On the equivalence between magnetic-field-induced phase transitions in the integer quantum Hall effect

Magnetic-field-induced phase transitions in the two-dimensional electron system in a AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs heterostructure are studied. Two kinds of magnetic-field-induced phase transitions, plateau-plateau (P-P) and insulator-quantum Hall conductor (I-QH) transitions, are observed in the integer quantum Hall effect regime at high magnetic fields. In the P-P transition, both the semicircle law and the universality of critical conductivities are broken and we do not observe the universal scaling. However, the P-P transition can still be mapped to the I-QH transition by the Landau-level addition transformation, and as the temperature decreases the critical points of these two transitions appear at the same temperature. Our observations indicate that the equivalence between P-P and I-QH transitions can be found by the suitable analysis even when some expected universal properties are invalid.     

Giant magnetoresistance in Y0.9La0.1Mn6Sn6 compound

Magnetic transitions and magnetoresistance effect of the HfFe_6Ge_6-type Y_{0.9}La_{0.1}Mn_6Sn_6 compound have been investigated in the temperature range of 5－380K. The sample displays antiferromagnetic behaviour in the whole temperature range below Néel temperature T_N=309K. The metamagnetic transition from antiferromagnetism to ferromagnetism can be induced by an applied field. The metamagnetic transition field decreases monotonically from 2T at 5K to 0.4T at 300K. The giant magnetoresistance effect is observed with the metamagnetic behaviour, such as -10.4% at 245K under a field of 5T.     

Raman scattering study of the phase sequence in A2BX4 halides

Raman spectra of Cs₂ZnI₄ single crystal have been measured in different scattering orientations covering the successive phase transitions down to 68 K. Two second order anomalies at around ice temperature (270 K) and at ～ 92 K are observed. The anomaly around ice temperature exhibits the features of a normal-incommensurate transition evidenced by softening of a low-lying lattice phonon whose frequency decreases as the transition temperature is approached from below whereas the latter one appears to arise from usual structural distortions.     

Critical point for the S → M transition in SmS

The critical point for the isostructural black to metallic phase transition in SmS has been determined using thermoelectric power as a probe. The magnitude of the thermo-power anomaly accompanying this electronic phase transition continuously decreases with the increase of temperature. Further the pressure hysteresis between the forward and reverse transitions progressively decreases as the critical point is approached. The present study indicates that the critical point is close to 825°C.     

Influence of Defects on First Order Structural Phase Transitions

The influence both of symmetry-breaking ("random local field") defects and of symmetry conserving ("random local transition temperature") ones on first order phase transitions is studied within the Landau theory. It is shown that an explicit account, for the elasticity effects, is important in the case of symmetry-breaking defects: the discontinuity of the order parameter at the transition increases due to the defects when the elasticity effects are taken into account but it decreases when they are neglected. For the symmetry-conserving defects, the account for the elasticity does not change the results qualitatively: the defects always diminish the discontinuity of the order parameter. The phase transition temperature always decreases due to the randomness induced by the two types of defects.     

High-resolution spectroscopy of HoFe<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript> crystal: a study of phase transitions

The transmission spectra of HoFe₃(BO₃) multiferroic single crystals are studied by optical Fourier-transform spectroscopy at temperatures of 1.7–423 K in polarized light in the spectral range 500–10 000 cm^–1 with a resolution up to 0.1 cm^–1. A new first-order structural phase transition close to the second-order transition is recorded at T_c = 360 K by the appearance of a new phonon mode at 976 cm^–1. The reasons for considerable differences in T_c for different samples of holmium ferroborate are discussed. By temperature variations in the spectra of the f–f transitions in the Ho³⁺ ion, we studied two magnetic phase transitions, namely, magnetic ordering into an easy-plane structure as a second-order phase transition at T_N = 39 K and spin reorientation from the ab plane to the c axis as a first-order phase transition at T_SR = 4.7 ± 0.2 K. It is shown that erbium impurity in a concentration of 1 at % decreases the spin-reorientation transition temperature to T_SR = 4.0 K.     

Magnetic properties and magnetoresistance of HfFe2Ge2-type Dy1-xGdxMn6Ge6 (x=0.1－0.6) compounds

The magnetic properties and magnetoresistance effects of Dy_{1-x}Gd_xMn_6Ge_6 (x=0.1－0.6) compounds have been studied by magnetic properties and resistivity measurements in applied magnetic fields up to 5T. The compounds with x=0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.5 order antiferromagnetically at 425, 428, 430 and 432K, respectively, and there are second magnetic phase transitions below 100K. The compound with x=0.6 exhibits a transition from ferrimagnetic to antiferromagnetic, then to ferrimagnetic state again with decreasing temperature. Furthermore, it displays a field-induced metamagnetic transition, and its threshold field decreases with increasing temperature. The magnetoresistance curve of the compound with x=0.6 in applied magnetic fields up to 5T is presented and the magnetoresistance effects are related to the metamagnetic transitions.     

