On the Chirality Quantum Phase Transition of the Dirac Oscillator

Dirac oscillator subjects to an external magnetic field is re-examined. We show that this model can be mapped onto different quantum optics models if one insists to introduce two kinds of phonons which associate with the excitations of Dirac oscillator and magnetic field respectively. The conclusion about chirality quantum phase transition in the paper “Chirality quantum phase transition in the Dirac oscillator” (Bermudez et al. Phys. Rev. A, 77, 063815 2008) is only valid for a specific mapped quantum optics models rather than the Dirac oscillator itself. Thus, the conclusions about chirality quantum phase transitions in this paper are not universal.     

Phases coexistence and surface tensions for the potts model

Theq states Potts model exhibits a first order phase transition at some inverse temperature β _t between “ordered” and “disordered” phases forq large as proved in [1]. In space dimension 2 we use theduality transformation as aninternal symmetry of the partition function at β _t to derive an estimate on the probability of a contour. This enables us to prove the preceding result and the following new results:

1. The discontinuity of the mass gap at β _t .
2. The existence of astrictly positive surface tension between two ordered phases up to β _t .
3. The existence of a non-zero surface tension between an “ordered” and the “disordered” phase at β _t .

     

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.     

Gravitational phase transitions with an exclusion constraint in position space

We discuss the statistical mechanics of a system of self-gravitating particles with anexclusion constraint in position space in a space of dimension d. Theexclusion constraint puts an upper bound on the density of the system and can stabilize itagainst gravitational collapse. We plot the caloric curves giving the temperature as afunction of the energy and investigate the nature of phase transitions as a function ofthe size of the system and of the dimension of space in both microcanonical and canonicalensembles. We consider stable and metastable states and emphasize the importance of thelatter for systems with long-range interactions. For d ≤ 2, there is nophase transition. For d > 2, phase transitions can take place betweena “gaseous” phase unaffected by the exclusion constraint and a “condensed” phase dominatedby this constraint. The condensed configurations have a core-halo structure made of a“rocky core” surrounded by an “atmosphere”, similar to a giant gaseous planet. For largesystems there exist microcanonical and canonical first order phase transitions. Forintermediate systems, only canonical first order phase transitions are present. For smallsystems there is no phase transition at all. As a result, the phase diagram exhibits twocritical points, one in each ensemble. There also exist a region of negative specificheats and a situation of ensemble inequivalence for sufficiently large systems. We showthat a statistical equilibrium state exists for any values of energy and temperature inany dimension of space. This differs from the case of the self-gravitating Fermi gas forwhich there is no statistical equilibrium state at low energies and low temperatures whend ≥ 4. By a proper interpretation of the parameters, our results haveapplication for the chemotaxis of bacterial populations in biology described by ageneralized Keller-Segel model including an exclusion constraint in position space. Theyalso describe colloids at a fluid interface driven by attractive capillary interactionswhen there is an excluded volume around the particles. Connexions with two-dimensionalturbulence are also mentioned.     

Critical and Tricritical Wetting in the Two-Dimensional Blume–Capel model

The two-dimensional Blume–Capel model with free surfaces where a surface field \(H_1\) acts and the “crystal field” (controlling the density of the vacancies) takes a value \(D _s\) different from the value \(D\) in the bulk, is studied by Monte Carlo methods. Using a recently developed finite size scaling method that studies thin films in a \(L \times M\) geometry with antisymmetric surface fields \((H_L=-H_1)\) and keeps a generalized aspect ratio \(c = L^2/M\) constant, surface phase diagrams are computed for several typical choices of the parameters. It is shown that both second order and first order wetting transitions occur, separated by tricritical wetting behavior. The special role of vacancies near the surface is investigated in detail.     

Chemical memory erasure; a photochemical model

In this paper we propose an exactly solvable model of a topological insulator defined on a spin- \(\tfrac{1}{2}\) square decorated lattice. Itinerant fermions defined in the framework of the Haldane model interact via the Kitaev interaction with spin- \(\tfrac{1}{2}\) Kitaev sublattice. The presented model, whose ground state is a non-trivial topological phase, is solved exactly. We have found out that various phase transitions without gap closing at the topological phase transition point outline the separate states with different topological numbers. We provide a detailed analysis of the model’s ground-state phase diagram and demonstrate how quantum phase transitions between topological states arise. We have found that the states with both the same and different topological numbers are all separated by the quantum phase transition without gap closing. The transition between topological phases is accompanied by a rearrangement of the spin subsystem’s spectrum from band to flat-band states.     

A self-dual gauge model in four dimensions

We derive the gauge-theory analogue of the “generalized” X-Y model of Jose, Kadanoff, Kirkpartick and Nelson. This model is a “generalized” scalar electrodynamics which exhibits, in general, three phases: a Higgs phase, ordinary scalar electrodynamics and a confining phase. There is an exact duality map between the Higgs scalar QED and the confinement/freedom phase transitions. We also discuss whether the various transitions are first, order second order with cross-over phenomena, or whether there exists a tricritical point.     

