S=2 {yields} S=0). The structure response to the pressure evolution of the two electronic phase transitions starting at low pressures (LP), through an intermediate phase (IP) 30-57 GPa, and culminating in a high-pressure phase (HP), P >32 GPa, can clearly be quantified. The IP-HP phases coexist through the 32-57 GPa range in which the HP abundance increases monotonically at the expense of the IP phase. At the LP-IP interface no volume change is detected, yet the c-axis increases and the a-axis shrinks by 0.21 Angstroms and 0.13 Angstroms, respectively. The fit of the equation of state of the combined LP-IP phases yields a bulk modulus K{sub 0} = 35.3(1.8) GPa. The intralayer CI-CI distances increases, but no change is observed in Fe-CI bond-length nor are there substantial changes in the interlayer spacing. The pressure-induced electronic IP-HP transition leads to a first-order structural phase transition characterized by a decrease in Fe-CI bond length and an abrupt drop in V(P) by {approx}3.5% accompanying the correlation breakdown. In this transition no symmetry change is detected,and the XRD data could be satisfactorily fitted with the CdI{sub 2} structure. The bulk modulus of the HP phase is

  18. Observation of the Photon-Blockade Breakdown Phase Transition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. Fink

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Nonequilibrium phase transitions exist in damped-driven open quantum systems when the continuous tuning of an external parameter leads to a transition between two robust steady states. In second-order transitions this change is abrupt at a critical point, whereas in first-order transitions the two phases can coexist in a critical hysteresis domain. Here, we report the observation of a first-order dissipative quantum phase transition in a driven circuit quantum electrodynamics system. It takes place when the photon blockade of the driven cavity-atom system is broken by increasing the drive power. The observed experimental signature is a bimodal phase space distribution with varying weights controlled by the drive strength. Our measurements show an improved stabilization of the classical attractors up to the millisecond range when the size of the quantum system is increased from one to three artificial atoms. The formation of such robust pointer states could be used for new quantum measurement schemes or to investigate multiphoton phases of finite-size, nonlinear, open quantum systems.

  19. Neutron scattering near the order-disorder transition in Cu3Au: evidence for a lower spinodal temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogge, R.B.; Gaulin, B.D.; Svensson, E.C.; Hallman, E.D.; Wei, W.

    1995-01-01

    The binary alloy Cu 3 Au undergoes a first-order phase transition at 667 ± 3 K Within the context of the Landau theory of phase transitions, there exist, in addition to the order-disorder temperature, T c , upper and lower spinodal temperatures, T su and T si . These mark the first temperatures, upon approaching the phase transition from above and below, respectively, at which metastable droplets of the second phase can fluctuate out of the first phase. Until recently, there has, however, been little physical evidence supporting the existence of the spinodal temperatures. Elastic and inelastic neutron-scattering measurements have been carried out on Cu 3 Au over an extended temperature range with particular emphasis on temperatures near T c . The lattice constant data, order-parameter data, and phonon data provided by these measurements all indicate that there are two temperature regimes just below T c with a crossover between these regimes in the range of (T c - 35) to (T c - 25) K. This crossover temperature is interpreted as the lower spinodal temperature of Cu 3 Au. (author)

  20. Nonequilibrium thermodynamic fluctuations and phase transition in black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, R.; Cai, R.; Yu, P.K.N.

    1994-01-01

    Landau nonequilibrium fluctuation and phase transition theory is applied to the discussion of the phase transition of black holes. Some second moments of relevant thermodynamical quantities for Kerr-Newman black holes are estimated. A theorem governing the divergence of some second moments and the occurrence of the phase transition in black holes is given

  1. Phase transitions and critical behaviour for charged black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlip, S; Vaidya, S

    2003-01-01

    We investigate the thermodynamics of a four-dimensional charged black hole in a finite cavity in asymptotically flat and asymptotically de Sitter spaces. In each case, we find a Hawking-Page-like phase transition between a black hole and a thermal gas very much like the known transition in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. For a 'supercooled' black hole - a thermodynamically unstable black hole below the critical temperature for the Hawking-Page phase transition - the phase diagram has a line of first-order phase transitions that terminates in a second-order point. For the asymptotically flat case, we calculate the critical exponents at the second-order phase transition and find that they exactly match the known results for a charged black hole in anti-de Sitter space. We find strong evidence for similar phase transitions for the de Sitter black hole as well. Thus many of the thermodynamic features of charged anti-de Sitter black holes do not really depend on asymptotically anti-de Sitter boundary conditions; the thermodynamics of charged black holes is surprisingly universal

  2. A grain boundary phase transition in Si–Au

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, Shuailei; Meshinchi Asl, Kaveh; Tansarawiput, Chookiat; Cantwell, Patrick R.; Qi, Minghao; Harmer, Martin P.; Luo, Jian

    2012-01-01

    A grain boundary transition from a bilayer to an intrinsic (nominally clean) boundary is observed in Si–Au. An atomically abrupt transition between the two complexions (grain boundary stabilized phases) implies the occurrence of a first-order interfacial phase transition associated with a discontinuity in the interfacial excess. This observation supports a grain-boundary complexion theory with broad applications. This transition is atypical in that the monolayer complexion is absent. A model is proposed to explain the bilayer stabilization and the origin of this complexion transition.