New Phase Transitions of the Ising Model on Cayley Trees

We show that the nearest neighbor Ising model on the Cayley tree exhibits new temperature–driven phase transitions. These transitions occur at various inverse temperatures different from the critical one. They are characterised by a change in the number of Gibbs states as well as by a drastic change of the behavior of free energies at these new transition points. We also consider the model in the presence of an external field and compute the free energies of translation invariant and some alternating boundary conditions.     

Surface phase transitions of multiple-site associating fluids

Surface phase transitions of Lennard–Jones (LJ) based two- and four-site associating fluids have been studied for various associating strengths using grand-canonical transition matrix Monte Carlo simulations. Our results suggest that, in the case of a smooth surface, represented by a LJ 9-3-type potential, multiple-site associating fluids display a prewetting transition within a certain temperature range. However, the range of the prewetting transition decreases with increasing associating strength and increasing number of sites on the fluid molecules. With the addition of associating sites on the surface, a quasi-2D vapor–liquid transition may appear, which is observed at a higher surface site density for weaker associating fluids. The prewetting transition at lower associating strength is found to shift towards the quasi-2D vapor–liquid transition with increasing surface site density. However, for highly associating fluids, the prewetting transition is still intact, but shifts slightly towards the lower temperature range. Adsorption isotherms, chemical potentials and density profiles are used to characterize surface phase transitions.     

Investigation of the magnetic properties of the Gd1−xErx alloy system in the x < 0.62 composition range

The magnetic properties of the Gd---Er system (with erbium concentrations ranging from 0 to 62 at%) were investigated at temperatures between 4.2 and 350 K under external magnetic fields up to 1 T. The results show that, similar to other rare-earth systems, simple ferromagnetism prevails for concentrations with a de Gennes factor G higher than about 11.5 (≈ 30 at % Er) while complex magnetic structures are present for higher Er concentrations (G ≤ 11.5. The magnetic transition temperature decreases with increasing Er content, showing good agreement with phenomenological expectations. In the paramagnetic region, the Curie constant of the alloy corresponds to the linear combination of the constituent elements' contribution, thus proving that both Gd and Er maintain their individual magnetic moments. From magnetization data below the transition, the change in magnetic entropy for a 1 T field was calculated and this showed distinct differences between ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transitions and antiferromagnetic transitions. The Landau theory of second-order phase transitions can be well applied for evaluating the thermodynamic transition temperature and the specific heat anomaly in the ferromagnetic alloys but it fails for the more complex structures if the applied field is not far higher than the critical field. The magnetic entropy change displays well defined peaks at the transition temperature for both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic alloys. There is an indication that the spin-reorientation transition occurring in alloys with higher Er concentrations is also coupled with significant magnetic entropy changes.     

Step-by-step first order antiferroelectric-paraelectric transition induced by frustration and electric field

We show analytically that even not too strong frustrating next neighbor interaction strongly affects first order antiferroelectric-paraelectric transition in an external electric field. We apply mean-field Landau theory. In the electric field a single phase transition at T ₀ splits into a step-by-step staircase with a series of intermediate phases. Unexpectedly enough we found that the equilibrium structures of the phases differ substantially from structures formed at low temperature both without field and in field. Polarization of intermediate structures decreases with temperature in a stepwise manner. Similar step-by-step transitions can occur also in magnetic materials with frustrating interaction.     

Transitions in glasses at low temperatures

Length-temperature measurements from ?180°C to the glass transition temperature have been made on a poly(vinyl alkyl ether) series, poly(ethylene terephthalate), and a tetrafluoroethylene-trifluoropropylene copolymer series.

Consistent with low frequency dynamic measurements, the poly(vinyl alkyl ethers) exhibit a glass-glass transition? Tgg [1] between Tg and Tg ?70°C with evidence of another at about ?160 to ?180°C. With increasing side-chain length, the expansion coefficient below Tg- and the magnitude of the g-g transition increase, and the value of the Simha-Boyer free-volume product decreases, suggesting retention of excess free volume by the flexible pendant group. This behavior is analogous to that observed for poly(alkyl methacrylates) except that the latter system exhibited two g-g transitions, the lower of which coincided with Tgg [1] observed here.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) samples, both amorphous and crystalline, exhibit two T > Tg transitions at about ?85 and ?40°C. Dynamic results resolve only one relaxation in this temperature range.

The glass temperatures of the tetrafluoroethylene-trifluoropropylene copolymer series, as determined by both dilatometry and differential scanning calorimetry, extrapolate to a Tg, for 100% amorphous PTFE of 11-16°C. Two g-g transitions, present in each homo-polymer, persist in the copolymers, indicating that only a small number of molecular units are involved. The magnitude of these relaxations, however, as measured by the change in expansion coefficient, is dependent on copolymer composition.     

