Enhancement of Nematic Order and Global Phase Diagram of a Lattice Model for Coupled Nematic Systems

We use an infinite-range Maier–Saupe model, with two sets of local quadrupolar variables and restricted orientations, to investigate the global phase diagram of a coupled system of two nematic subsystems. The free energy and the equations of state are exactly calculated by standard techniques of statistical mechanics. The nematic–isotropic transition temperature of system A increases with both the interaction energy among mesogens of system B, and the two-subsystem coupling J. This enhancement of the nematic phase is manifested in a global phase diagram in terms of the interaction parameters and the temperature T. We make some comments on the connections of these results with experimental findings for a system of diluted ferroelectric nanoparticles embedded in a nematic liquid-crystalline environment.     

Magnetic hysteresis,compensation behaviors,and phase diagrams of bilayer honeycomb lattices

Magnetic behaviors of the Ising system with bilayer honeycomb lattice(BHL) structure are studied by using the effective-field theory(EFT) with correlations. The effects of the interaction parameters on the magnetic properties of the system such as the hysteresis and compensation behaviors as well as phase diagrams are investigated. Moreover, when the hysteresis behaviors of the system are examined, single and double hysteresis loops are observed for various values of the interaction parameters. We obtain the L-, Q-, P-, and S-type compensation behaviors in the system. We also observe that the phase diagrams only exhibit the second-order phase transition. Hence, the system does not show the tricritical point(TCP).     

First-order antiferro-ferromagnetic transition in Fe(49)(Rh(0.93)Pd(0.07))(51) under simultaneous application of magnetic field and external pressure

A magnetic field-pressure-temperature (H-P-T) phase diagram for first-order antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetic (FM) transitions in Fe(49)(Rh(0.93)Pd(0.07))(51) has been constructed using resistivity measurements under simultaneous application of magnetic field (up to 8 T) and pressure (up to 20 kbar). The temperature dependence of resistivity (ρ-T) shows that the width of the transition and the extent of hysteresis decreases with pressure and increases with magnetic field. By exploiting opposing trends of dT(N)/dP and dT(N)/dH (where T(N) is the first-order transition temperature), the relative effects of temperature, magnetic field and pressure on disorder-broadened first-order transitions has been studied. For this, a set of H and P values are chosen for which T(N)(H(1),P(1)) = T(N)(H(2),P(2)). Measurements for such combinations of H and P show that the temperature dependence of resistivity is similar, i.e. the broadening (in temperature) of transition as well as the extent of hysteresis remains independent of H and P. Isothermal magnetoresistance measurements under various constant pressures show that even though the critical field required for AFM-FM transition depends on applied pressure, the extent of hysteresis as well as transition width (in magnetic field) remains constant with varying pressure.     

Phase transitions in uniaxial ferromagnetic film covered by superconducting layers

The phase diagram and the single-domain uniform state for a uniaxial ferromagnetic film with the superconducting layers covering one or both sides of a ferromagnet are investigated. The superconductor is supposed to be a second-order one and the interaction between the magnetic sub-system and with the conductivity electrons in a superconductor is purely electromagnetic and the vortices in a superconductor are pinned. The critical thickness of the magnetic film for which the uniform state becomes absolutely stable is calculated when the external magnetic field is supposed to be in-plane of the film. It is shown that the critical thickness of the film from the magnetic material with the quality factor Q>1 monotonically decreases as the magnetic field increases in the range from zero value to the value of the transition field where the collinear phase transforms into the angular (canted) phase. Further the critical thickness increases with the increase of the field. The quasi-single-domain magnetic film states were considered when the film thickness was close to the critical one. It is shown that for a thin isolated magnetic film the domain period exponentially increases with the decrease of the film thickness. Such dependence, however for the film with double-side superconducting cover and close to the transition into the single domain state becomes logarithmic and for the film covered by superconductor only on the one side varies as the power series. The single-domain state existence and the asymptotic behaviour of the domain structure is explained by the features of the asymptotic behaviour of the domain walls within the system. As for isolated magnetic film and for a film with the superconductor cover layers the transition from the collinear phase to the inhomogeneous state is the second-order phase transition and the transition from the uniform angular phase to the inhomogeneous phase is the first-order transition.     

