Orientational transitions in ferromagnetic liquid crystals with bistable coupling between colloidal particles and the matrix

We study the orientational response of a ferromagnetic liquid crystal that is induced by magnetic and electric fields. A modified form of the energy of the orientational interaction between magnetic impurity particles and the liquid crystal matrix that leads to bistable coupling is considered. It is shown that apart from magnetic impurity segregation, first-order orientational transitions can be due to the bistability of the potential of the orientational coupling between the director and the magnetization. The ranges of material parameters that lead to optical bistability are determined. The possibility of first-order orientational transitions is analyzed for the optical phase difference between the ordinary and extraordinary light rays transmitted through a ferronematic cell. It is shown that an electric field applied in the given geometry considerably enhances the magneto-orientational response of the ferronematic.     

Specific character of metamagnetic transitions in Fe2P

Temperature and field dependences of magnetization in the fields directed along the easy axis of magnetization are studied on Fe₂P single crystals under pressure. It is shown that the first-order magnetic transition from ferromagnetism to paramagnetism (FM-PM) usually observed in sufficiently strong fields can be resolved into two sequential transitions in weak fields (H ? 600 Oe): 1) from the PM state to the intermediate metamagnetic phase and 2) transition to the low-temperature magnetic phase. The temperatures of these transitions undergo a specific evolution under pressure. A theoretical model, in which the characteristic features of magnetic behaviour of Fe₂P are associated with the successive additional ordering of magnetic components of its composition, is proposed.     

Orientational transitions in antiferromagnetic liquid crystals

The orientational phases in an antiferromagnetic liquid crystal (ferronematic) based on the nematic liquid crystal with the negative anisotropy of diamagnetic susceptibility are studied in the framework of the continuum theory. The ferronematic was assumed to be compensated; i.e., in zero field, impurity ferroparticles with the magnetic moments directed parallel and antiparallel to the director are equiprobably distributed in it. It is established that under the action of a magnetic field the ferronematic undergoes orientational transitions compensated (antiferromagnetic) phase–non-uniform phase–saturation (ferrimagnetic) phase. The analytical expressions for threshold fields of the transitions as functions of material parameters are obtained. It is shown that with increasing magnetic impurity segregation parameter, the threshold fields of the transitions significantly decrease. The bifurcation diagram of the ferronematic orientational phases is built in terms of the energy of anchoring of magnetic particles with the liquid-crystal matrix and magnetic field. It is established that the Freedericksz transition is the second-order phase transition, while the transition to the saturation state can be second- or first-order. In the latter case, the suspension exhibits orientational bistability. The orientational and magnetooptical properties of the ferronematic in different applied magnetic fields are studied.     

Investigation of the Disordered Antiferromagnetic Ising Model with the Effects of Random Magnetic Fields

Computer simulation of phase transitions is made by the Monte Carlo method using a three-dimensional disordered antiferromagnetic Ising model in the external magnetic field. It is found that in the case where the spin concentration in a system is lower than a threshold one, the effects of random magnetic fields destroy the second-order phase transition and lead to the first-order phase transition into a new phase state of the system characterized by a ground spin-glassy state and metastable energy states at finite temperatures. The dependence of the threshold concentration on the external magnetic field is revealed.     

Critical and tricritical behavior of a selectively diluted triangular Ising antiferromagnet in a field

We study a geometrically frustrated triangular Ising antiferromagnet in an external magnetic field which is selectively diluted with nonmagnetic impurities employing an effective-field theory with correlations and Monte Carlo simulations. We focus on the frustration-relieving effects of such a selective dilution on the phase diagram and find that it can lead to rather intricate phase diagrams in the dilution-field parameters space. In particular, in a highly (weakly) diluted system the frustration is greatly (little) relieved and such a system is found to display only the second(first)-order phase transitions at any field. On the other hand, for a wide interval of intermediate dilution values the transition remains second-order at low fields but it changes to first-order at higher fields and the system displays a tricritical behavior. The existence of the first-order transition in the region of intermediate dilution and high fields is verified by Monte Carlo simulations.     

Cascade of Magnetic Field Induced Spin Transitions in LaCoO_{3}

We present magnetization and magnetostriction studies of LaCoO_{3} in magnetic fields approaching 100?T. In contrast with expectations from single-ion models, the data reveal two distinct first-order transitions and well-defined magnetization plateaus. The magnetization at the higher plateau is only about half the saturation value expected for spin-1 Co^{3+} ions. These findings strongly suggest collective behavior induced by interactions between different electronic configurations of Co^{3+} ions. We propose a model that predicts crystalline spin textures and a cascade of four magnetic phase transitions at high fields, of which the first two account for the experimental data.     