  3. Numerical insights into the phase diagram of p-atic membranes with spherical topology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Allan Grønhøj; Ramakrishnan, N.; Sunil Kumar, P. B.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract.: The properties of self-avoiding p-atic membranes restricted to spherical topology have been studied by Monte Carlo simulations of a triangulated random surface model. Spherically shaped p-atic membranes undergo a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition as expected with topology induced mutually...... of disclinations. We confirm the proposed buckling of disclinations in the p-atic ordered phase, while the expected associated disordering (crumpling) transition at low bending rigidities is absent in the phase diagram. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]...

  4. Monitoring and understanding the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition in the metal-organic framework [NH4 ][M(HCOO)3 ] by solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jun; Lucier, Bryan E G; Sinelnikov, Regina; Terskikh, Victor V; Staroverov, Viktor N; Huang, Yining

    2015-10-05

    The paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition in two isostructural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) [NH4 ][M(HCOO)3 ] (M=Mg, Zn) was investigated by in situ variable-temperature (25) Mg, (67) Zn, (14) N, and (13) C solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy. With decreasing temperature, a disorder-order transition of NH4 (+) cations causes a change in dielectric properties. It is thought that [NH4 ][Mg(HCOO)3 ] exhibits a higher transition temperature than [NH4 ][Zn(HCOO)3 ] due to stronger hydrogen-bonding interactions between NH4 (+) ions and framework oxygen atoms. (25) Mg and (67) Zn NMR parameters are very sensitive to temperature-induced changes in structure, dynamics, and dielectric behavior; stark spectral differences across the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition are intimately related to subtle changes in the local environment of the metal center. Although (25) Mg and (67) Zn are challenging nuclei for SSNMR experiments, the highly spherically symmetric metal-atom environments in [NH4 ][M(HCOO)3 ] give rise to relatively narrow spectra that can be acquired in 30-60 min at a low magnetic field of 9.4 T. Complementary (14) N and (13) C SSNMR experiments were performed to probe the role of NH4 (+) -framework hydrogen bonding in the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition. This multinuclear SSNMR approach yields new physical insights into the [NH4 ][M(HCOO)3 ] system and shows great potential for molecular-level studies on electric phenomena in a wide variety of MOFs. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Information geometric analysis of phase transitions in complex patterns: the case of the Gray-Scott reaction–diffusion model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Har-Shemesh, Omri; Quax, Rick; Hoekstra, Alfons G; Sloot, Peter M A

    2016-01-01

    The Fisher–Rao metric from information geometry is related to phase transition phenomena in classical statistical mechanics. Several studies propose to extend the use of information geometry to study more general phase transitions in complex systems. However, it is unclear whether the Fisher–Rao metric does indeed detect these more general transitions, especially in the absence of a statistical model. In this paper we study the transitions between patterns in the Gray-Scott reaction–diffusion model using Fisher information. We describe the system by a probability density function that represents the size distribution of blobs in the patterns and compute its Fisher information with respect to changing the two rate parameters of the underlying model. We estimate the distribution non-parametrically so that we do not assume any statistical model. The resulting Fisher map can be interpreted as a phase-map of the different patterns. Lines with high Fisher information can be considered as boundaries between regions of parameter space where patterns with similar characteristics appear. These lines of high Fisher information can be interpreted as phase transitions between complex patterns. (paper: disordered systems, classical and quantum)

  6. Late time phase transition as dark energy

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. We show that the dark energy field can naturally be described by the scalar condensates of a non-abelian gauge group. This gauge group is unified with the standard model gauge groups and it has a late time phase transition. The small phase transition explains why the positive acceleration of the universe is ...

  7. Phase transition with trivial quantum criticality in an anisotropic Weyl semimetal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xin; Wang, Jing-Rong; Liu, Guo-Zhu

    2018-05-01

    When a metal undergoes continuous quantum phase transition, the correlation length diverges at the critical point and the quantum fluctuation of order parameter behaves as a gapless bosonic mode. Generically, the coupling of this boson to fermions induces a variety of unusual quantum critical phenomena, such as non-Fermi liquid behavior and various emergent symmetries. Here, we perform a renormalization group analysis of the semimetal-superconductor quantum criticality in a three-dimensional anisotropic Weyl semimetal. Surprisingly, distinct from previously studied quantum critical systems, the anomalous dimension of anisotropic Weyl fermions flows to zero very quickly with decreasing energy, and the quasiparticle residue takes a nonzero value. These results indicate that the quantum fluctuation of superconducting order parameter is irrelevant at low energies, and a simple mean-field calculation suffices to capture the essential physics of the superconducting transition. We thus obtain a phase transition that exhibits trivial quantum criticality, which is unique comparing to other invariably nontrivial quantum critical systems. Our theoretical prediction can be experimentally verified by measuring the fermion spectral function and specific heat.