Magnetostriction of the spin-Peierls cuprate CuGeO3

The isothermal, longitudinal magnetostriction of the spin-Peierls cuprate CuGeO₃ has been measured along the three orthorhombic directions up to 14 Tesla by means of a high resolution capacitance dilatometer. For all three axes we observe anomalies at both the dimerized/incommensurate (D/I) and the dimerized/uniform (D/U) transition whose sizes and signs differ. A precise H-T phase diagram is determined from the field and temperature dependence of the lattice constants, which roughly agrees with theoretical predictions. At the D/I transition the magnetostriction shows a jumplike behavior and a hysteresis indicating a first order transition. From the jumps of the magnetostriction at the D/I transition we estimate considerable, uniaxial stress dependences of the critical magnetic field H _c, which correlate with those of the spin-Peierls transition temperature. A finite magnetostriction is also resolved within the high temperature uniform phase of CuGeO₃ for all three lattice directions. These data show a pronounced, strongly anisotropic spin-lattice coupling in CuGeO₃ and allow to derive the uniaxial pressure dependences of the magnetic susceptibility. Based on our findings the relevance of different structural parameters for the magnetic exchange interaction is discussed.     

Effect of Sb doping on phase transition and relaxor behaviour of (Pb0.75Ba0.25)(Zr0.70Ti0.30)O3 ceramics

The effect of antimony dopant on phase transition, dielectric response and relaxor behaviour of (Pb_0.75Ba_0.25)(Zr_0.70Ti_0.30)O₃ ceramics was studied. Ceramic samples, with various Sb concentration from the range 1 to 4 at.%, were prepared by a conventional mixed oxide method. The crystal structure of the investigated ceramics was determined by an X-ray diffraction at room temperature that allowed to determine the unit cell parameters. Dielectric relaxation typical for ferroelectric relaxors was observed in the vicinity of diffuse ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition. All parameters describing the relaxor behaviour determined from the Vogel–Fulcher relationship depend on the concentration of Sb dopant. The strong influence of antimony on grain structure and on remanent polarisation was confirmed as well.     

Thermodynamic stability and phase behaviour of a liquid crystalline material: a theoretical model at molecular level

This article describes the thermodynamic stability and phase behaviour of a liquid crystalline material p-n-hexyloxybenzylidene-p-toluidine (6OBT) at a molecular level. The atomic net charge and dipole moment at each atomic centre have been evaluated using the complete neglect differential overlap (CNDO/2) method. The modified Rayleigh–Schrodinger perturbation method along with multicentred-multipole expansion method has been employed to evaluate the long-range intermolecular interactions, while a ‘6-exp’ potential function has been assumed for the short-range interactions. The total interaction energy values obtained through these computations have been used to calculate the probability of each configuration at room temperature (300?K), nematic–isotropic transition temperature (346.9?K) and above transition temperature (400?K) using the Maxwell–Boltzmann formula. Further, the Helmholtz free energy and entropy of each configuration has been computed during the different modes of interactions. An attempt has been made to understand the phase behaviour and stability of the molecule based on thermodynamic parameters introduced in this article.     

Preparation of PSFO and LPSFO nanofibers by electrospinning and their electronic transport and magnetic properties

Pr_0.5Sr_0.5FeO₃ (PSFO) and La_0.25Pr_0.25Sr_0.5FeO₃ (LPSFO) nanofibers are prepared by electrospinning followed by calcination, and their morphologies, microstructures, electronic transports, and magnetic properties are studied systematically. The temperature-dependent resistance curves of PSFO and LPSFO nanofibers are measured in a temperature range from 300 K to 10 K. With the temperature lowering, the resistance increases gradually and then decreases sharply due to the occurrence of ferromagnetic metal phase. The metal-insulator transition temperatures are about 110 K and 180 K for PSFO and LPSFO nanofibers, respectively. The electronic conduction behavior above the transition temperature can be described by one-dimensional Mott's variable-range hopping (VRH) model. The hysteresis loops and the field-cooled (FC) and zero-field-cooled (ZFC) curves show that both PSFO nanofiber and LPSFO nanofiber exhibit ferromagnetism. Although the doping of La reduces the overall magnetization intensity of the material, it increases the ferromagnetic ratio of the system, which may improve the performance of LPSFO in solid oxide fuel cell.     