Electronic transition and the metallization effect in the BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> crystal at high pressures

The optical absorption spectra from bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) have been studied at high pressures up to 60 GPa in diamond anvil cells. An electronic transition at which the energy of the optical absorption edge decreases sharply from ～1.5 eV to zero has been observed at room temperature in a pressure range of 45–55 GPa. This indirectly indicates a insulator-metal transition. The observed electronic transition correlates with the recently revealed structural and magnetic transitions induced by high pressures in this crystal. The behavior of the optical absorption edge with decreasing the pressure is completely reversible in correlation with the reversibility of the magnetic transition. The “smearing” of the structural transition in pressure is caused by thermal fluctuations between the high-spin state and low-spin state of the Fe³⁺ ions near the transition.     

液态金属急冷过程中微观结构转变的研究

本文对液态金属Ａｌ在溶态及急冷过程中的微观结构及其转变进行了分子动力学模拟研究。发现在由ＨＡ（Ｈｏｎｅｙｃｕｔ－Ａｎｄｅｒｓｅｎ）健型指数所确定的双锥体原子团结构的数目随急冷温度变化的关系曲线上存在着二个明显的转变点。第一个点与熟知的玻璃转变温度Ｔｇ相吻合；而第二个点则为新发现的低温端相交点Ｔｇ２。这一结果为用分子动力学方法从微观层次上研究结构相变过程提供了一条新途径。     

Efficient above-band-gap light emission in germanium Invited Paper

We report an above-band-gap radiative transition in the photoluminescence spectra of single crystalline Ge in the temperature range of 20-296 K. The temperature-independence of the peak position at ～0.74 eV is remarkably different from the behavior of direct and indirect gap transitions in Ge. This transition is observed in n-type, p-type, and intrinsic single crystal Ge alike, and its intensity decreases with the increase of temperature with a small activation energy of 56 meV. Some aspects of the transition are analogous to Ⅲ-Ⅴ semiconductors with dilute nitrogen doping, which suggests that the origin could be related to an isoelectronic defect.     

Intertwined electronic and structural phase transitions in the In/Si(111) interface

The structural (4 x 1) to (8 x 2) transition and the electronic metal to semimetal transition at the In/Si interface are studied with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Both transitions are gradual, resulting in a complex domain structure in the transition temperature regime. At these intermediate temperatures, the metallic (4 x 1) and semimetallic (8 x 2) domains coexist with each other and with new nanophases. By probing the two intertwined but distinguishable transitions at the atomic level, the interaction between different phases is visualized directly.     

四氯合钴酸二(正十六烷基铵)层状配合物结构相变的红外光谱研究

用红外光谱和差示扫描量热法(DSC)研究了具有钙钛矿型层结构标题配合物的固-固相变。在340K处发现一个新的相变。实验证明了结构相变与烷基铵链动力学和氢键有关。在374K的主相变主要来源于烷基铵链构象的有序-无序变化,该变化可能与NH_3极性头的重定向运动偶合。在高温相在烷基铵链中产生了GTG+GTG’和GG以及临近端甲基的TG结构,因而形成了构象完全无序态。     

Phase behavior of DODAB aqueous solution

Phase behavior of DODAB aqueous solution, prepared without sonication, was studied by adiabatic scanning calorimetry. Measurements revealed four phase transitions with the temperatures 35.2, 39.6, 44.6, and 52.4°C at heating and one transition at the temperature 40.4°C at cooling. The first three transitions at heating occur in unilamellar vesicles. The first and third transitions correspond to the subgel-gel and gelliquid phase transitions, corresponding enthalpy jumps are equal to 33 and 49 kJ/mol. The second transition appears after some aging and is similar to gel-ripple phase transition in a DPPC solution, with the enthalpy jump under the transition exceeding 7.4 kJ/mol. The transition occurs in unilamellar vesicles. The transition at the temperature 52.4°C occurs in another subsystem of the solution, which we believe to be multilamellar vesicles. The enthalpy jump at this transition is equal to 97 kJ/mol, and data analysis suggests that this is a subgel-liquid transition. The phase transition at cooling is the liquid-gel transition in unilamellar vesicles. During the measurements, a slow evolution of the solution occurs, consisting in a change of concentrations of unilamellar and multilamellar vesicles. This transformation mainly occurs at low temperatures.     

Chiral Magnetic Effect and Chiral Phase Transition

We study the influence of the chiral phase transition on the chiral magnetic effect. The azimuthal charge-particle correlations as functions of the temperature are calculated. It is found that there is a pronounced cusp in the correlations as the temperature reaches its critical value for the QCD phase transition. It is predicted that there will be a drastic suppression of the charge-particle correlations as the collision energy in RHIC decreases to below a critical value. We show then the azimuthal charge-particle correlations can be the signal to identify the occurrence of the QCD phase transitions in RHIC energy scan experiments.