Phase diagram of antiferromagnetic cobalt fluoride

The H-T phase diagram of antiferromagnetic cobalt fluoride in an external magnetic field H perpendicular to the easy magnetization axis A is completed and used to construct a phase diagram in the variables H _z and H _y . In this diagram, the lines corresponding to second-order phase transitions (between an angular phase and a phase with antiferromagnetic vector I ⊥ A) begin and end in fields of a spin-flip transition (i.e., in an exchange field). A peculiarity of these lines of phase transitions is that each of them has two tricritical points at which this line of second-order phase transitions transforms into a line of first-order phase transitions. A critical angle between the direction of the external magnetic field and the basal plane within which the first-order phase transition takes place is determined.     

Asymmetrically shaped hysteresis loop in exchange-biased FeNi/FeMn film

The magnetization reversal of the bilayer polycrystalline FeNi(50 Å)/FeMn(50 Å) film sputtered in a magnetic field has been studied by magnetic and magneto-optical techniques. The external magnetic fields were applied along the easy or hard magnetization axis of the ferromagnetic permalloy layer. The asymmetry of hysteresis loop has been found. Appreciable asymmetry and the exchange bias were observed only in the field applied along the easy axis. The specific features of magnetization reversal were explained within the phenomenological model that involves high-order exchange anisotropy and misalignment of the easy axes of the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic layers. It has been shown that the film can exist in one of three equilibrium magnetic states in the field applied along the easy axis. The transitions between these states occur as first-order phase transitions. The observed hysteresis loop asymmetry is related to the existence of the metastable state.     

Studies on magnetic-field-induced first-order transitions

We shall discuss magnetization and transport measurements in materials exhibiting a broad first-order transition. The phase transitions would be caused by varying magnetic field as well as temperature, and we concentrate on ferro- to antiferromagnetic transitions in magnetic materials. We distinguish between metastable supercooled phases and metastable glassy phase.     

Magnetocaloric effect near the first-order phase transitions in compounds of rare earth and transition metals

The results of the calculations and the experimental values of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in a group of compounds that are promising for use in magnetic coolers are reported. In the materials studied, MCE reaches the largest values near the magnetic first-order phase transitions and is mainly determined by the evolving latent heat of the transition. Contributions of different processes, occurring at the first-order phase transitions, to the observed MCE value have been separated on the basis of the thermodynamic model.     

Effect of electric and magnetic fields on the orientation structure of a ferronematic liquid crystal

We analyze uniform orientation phases in soft ferronematics (suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles in nematic liquid crystals) induced by electric and magnetic fields. It is shown that the competition between the electric and magnetic fields can lead to various sequences of orientation transitions in a ferronematic depending on the energy of coupling between the director and magnetization. We obtain and analyze phase diagrams of these transitions. A sequence of re-entrant transitions in the orientation structure (angular phase-homeotropic phase-angular phase-planar phase) is predicted for a certain range of the coupling energies and electric field strengths.     

Formation of a martensitic twins structure in Ni<Subscript>2.16</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>0.84</Subscript>Ga heusler alloy by high magnetic fields under adiabatic and isothermal conditions

The results are presented from experimental studies of the formation of martensitic twin structures in Ni_2.16Mn_0.84Ga Heusler alloy under the effect of magnetic fields of up to 14 T using a specially developed optical microscope under isothermal and adiabatic conditions. A qualitative model is proposed that explains the differences between the progress magnetoinduced magnetostructural first-order phase transitions under different thermodynamic conditions.     

双模随机晶场对纳米管上Blume-Capel模型磁化强度和相变的影响

近年来, 磁性纳米管的物理性质和相关应用得到了人们的广泛关注. 利用有效场理论研究了纳米管上双模随机晶场中Blume-Capel模型的磁化强度和相变性质, 得到了系统的磁化强度与温度和随机晶场的关系及其相图. 结果表明: 系统在稀释晶场、交错晶场和同向晶场中会表现出不同的磁学性质和相变行为; 稀释晶场和交错晶场会抑制系统的磁化强度, 导致其基态饱和值小于1, 而同向晶场则不会; 随着随机晶场参量的变化, 系统存在多个相变温度, 并呈现出三临界现象和重入现象.     