  8. Low-pH-induced transformation of bilayer membrane into bicontinuous cubic phase in dioleoylphosphatidylserine/monoolein membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okamoto, Yoshihide; Masum, Shah Md; Miyazawa, Haruna; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2008-04-01

    Cubic biomembranes, nonbilayer membranes with connections in three-dimensional space that have a cubic symmetry, have been observed in various cells. Interconversion between the bilayer liquid-crystalline (L(alpha)) phase and cubic phases attracted much attention in terms of both biological and physicochemical aspects. Herein we report the pH effect on the phase and structure of dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS)/monoolein (MO) membranes under a physiological ion concentration condition, which was revealed by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurement. At neutral pH, DOPS/MO membranes containing high concentrations of DOPS were in the L(alpha) phase. First, the pH effect on the phase and structure of the multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) of the DOPS/MO membranes preformed at neutral pH was investigated by adding various low-pH buffers into the MLV suspension. For 20%-DOPS/80%-MO MLVs, at and below pH 2.9, a transition from the L(alpha) to cubic (Q(224)) phase occurred within 1 h. This phase transition was reversible; a subsequent increase in pH to a neutral one in the membrane suspension transformed the cubic phase into the original L(alpha) phase. Second, we found that a decrease in pH transformed large unilamellar vesicles of DOPS/MO membranes into the cubic phase under similar conditions. We have proposed the mechanism of the low-pH-induced phase transition and also made a quantitative analysis on the critical pH of the phase transition. This finding is the first demonstration that a change in pH can induce a reversible phase transition between the L(alpha) and cubic phases of lipid membranes within 1 h.

  9. Transition to adult care for children with chronic neurological disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camfield, Peter; Camfield, Carol

    2011-03-01

    Chronic neurological disorders in children have significant effects on adult medical and social function. Transition and then formal transfer of care from pediatric to adult services is a complex process, although there are virtually no objective data to inform physicians about the most effective approach. Some neurological disorders that start in children are a danger to society if poorly treated in adulthood, some disorders that were previously lethal in childhood now permit survival well into adulthood, and others are static in childhood but progressive in adulthood. Some disorders remit or are cured in childhood but continue to have serious comorbidity in adulthood, whereas others are similar and persistent in children and adults. Maturity, provision of information, and cognitive problems are confounders. We discuss several models of transition/transfer but prefer a joint pediatric/adult transition clinic. We make a series of suggestions about how to improve the transition/transfer process with the hope of better medical and social adult outcome for children with neurological disorders. Copyright © 2011 American Neurological Association.

  10. Liquid-Vapor Phase Transition: Thermomechanical Theory, Entropy Stable Numerical Formulation, and Boiling Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-01

    vapor bubbles may generate near blades [40]. This is the phenomenon of cavitation and it is still a limiting factor for ship propeller design. Phase...van der Waals theory with hydrodynamics [39]. The fluid equations based on the van der Waals theory are called the Navier-Stokes-Korteweg equations... cavitating flows, the liquid- vapor phase transition induced by pressure variations. A potential challenge for such a simulation is a proper design of open

  11. Phase separation in the nonequilibrium Verwey transition in magnetite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randi, F.; Vergara, I.; Novelli, F.; Esposito, M.; Dell'Angela, M.; Brabers, V. A. M.; Metcalf, P.; Kukreja, R.; Dürr, H. A.; Fausti, D.; Grüninger, M.; Parmigiani, F.

    2016-02-01

    We present equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium studies of the Verwey transition in magnetite. In the equilibrium optical conductivity, we find a steplike change at the phase transition for photon energies below about 2 eV. The possibility of triggering a nonequilibrium transient metallic state in insulating magnetite by photo excitation was recently demonstrated by an x-ray study. Here we report a full characterization of the optical properties in the visible frequency range across the nonequilibrium phase transition. Our analysis of the spectral features is based on a detailed description of the equilibrium properties. The out-of-equilibrium optical data bear the initial electronic response associated to localized photoexcitation, the occurrence of phase separation, and the transition to a transient metallic phase for excitation density larger than a critical value. This allows us to identify the electronic nature of the transient state, to unveil the phase transition dynamics, and to study the consequences of phase separation on the reflectivity, suggesting a spectroscopic feature that may be generally linked to out-of-equilibrium phase separation.

  12. Liquid-liquid phase transition and glass transition in a monoatomic model system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Limei; Buldyrev, Sergey V; Giovambattista, Nicolas; Stanley, H Eugene

    2010-01-01

    We review our recent study on the polyamorphism of the liquid and glass states in a monatomic system, a two-scale spherical-symmetric Jagla model with both attractive and repulsive interactions. This potential with a parametrization for which crystallization can be avoided and both the glass transition and the liquid-liquid phase transition are clearly separated, displays water-like anomalies as well as polyamorphism in both liquid and glassy states, providing a unique opportunity to study the interplay between the liquid-liquid phase transition and the glass transition. Our study on a simple model may be useful in understanding recent studies of polyamorphism in metallic glasses.

  13. Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition and Glass Transition in a Monoatomic Model System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Giovambattista

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available We review our recent study on the polyamorphism of the liquid and glass states in a monatomic system, a two-scale spherical-symmetric Jagla model with both attractive and repulsive interactions. This potential with a parametrization for which crystallization can be avoided and both the glass transition and the liquid-liquid phase transition are clearly separated, displays water-like anomalies as well as polyamorphism in both liquid and glassy states, providing a unique opportunity to study the interplay between the liquid-liquid phase transition and the glass transition. Our study on a simple model may be useful in understanding recent studies of polyamorphism in metallic glasses.