The thermal behaviors and phase diagrams of the Ising-type endohedral fullerene with magnetic core and diluted magnetic shell (Core@Shell<Subscript>20</Subscript>)

We have carried out theoretical studies on Ising-type endohedral fullerene (EF) structure with a dopant magnetic atom encaged within the diluted magnetic spherical cage to examine the evolution in magnetic behaviors. We show how the thermal behaviors and phase diagrams of Ising-type EF are affected by diluted surface, crystal field and exchange couplings. We have used to investigate theoretically the effect of Hamiltonian parameters the effective field calculations within Ising model framework. The model Hamiltonian includes nearest neighbor ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic center-surface (C-S) interaction as well as ferromagnetic surface interaction. We have shown that the system exhibits the first and second order phase transitions as well as tricritical point. In particular, the conditions for the occurrence of these reentrant and double reentrant behaviors are given explicitly.     

An effective-field theory study of hexagonal Ising nanowire: Thermal and magnetic properties

By means of the effective-field theory （EFT） with correlations, the thermodynamic and magnetic quantities （such as magnetization, susceptibility, internal energy, specific heat, free energy, hysteresis curves, and compensation behaviors） of the spin-l/2 hexagonal Ising nanowire （HIN） system with core/shell structure have been presented. The hysteresis curves are obtained for different values of the system parameters, in both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic cases. It has been shown that the system only undergoes a second-order phase transition. Moreover, from the thermal variations of the total magnetization, the five compensation types can be found under certain conditions, namely the Q-, R-, S-, P-, and N-types.     

Simulation of the (p,T) phase diagram of the temperature-driven metamagnet α-FeRh

We perform finite-pressure Monte Carlo simulations of an effective spin-analogous model with coupled magnetic and lattice degrees of freedom, which has previously been proposed in order to explain the anomalous temperature driven metamagnetic phase transition in α-FeRh. The results are in reasonable agreement with the experimental (p,?T) phase diagram. The critical behaviour of the system along the transition lines is analysed in detail.     

Phenomenological analysis of thermal hysteresis in Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloys

The manipulation of thermal hysteresis in Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloys with coupled magnetostructural phase transition is studied theoretically using the Landau theory, including magnetic, elastic and crystal lattice modulation order parameters as well as an external magnetic field. It is shown that for the assigned combination of phenomenological parameters, in the phase diagrams, the Austenite–Martensite first-order phase transition has a finite (critical) point in which the thermal hysteresis is disappeared. Moreover, this point depends on the relation between modulation and elastic constants as well as on the magnetic field. Obtained results have been compared with other theoretical end experimental data.     

Magnetic and optical properties of Zn1– x Fe x O ( x = 0.05 and 0.10) diluted magnetic semiconducting nanoparticles

We have investigated the magnetic and optical properties of chemically low temperature-synthesized Zn_{1– x} Fe _x O (x = 0.05 and 0.10) diluted magnetic semiconducting nanoparticles (～7 nm). Observed magnetic behaviour of x = 0.05 samples showed that the net magnetic interaction was antiferromagnetic-like, a feature established by Curie–Weiss fit, concave Arrott–Belov–Kouvel (ABK) plots with the absence of spontaneous magnetization even at 5 K and stretched exponential-type time-dependent magnetization behaviour. Optimization of the Fe(x) dopant concentration in Zn_{1– x} Fe _x O gave the most favourable room-temperature ferromagnetism for x = 0.10, as supported by finite coercive field (～94.4 Oe) and remanent magnetization (0.011 µ_B/Fe ion) from strong hysteretic magnetization vs. magnetic-field curves at room temperature. The Curie temperature of the x = 0.10 sample was estimated at ～388 K. The existence of a room-temperature ferromagnetic phase was further established by the convex nature of the ABK plots with finite spontaneous magnetization. The observed magnetic behaviour for different x values is best explained by a magnetic polaron model.     

Tb掺杂双层锰氧化物La_(4/3)Sr_(5/3)Mn_2O_7的磁熵变和电输运性质

研究了Tb掺杂对双层锰氧化物La_(4/3)Sr_(5/3)Mn_2O_7磁熵变和电输运性质的影响.样品采用传统固相反应法制备,两样品的名义组分可以表示为(La_(1-x)Tb_x)_(4/3)Sr_(5/3)Mn_2O_7(x=0,0.025),磁场为7 T时的最大磁熵变?S_M分别为-4.60 J/(kg·K)和-4.18 J/(kg·K).比较后发现,Tb元素的掺杂使得最大磁熵变值减小,但同时增大了相对制冷温区.电性测量结果表明,x=0.025的样品在高温区的导电机制可以用小极化子模型解释,与母体三维变程跳跃模型不同;当温度降低至三维长程铁磁有序温度(T_c~(3D))附近时,掺杂样品发生金属绝缘相变;掺杂后样品在T_c~(3D)附近,磁电阻取得极大值(约为56%),表明是本征磁电阻效应.     