The mixed-spins 1/2 and 3/2 Blume—Capel model with a random crystal field

The random crystal field(RCF) effects are investigated on the phase diagrams of the mixed-spins 1/2 and 3/2 Blume-Capel(BC) model on the Bethe lattice.The bimodal random crystal field is assumed and the recursion relations are employed for the solution of the model.The system gives only the second-order phase transitions for all values of the crystal fields in the non-random bimodal distribution for given probability.The randomness does not change the order of the phase transitions for higher crystal field values,i.e.,it is always second-order,but it may introduce first-order phase transitions at lower negative crystal field values for the probability in the range about 0.20 and 0.45,which is only the second-order for the non-random case in this range.Thus our work claims that randomness may be used to induce first-order phase transitions at lower negative crystal field values at lower probabilities.     

Magnetic and ferroelectric ordering in BiMn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> oxide

A group-theoretical analysis of the magnetic phase of BiMn₂O₅ oxide is performed using the space symmetry group of the compound. Using the projection operator method, we determine the basis functions of the irreducible representation of the space group, which are expressed in terms of the magnetic vector components. This representation can govern two phase transitions from the paramagnetic state to the antiferromagnetic phase with close temperatures and ordering of the spins of manganese ions in two crystallographic positions. It is found from renorm group analysis of these transitions that when these transitions occur as second- order transitions, the electric polarization does not appear in the system because spin fluctuations in this case elevate the symmetry of the system. Polarization appears when at least one of these transitions becomes a first-order transition as a result of spin fluctuations.     

The transition strength from solid to liquid colloidal dipolar clusters in precessing magnetic fields

We report on the rotation of colloidal clusters of diamagnetic beads and of mixtures of paramagnetic and diamagnetic beads in a ferrofluid in a precessing external magnetic field. The precession angle of the external field is a control parameter determining the stability of the cluster. Clusters become locally unstable when the local precession angle reaches the magic angle. Cluster shape dependent depolarization fields lead to a deviation of the local from the external precession angle such that close to the external magic angle different cluster shapes might coexist. For this reason cluster transitions are weakly or strongly first-order transitions. If the transition is weakly first order a critical speeding up of the cluster rotation is observed. No speeding up occurs for strongly first-order cluster transitions with hysteresis. The strength of the first-order transition is controlled by the size of the core of the cluster.     

Metamagnetism

This is a review of the physical properties of metamagnets. These are antiferromagnets which, upon the application of a magnetic field, can undergo first-order magnetic phase transitions to a state with a relatively large magnetic moment. The treatments of mean field theory describing these materials are reviewed, as are the treatments of more modern theories. The experimental properties of the known metamagnets are discussed, with emphasis on the variety of means by which the metamagnetic transitions have been observed and studied. For some materials, there have been studies of the tricritical behaviour, and a discussion of the experimental results of these studies is given, along with a comparison of the results with the present theory.     

Monte Carlo simulation of a random-field Ising antiferromagnet

Phase transitions in the three-dimensional diluted Ising antiferromagnet in an applied magnetic field are analyzed numerically. It is found that random magnetic field in a system with spin concentration below a certain threshold induces a crossover from second-order phase transition to first-order transition to a new phase characterized by a spin-glass ground state and metastable energy states at finite temperatures.     

Field-induced magnetic phase transitions in the Yafet-Kittel model

The Yafet-Kittel model for a two-sublattice ferrimagnet with an antiferromagnetic exchange interaction in one of the sublattices was developed to describe magnetic-field-induced phase transitions in the isotropic and Ising cases. Depending on the relative values of the exchange parameters of the inter-sublattice interaction and the intra-sublattice interaction in the isotropic case, two types of magnetic phase diagrams with two types of second-order phase transitions are possible: to the noncollinear phase and to the spin-flip phase, and, in the Ising case, three types of magnetic phase diagrams with first-order phase transitions are possible. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1797–1799 (October 1999)     

Characteristics of phase transitions in crystals having a triangular structure in a magnetic field

Analysis of the field dependence of the order parameters and comparison with experimental data on the behavior of the magnetic characteristics of iron phosphide compounds in the stability region of the metamagnetic phase provides a basis for identifying the type of magnetic structure that can exist in this case. The invariants responsible for first-order magnetic phase transitions in crystals having a triangular magnetic structure are identified from the entire rational basis of invariants. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 940–945 (May 1997)