  14. Towards the theory of the electroweak phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dine, M.; Leigh, R.G.; Huet, P.; Linde, A.; Linde, D.

    1992-01-01

    We investigate various problems related to the theory of the electroweak phase transition. This includes determination of the nature of the phase transition, discussion of the possible role of the higher-order radiative corrections, and the theory of the formation and evolution of bubbles of the new phase. We show, in particular, that no dangerous linear terms in the scalar field φ appear in the expression for the effective potential. We have found that, for the Higgs-boson mass smaller than the masses of W and Z bosons, the phase transition is of the first order. However, its strength is approximately 2/3 times less than what follows from the one-loop approximation. The phase transition occurs due to production and expansion of critical bubbles. Subcritical bubbles may be important only if the phase transition is very weakly first order. A general analytic expression for the probability of the bubble formation is obtained, which may be used for study of tunneling in a wide class of theories. The bubble-wall velocity depends on many factors, including the ratio of the mean free path of the particles to the thickness of the wall. Thin walls in the electroweak theory have a nonrelativistic velocity, whereas thick walls may be relativistic. A decrease of the cubic term by the factor 2/3 rules our baryogenesis in the minimal version of the electroweak theory. Even though we concentrate in this paper on the phase transition in this theory, most of our results can be applied to more general models as well, where baryogenesis is possible

  15. Surface phase transitions in cu-based solid solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhevnenko, S. N.; Chernyshikhin, S. V.

    2017-11-01

    We have measured surface energy in two-component Cu-based systems in H2 + Ar gas atmosphere. The experiments on solid Cu [Ag] and Cu [Co] solutions show presence of phase transitions on the surfaces. Isotherms of the surface energy have singularities (the minimum in the case of copper solid solutions with silver and the maximum in the case of solid solutions with cobalt). In both cases, the surface phase transitions cause deficiency of surface miscibility: formation of a monolayer (multilayer) (Cu-Ag) or of nanoscale particles (Cu-Co). At the same time, according to the volume phase diagrams, the concentration and temperature of the surface phase transitions correspond to the solid solution within the volume. The method permits determining the rate of diffusional creep in addition to the surface energy. The temperature and concentration dependence of the solid solutions' viscosity coefficient supports the fact of the surface phase transitions and provides insights into the diffusion properties of the transforming surfaces.

  16. The infinite limit as an eliminable approximation for phase transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ardourel, Vincent

    2018-05-01

    It is generally claimed that infinite idealizations are required for explaining phase transitions within statistical mechanics (e.g. Batterman 2011). Nevertheless, Menon and Callender (2013) have outlined theoretical approaches that describe phase transitions without using the infinite limit. This paper closely investigates one of these approaches, which consists of studying the complex zeros of the partition function (Borrmann et al., 2000). Based on this theory, I argue for the plausibility for eliminating the infinite limit for studying phase transitions. I offer a new account for phase transitions in finite systems, and I argue for the use of the infinite limit as an approximation for studying phase transitions in large systems.

  17. Phase transitions in field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carvalho, C.A.A. de; Bollini, C.G.; Giambiagi, J.J.

    1984-01-01

    By means of an example for which the effective potential is explicitly calculable (up to the one loop approximation), it is discussed how a phase transition takes place as the temperature is increased and pass from spontaneously broken symmetry to a phase in which the symmetry is restored. (Author) [pt

  18. Sensing of phase transition in medium with terahertz pulsed spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaytsev, Kirill I; Fokina, Irina N; Fedorov, Aleksey K; Yurchenko, Stanislav O

    2014-01-01

    Phase state identification and phase transition registration in condensed matter are significant applications of terahertz spectroscopy. A set of fundamental and applied problems are associated with the phase state problem. Our report is devoted to the experimental analysis of the spectral characteristics of water and water solution during the phase transition from the solid state to the liquid state via the method of terahertz pulsed spectroscopy. In this work transformation of the sample spectral characteristics during the phase transition were observed and discussed. Possible application of terahertz pulsed spectroscopy as an effective instrument for phase transition sensing was considered

  19. Gold fillings unravel the vacancy role in the phase transition of GeTe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Jinlong; Xu, Meng; Wang, Xiaojie; Lin, Qi; Cheng, Xiaomin; Xu, Ming; Tong, Hao; Miao, Xiangshui

    2018-02-01

    Phase change memory (PCM) is an important candidate for future memory devices. The crystalline phase of PCM materials contains abundant intrinsic vacancies, which plays an important role in the rapid phase transition upon memory switching. However, few experimental efforts have been invested to study these invisible entities. In this work, Au dopants are alloyed into the crystalline GeTe to fill the intrinsic Ge vacancies so that the role of these vacancies in the amorphization of GeTe can be indirectly studied. As a result, the reduction of Ge vacancies induced by Au dopants hampers the amorphization of GeTe as the activation energy of this process becomes higher. This is because the vacancy-interrupted lattice can be "repaired" by Au dopants with the recovery of bond connectivity. Our results demonstrate the importance of vacancies in the phase transition of chalcogenides, and we employ the percolation theory to explain the impact of these intrinsic defects on this vacancy-ridden crystal quantitatively. Specifically, the threshold of amorphization increases with the decrease in vacancies. The understanding of the vacancy effect sheds light on the long-standing puzzle of the mechanism of ultra-fast phase transition in PCMs. It also paves the way for designing low-power-consumption electronic devices by reducing the threshold of amorphization in chalcogenides.