EPR of the first Fe(III)-containing spin-crossover metallomesogens

The low-spin (LS) to high-spin (HS) transition in two mesogenic Fe(III) complexes with alkyloxysalicyliden-N^′-ethyl-N-ethylendiamine as ligands is studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The symmetrization of the crystal field around the Fe(III) ion under first heating of a polycrystalline sample from the room temperature was observed in the spectra of HS complexes. The line narrowing (from 45 to 15 mT) under the crystal-smectic phase transition is explained by the strengthening of the intermolecular exchange interaction, as a result of the structural reorganization of layers in the smectic phase. A feature of both mesogenic spin-transition systemsis an unusual field-induced spin instability which leads to the hysteresis of the HS-LS composition. This instability is detected by EPR and magnetic susceptibility methods. The alignment of systems by magnetic field in the mesophase and a complete or partial orientational order under cooling the mesophase to the glass state are the main reason for this hysteresis. The influence of EPR-silent LS complexes reveals itself in the line broadening of HS compounds’ when the temperature is lowered from 220 K.     

Pressure effect on the magnetic properties of CeSb

Changes in the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram of CeSb with pressure have been determined up to 6kbar by magnetization measurements on a single crystal. High magnetic fields up to 70 kOe have been applied along a four fold axis of the rock-salt type structure. The features of the phase diagram are not changed by pressure except for a shift towards high temperature. The saturated magnetic moment and the hysteresis of the transition fields are independent of pressure. Variation of exchange energy with volume is deduced from the experimental results. It is shown that the effect of pressure and the magnetic volume anomaly at 0 K are essentially due to the variation of the exchange energy in the ferromagnetic (001) planes.     

First order phase transition in the frustrated triangular antiferromagnet CsNiCl3

By means of high-resolution ultrasonic velocity measurements, as a function of temperature and magnetic field, the nature of the different low temperatures magnetic phase transitions observed for the quasi-one-dimensional compound CsNiCl3 is established. Special attention has been devoted to the field-induced 120 degrees phase transition above the multicritical point in the H-T phase diagram where the elastic constant C44 reveals a steplike variation and hysteresis effects. These results represent the first experimental evidence that the 120 degrees phase transition is weakly first order and contradict the popular notion of new universality classes for chiral systems.     

晶体相场法研究预变形对熔点附近六角相/正方相相变的影响

应用双模晶体相场模型计算二维相图,并模拟了在熔点附近预变形和保温温度对六角相晶界演化以及六角相/正方相相变的影响.研究发现:在相变初期,当预变形为零、保温温度离熔点很近时在晶界发生缺陷诱发预熔;增大预变形,变形与缺陷的交互作用在熔点附近诱发预熔;随着预变形的进一步增大,变形在畸变处同时诱发液相和正方相,且预变形越大、保温温度越接近熔点,液相生长越明显,反之正方相生长明显.持续保温使得畸变能释放,晶粒最终完全转变为平衡正方相.模拟结果表明:预变形六角相在熔点附近保温时,由于晶界固有缺陷和预变形双重作用使得原子无序度增加,从而在晶界或其他缺陷处产生液相,待能量释放后晶粒再转变成平衡正方相,进而延缓了六角相/正方相相变时间.     

Metamagnetic phase transition of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg icosahedron

The observation of hysteresis effects in single molecule magnets like Mn12-acetate has initiated ideas of future applications in storage technology. The appearance of a hysteresis loop in such compounds is an outcome of their magnetic anisotropy. In this Letter we report that magnetic hysteresis occurs in a spin system without any anisotropy, specifically where spins mounted on the vertices of an icosahedron are coupled by antiferromagnetic isotropic nearest-neighbor Heisenberg interaction giving rise to geometric frustration. At T = 0 this system undergoes a first-order metamagnetic phase transition at a critical field Bc between two distinct families of ground state configurations. The metastable phase of the system is characterized by a temperature and field dependent survival probability distribution.