  20. Superfluid/Bose-glass transition in one dimension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ristivojevic, Zoran; Petković, Aleksandra; Le Doussal, Pierre; Giamarchi, Thierry

    2014-09-01

    We consider a one-dimensional system of interacting bosons in a random potential. At zero temperature, it can be either in the superfluid or in the insulating phase. We study the transition at weak disorder and moderate interaction. Using a systematic approach, we derive the renormalization group equations at two-loop order and discuss the phase diagram. We find the universal form of the correlation functions at the transitions and compute the logarithmic corrections to the main universal power-law behavior. In order to mimic large density fluctuations on a single site, we study a simplified model of disordered two-leg bosonic ladders with correlated disorder across the rung. Contrarily to the single-chain case, the latter system exhibits a transition between a superfluid and a localized phase where the exponents of the correlation functions at the transition do not take universal values.

  1. Phase transition to QGP matter : confined vs deconfined matter

    CERN Multimedia

    Maire, Antonin

    2015-01-01

    Simplified phase diagram of the nuclear phase transition, from the regular hadronic matter to the QGP phase. The sketch is meant to describe the transition foreseen along the temperature axis, at low baryochemical potential, µB.

  2. Spectroscopic Study of the Effects of Pressure Media on High-Pressure Phase Transitions in Natrolite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D Liu; W Lei; Z Liu; Y Lee

    2011-12-31

    Structural phase transitions in natrolite have been investigated as a function of pressure and different hydrostatic media using micro-Raman scattering and synchrotron infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Natrolite undergoes two reversible phase transitions at 0.86 and 1.53 GPa under pure water pressure medium. These phase transitions are characterized by the changes in the vibrational frequencies of four- and eight-membered rings related to the variations in the bridging T-O-T angles and the geometry of the elliptical eight-ring channels under pressure. Concomitant to the changes in the framework vibrational modes, the number of the O-H stretching vibrational modes of natrolite changes as a result of the rearrangements of the hydrogen bonds in the channels caused by a successive increase in the hydration level under hydrostatic pressure. Similar phase transitions were also observed at relatively higher pressures (1.13 and 1.59 GPa) under alcohol-water pressure medium. Furthermore, no phase transition was found up to 2.52 GPa if a lower volume ratio of the alcohol-water to natrolite was employed. This indicates that the water content in the pressure media plays a crucial role in triggering the pressure-induced phase transitions in natrolite. In addition, the average of the mode Grueneisen parameters is calculated to be about 0.6, while the thermodynamic Grueneisen parameter is found to be 1.33. This might be attributed to the contrast in the rigidity between the TO{sub 4} tetrahedral primary building units and other flexible secondary building units in the natrolite framework upon compression and subsequent water insertion.

  3. Study of the order-disorder transition and martensitic transformation in a Cu-Al-Be alloy by EELS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez, J.H.; Ochoa, M.T.; Flores-Zuniga, H.; Espinosa-Magana, F.; Rios-Jara, D.

    2006-01-01

    Changes in 3d states occupancy associated with order-disorder transition and martensitic transformation in a Cu-Al-Be alloy was investigated by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in both high energy and low energy loss regions. From the high energy loss region, the Cu L 2,3 white-line intensities, which reflect the unoccupied density of states in 3d bands, was measured for three states of the alloy: disordered austenite, ordered austenite and martensite. It was found that the white-line intensity remains the same during order-disorder transition but appears slightly smaller in martensite, indicating that some electrons left Cu 3d bands or some hybridization took place during phase transformation. From the low energy loss region, the optical joint density of states (OJDS) was obtained by Kramers-Kronig analysis. As maxima observed in the OJDS spectra are assigned to interband transitions, these spectra can be used to probe changes in the electronic band structure. The analysis shows that during the martensitic transformation, the peaks positions and relative intensities in the OJDS spectra undergoes noticeable changes, which are associated with interband transitions

  4. Two kinds of Phase transitions in a Voting model

    OpenAIRE

    Hisakado, Masato; Mori, Shintaro

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we discuss a voting model with two candidates, C_0 and C_1. We consider two types of voters--herders and independents. The voting of independents is based on their fundamental values; on the other hand, the voting of herders is based on the number of previous votes. We can identify two kinds of phase transitions. One is an information cascade transition similar to a phase transition seen in Ising model. The other is a transition of super and normal diffusions. These phase trans...

  5. Electric-field-induced paraelectric to ferroelectric phase transformation in prototypical polycrystalline BaTiO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zhiyang; Hinterstein, Manuel; Daniels, John E.; Webber, Kyle G.; Hudspeth, Jessica M.

    2014-01-01

    An electric-field-induced paraelectric cubic to ferroelectric tetragonal phase transformation has been directly observed in prototypical polycrystalline BaTiO 3 at temperatures above the Curie point (T C ) using in situ high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The transformation persisted to a maximum temperature of 4 °C above T C . The nature of the observed field-induced transformation and the resulting development of domain texture within the induced phase were dependent on the proximity to the transition temperature, corresponding well to previous macroscopic measurements. The transition electric field increased with increasing temperature above T C , while the magnitude of the resultant tetragonal domain texture at the maximum electric field (4 kV mm −1 ) decreased at higher temperatures. These results provide insights into the phase transformation behavior of a prototypical ferroelectric and have important implications for the development of future large-strain phase-change actuator materials.

  6. Transition from condensation-induced counter-current flow to dispersed flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gale, J.; Tiselj, I.

    2004-01-01

    Model of transition from the horizontally stratified condensation-induced counter-current flow to slug flow has been analyzed with computer code WAHA and compared to the experimental data obtained in the steamline of the PMK2 test facility of Hungarian Atomic Energy Institute. The experiment was performed in the steamline initially filled with hot vapor that was gradually flooded with cold liquid. Successful simulation of the condensation-induced water hammer that follows the transition, requires accurate description of the horizontally stratified and slug flow regimes and criteria for transition between both flow regimes. Current version of the WAHA code, not verified for the condensation induced type of the water hammer, predicts the water-hammer pressure peak that exceeds 600 bar, while the measured pressure is p m = 170 ± 50 bar. Sensitivity analysis of the inter-phase exchange terms and transition conditions, pointed to the most important closure relations for heat, mass and momentum transfer. The main conclusion of the analysis is large uncertainty of the simulations: minor modification of the crucial correlations can lead to a severe water-hammer in one case, or to the 'calm' transient without pressure peaks in the other case. Large uncertainty is observed in experiments. The same simulation was performed also with RELAP5 code. However, no water hammer was predicted. (author)

  7. Friction forces on phase transition fronts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mégevand, Ariel

    2013-01-01

    In cosmological first-order phase transitions, the microscopic interaction of the phase transition fronts with non-equilibrium plasma particles manifests itself macroscopically as friction forces. In general, it is a nontrivial problem to compute these forces, and only two limits have been studied, namely, that of very slow walls and, more recently, ultra-relativistic walls which run away. In this paper we consider ultra-relativistic velocities and show that stationary solutions still exist when the parameters allow the existence of runaway walls. Hence, we discuss the necessary and sufficient conditions for the fronts to actually run away. We also propose a phenomenological model for the friction, which interpolates between the non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic values. Thus, the friction depends on two friction coefficients which can be calculated for specific models. We then study the velocity of phase transition fronts as a function of the friction parameters, the thermodynamic parameters, and the amount of supercooling

  8. The amorphous phase transition in irradiated NiTi alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brimhall, J.L.; Kissinger, H.E.; Pelton, A.R.

    1985-01-01

    Observed supralinear dose dependence for the amorphous transformation during irradiation of NiTi is compatible with a cascade overlap model for heavy ion (2.5 MeV Ni + , 6 MeV Ta +++ ) irradiations. A model based on total defect build-up, however, is necessary to explain the amorphous transition induced by electron irradiation and can also be applied to heavy ion irradiation. The cascade effects in this latter model are manifested by non-uniform defect distribution in the lattice. The defect build-up model requires a high activation energy for interstitial migration which is not incompatible with recent findings. The form of the temperature dependence can also be rationalized using a defect build-up model (amorphous phase transition, heavy-ion irradiation, electron irradiation, NiTi, defect build-up, cascade overlap). (author)

  9. Phase transition and water incorporation into Eu2Sn2O7 pyrochlore at high pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, F. X.; Lang, M.; Ewing, R. C.

    2016-04-01

    Structural changes of europium stannate pyrochlore, Eu2Sn2O7, have been investigated at high pressures with in situ Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), and synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The XRD measurements suggest that a pressure-induced phase transition starts at 34.4 GPa. The PL spectrum from Eu3+ cations also suggests a phase transition above 36 GPa. XRD analysis shows that the unit cell of the cubic phase deviates from the equation of state at pressures above 23.8 GPa. This is due to the incorporation of water from the pressure medium in the structure at high pressures, which is confirmed by optical spectroscopy measurements.

  10. Scaling theory and the classification of phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hilfer, R.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper, the recent classification theory for phase transitions and its relation with the foundations of statistical physics is reviewed. First it is outlined how Ehrenfests classification scheme can be generalized into a general thermodynamic classification theory for phase transitions. The classification theory implies scaling and multiscaling thereby eliminating the need to postulate the scaling hypothesis as a fourth law of thermodynamics. The new classification has also led to the discovery and distinction of nonequilibrium transitions within equilibrium statistical physics. Nonequilibrium phase transitions are distinguished from equilibrium transitions by orders less than unity and by the fact the equilibrium thermodynamics and statistical mechanics become inapplicable at the critical point. The latter fact requires a change in the Gibbs assumption underlying the canonical and grandcanonical ensembles in order to recover the thermodynamic description in the critical limit

  11. A perturbative RS I cosmological phase transition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bunk, Don [Skidmore College, Department of Physics, Saratoga Springs, NY (United States); Hubisz, Jay [Syracuse University, Department of Physics, Syracuse, NY (United States); Jain, Bithika [Korea Institute for Advanced Study, School of Physics, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2018-01-15

    We identify a class of Randall-Sundrum type models with a successful first order cosmological phase transition during which a 5D dual of approximate conformal symmetry is spontaneously broken. Our focus is on soft-wall models that naturally realize a light radion/dilaton and suppressed dynamical contribution to the cosmological constant. We discuss phenomenology of the phase transition after developing a theoretical and numerical analysis of these models both at zero and finite temperature. We demonstrate a model with a TeV-Planck hierarchy and with a successful cosmological phase transition where the UV value of the curvature corresponds, via AdS/CFT, to an N of 20, where 5D gravity is expected to be firmly in the perturbative regime. (orig.)

  12. Thermal study of monovalent-divalent phase transition in npBifc-F1TCNQ System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Michiko; Nishio, Yutaka; Kajita, Koji; Mochida, Tomoyuki

    2009-01-01

    In a new molecular solid composed of di-neopentyl-biferrocene (npBifc) and fluorotetracyanoquinodimethane (F 1 TCNQ) 3 , Mochida reported the discovery of a reversible valence transfer that can be regarded as an 'ionic(I)-ionic(II)' phase transfer between the monovalent state (D + A - ) and the divalent state (D 2+ A 2- ). We have studied thermo-dynamical properties of this transformation for this complex using the differential thermal analyses (DTA). We observed a broad excess specific heat with multi-peaks attributed to micro-domain structure over the corresponding temperature range (100-150K) accompanied by temperature hysteresis of 7K. The transition entropy (ΔS) was determined to be 22 ± 2 J/mol-K and almost satisfied a Clausius-Clapeyron relation. These experimental results provide an experimental confirmation of the first order phase transition for the monovalent-divalent transfer. At the transition, we observe that the electronic degrees of freedom remained constant values, while large entropy absorbed crossing from low temperature phase to high temperature one is contributed by the lattice one. We finally estimated the internal energy and concluded that delicate energy valance between Madelung, ionization and affinity energies enable this system to exhibit a temperature induce monovalent-divalent phase transition.

  13. Transport of a Bose gas in 1D disordered lattices at the fluid-insulator transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanzi, Luca; Lucioni, Eleonora; Chaudhuri, Saptarishi; Gori, Lorenzo; Kumar, Avinash; D'Errico, Chiara; Inguscio, Massimo; Modugno, Giovanni

    2013-09-13

    We investigate the momentum-dependent transport of 1D quasicondensates in quasiperiodic optical lattices. We observe a sharp crossover from a weakly dissipative regime to a strongly unstable one at a disorder-dependent critical momentum. In the limit of nondisordered lattices the observations suggest a contribution of quantum phase slips to the dissipation. We identify a set of critical disorder and interaction strengths for which such critical momentum vanishes, separating a fluid regime from an insulating one. We relate our observation to the predicted zero-temperature superfluid-Bose glass transition.

  14. First-principles study of doping effect on the phase transition of zinc oxide with transition metal doped

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Liang; Hou, Tingjun; Wang, Yi; Zhao, Yanfei; Guo, Zhenyu; Li, Youyong; Lee, Shuit-Tong

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We study the doping effect on B4, B1 structures and phase transition of ZnO. ► We calculate the phase transition barrier and phase transition path of doped ZnO. ► The transition metal doping decreases the bulk modulus and phase transition pressure. ► The magnetic properties are influenced by the phase transition process. - Abstract: Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising material for its wide application in solid-state devices. With the pressure raised from an ambient condition, ZnO transforms from fourfold wurtzite (B4) to sixfold coordinated rocksalt (B1) structure. Doping is an efficient approach to improve the structures and properties of materials. Here we use density-functional theory (DFT) to study doped ZnO and find that the transition pressure from B4 phase to B1 phase of ZnO always decreases with different types of transition metal (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, or Ni) doped, but the phase transition path is not affected by doping. This is consistent with the available experimental results for Mn-doped ZnO and Co-doped ZnO. Doping in ZnO causes the lattice distortion, which leads to the decrease of the bulk modulus and accelerates the phase transition. Mn-doped ZnO shows the strongest magnetic moment due to its half filled d orbital. For V-doped ZnO and Cr-doped ZnO, the magnetism is enhanced by phase transition from B4 to B1. But for Mn-doped ZnO, Fe-doped ZnO, Co-doped ZnO, and Ni-doped ZnO, B1 phase shows weaker magnetic moment than B4 phase. These results can be explained by the amount of charge transferred from the doped atom to O atom. Our results provide a theoretical basis for the doping approach to change the structures and properties of ZnO.

  15. Phase transitions to dipolar clusters and charge density waves in high T_c superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saarela, M.; Kusmartsev, F.V.

    2017-01-01

    We show that doping of hole charge carriers leads to formation of electric dipolar clusters in cuprates. They are created by many-body interactions between the dopant ion outside and holes inside the CuO planes. Because of the two-fold degeneracy holes in the CuO plane cluster into four-particles resonance valence bond plaquettes bound with dopant ions. Such dipoles may order into charge-density waves (CDW) or stripes or form a disordered state depending on doping and temperature. The lowest energy of the ordered system corresponds to a local anti-ferroelectric ordering. The mobility of individual disordered dipoles is very low at low temperatures and they prefer first to bind into dipole-dipole pairs. Electromagnetic radiation interacts strongly with electric dipoles and when the sample is subjected to it the mobility changes significantly. This leads to a fractal growth of dipolar clusters. The existence of electric dipoles and CDW induce two phase transitions with increasing temperature, melting of the ordered state and disappearance of the dipolar state. Ferroelectricity at low doping is a natural consequence of such dipole moments. We develop a theory based on two-level systems and dipole-dipole interaction to explain the behavior of the polarization as a function of temperature and electric field.

  16. Kinetics of silica-phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duffy, C.J.

    1993-07-01

    In addition to the stable silica polymorph quartz, several metastable silica phases are present in Yucca Mountain. The conversion of these phases to quartz is accompanied by volume reduction and a decrease in the aqueous silica activity, which may destabilize clinoptilolite and mordenite. The primary reaction sequence for the silica phases is from opal or glass to disordered opal-CT, followed by ordering of the opal-CT and finally by the crystallization of quartz. The ordering of opal-CT takes place in the solid state, whereas the conversion of opal-CT takes place through dissolution-reprecipitation involving the aqueous phase. It is proposed that the rate of conversion of opal-CT to quartz is controlled by diffusion of defects out of a disordered surface layer formed on the crystallizing quartz. The reaction rates are observed to be dependent on temperature, pressure, degree of supersaturation, and pH. Rate equations selected from the literature appear to be consistent with observations at Yucca Mountain

  17. A Bayesian Interpretation of First-Order Phase Transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Sergio; Peralta, Joaquín; Navarrete, Yasmín; González, Diego; Gutiérrez, Gonzalo

    2016-03-01

    In this work we review the formalism used in describing the thermodynamics of first-order phase transitions from the point of view of maximum entropy inference. We present the concepts of transition temperature, latent heat and entropy difference between phases as emergent from the more fundamental concept of internal energy, after a statistical inference analysis. We explicitly demonstrate this point of view by making inferences on a simple game, resulting in the same formalism as in thermodynamical phase transitions. We show that analogous quantities will inevitably arise in any problem of inferring the result of a yes/no question, given two different states of knowledge and information in the form of expectation values. This exposition may help to clarify the role of these thermodynamical quantities in the context of different first-order phase transitions such as the case of magnetic Hamiltonians (e.g. the Potts model).

  18. Ball solitons in kinetics of the first order magnetic phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nietz, V.V.; Osipov, A.A.

    2007-01-01

    The theory of magnetic ball solitons (BS), arising as a result of the energy fluctuations at the spin-flop transition induced by a magnetic field in antiferromagnets with uniaxial anisotropy, is presented. Such solitons are possible in a wide range of amplitudes and energies, including the negative energy relative to an initial condition. When such an antiferromagnet is in a metastable condition, ball solitons are born with the greatest probability if the energy of solitons is close to zero. Evolution of these solitons, at which they develop into macroscopic domains of a new magnetic phase, is analyzed, thus carrying out full phase reorganization

  19. Bubble nucleation and growth in very strong cosmological phase transitions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mégevand, Ariel, E-mail: megevand@mdp.edu.ar; Ramírez, Santiago

    2017-06-15

    Strongly first-order phase transitions, i.e., those with a large order parameter, are characterized by a considerable supercooling and high velocities of phase transition fronts. A very strong phase transition may have important cosmological consequences due to the departures from equilibrium caused in the plasma. In general, there is a limit to the strength, since the metastability of the old phase may prevent the transition to complete. Near this limit, the bubble nucleation rate achieves a maximum and thus departs from the widely assumed behavior in which it grows exponentially with time. We study the dynamics of this kind of phase transitions. We show that in some cases a gaussian approximation for the nucleation rate is more suitable, and in such a case we solve analytically the evolution of the phase transition. We compare the gaussian and exponential approximations with realistic cases and we determine their ranges of validity. We also discuss the implications for cosmic remnants such as gravitational waves.

  20. Reconstructive structural phase transitions in dense Mg

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao Yansun; Klug, Dennis D

    2012-01-01

    The question raised recently about whether the high-pressure phase transitions of Mg follow a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) → body centered cubic (bcc) or hcp → double hexagonal close-packed (dhcp) → bcc sequence at room temperature is examined by the use of first principles density functional methods. Enthalpy calculations show that the bcc structure replaces the hcp structure to become the most stable structure near 48 GPa, whereas the dhcp structure is never the most stable structure in the pressure range of interest. The characterized phase-transition mechanisms indicate that the hcp → dhcp transition is also associated with a higher enthalpy barrier. At room temperature, the structural sequence hcp → bcc is therefore more energetically favorable for Mg. The same conclusion is also reached from the simulations of the phase transitions using metadynamics methods. At room temperature, the metadynamics simulations predict the onset of a hcp → bcc transition at 40 GPa and the transition becomes more prominent upon further compression. At high temperatures, the metadynamics simulations reveal a structural fluctuation among the hcp, dhcp, and bcc structures at 15 GPa. With increasing pressure, the structural evolution at high temperatures becomes more unambiguous and eventually settles to a bcc structure once sufficient pressure is applied. (paper)