Ginzburg–Landau expansion in strongly disordered attractive Anderson–Hubbard model

We have studied disordering effects on the coefficients of Ginzburg–Landau expansion in powers of superconducting order parameter in the attractive Anderson–Hubbard model within the generalized DMFT+Σ approximation. We consider the wide region of attractive potentials U from the weak coupling region, where superconductivity is described by BCS model, to the strong coupling region, where the superconducting transition is related with Bose–Einstein condensation (ВЕС) of compact Cooper pairs formed at temperatures essentially larger than the temperature of superconducting transition, and a wide range of disorder—from weak to strong, where the system is in the vicinity of Anderson transition. In the case of semielliptic bare density of states, disorder’s influence upon the coefficients A and В of the square and the fourth power of the order parameter is universal for any value of electron correlation and is related only to the general disorder widening of the bare band (generalized Anderson theorem). Such universality is absent for the gradient term expansion coefficient C. In the usual theory of “dirty” superconductors, the С coefficient drops with the growth of disorder. In the limit of strong disorder in BCS limit, the coefficient С is very sensitive to the effects of Anderson localization, which lead to its further drop with disorder growth up to the region of the Anderson insulator. In the region of BCS–ВЕС crossover and in ВЕС limit, the coefficient С and all related physical properties are weakly dependent on disorder. In particular, this leads to relatively weak disorder dependence of both penetration depth and coherence lengths, as well as of related slope of the upper critical magnetic field at superconducting transition, in the region of very strong coupling.     

Phase transitions in a holographic s $$$$ p model with back-reaction

In a previous paper (Nie et al. in JHEP 1311:087, arXiv:1309.2204 [hep-th], 2013), we presented a holographic s \(+\) p superconductor model with a scalar triplet charged under an SU(2) gauge field in the bulk. We also study the competition and coexistence of the s-wave and p-wave orders in the probe limit. In this work we continue to study the model by considering the full back-reaction. The model shows a rich phase structure and various condensate behaviors such as the “n-type” and “u-type” ones, which are also known as reentrant phase transitions in condensed matter physics. The phase transitions to the p-wave phase or s \(+\) p coexisting phase become first order in strong back-reaction cases. In these first order phase transitions, the free energy curve always forms a swallow tail shape, in which the unstable s \(+\) p solution can also play an important role. The phase diagrams of this model are given in terms of the dimension of the scalar order and the temperature in the cases of eight different values of the back-reaction parameter, which show that the region for the s \(+\) p coexisting phase is enlarged with a small or medium back-reaction parameter but is reduced in the strong back-reaction cases.     

“Right-handed” and “left-handed” polaritons in material media

The dispersion law for polariton waves is deduced from analysis of Maxwell equations in a dielectric medium characterized by the presence of resonance in the frequency range of lattice vibrations or exciton transitions. The theory considers polariton waves with right- and left-oriented vectors $\vec E,\vec H,\vec k$ , corresponding to “right-handed” and “left-handed” polaritons. Dispersion dependences of group velocity of polariton waves and effective mass are established for “right-handed” and “left-handed” polaritons. Expressions are obtained for the effective refractive index and reflection coefficient in a wide spectral range including the resonance region. The specific features of lattice reflection spectra in alkali halide crystals are explained using the proposed theory.     

Magnetische und kalorische Eigenschaften von Alkali-Hyperoxid-Kristallen

The phase transitions of Alkali-Hyperoxide crystals (NaO₂, KO₂, RbO₂, and CsO₂) grown in liquid ammonia have been investigated by means of the following measurements:

1. magnetic susceptibility
2. differential magnetic susceptibility as magnetic field
3. magnetization curve in static and pulsed fields
4. specific heat.

The anomalies of the specific heat could be correlated with the magnetic properties and structural changes. Several new phase transitions were found. The magnetic behaviour of NaO₂ indicates magnetic order (of as yet unknown nature) at low temperatures. The magnetic and caloric behaviour of KO₂ at low temperatures is compatible with a Néel point at 7 K. A metamagnetic transition can be induced at temperatures below 12 K with fields of about 70 kOe. This transition is connected with structural changes. RbsO₂ and CO₂ are probably antiferromagnetic with Néel temperatures of 15 K and 9.6 K, respectively.     

Virtual levels,mixed valence phase and electronic phase transitions in rare earth compounds

We discuss the influence of the Coulomb interaction between localized and conduction electrons on the properties of magnetic impurities in metals and on electronic phase transitions such as the γ—α—α' transitions in Ce and the insulator—metal transition in SmS. Due to excitonic pairing between ?-holes and s-electrons, similar to that in excitonic insulators, the virtual ?-levels in metals may acquire an extra width, which, in contrast to the width in the Anderson model, depends upon the position of the ?-level, the width being the largest when the ?-level crosses the Fermi-level. This effect stabilizes the intermediate valence phase. As a result, in the Falicov model we get either a gradual phase transition (like that found in SmTe), or a first order one, followed by the intermediate valence phase (SmS), or, which is most interesting, two successive jump-like transitions with a mixed valence in between, similar to the γ—α—α' transitions in Ce. The mixed valence phase is described here as a kind of an “excitonic insulator”. The theory also predicts the correct slopes of the phase equilibrium lines for both Ce and SmS.     

Enhancement of the Nonlinear Optical Absorption of the E7 Liquid Crystal at the Nematic–Isotropic Transition

We present an experimental study of the nonlinear optical absorption of the eutectic mixture E7 at the nematic?Cisotropic phase transition by the Z-scan technique, under continuous-wave excitation at 532?nm. In the nematic region, the effective nonlinear optical coefficient ??, which vanishes in the isotropic phase, is negative for the extraordinary beam and positive for an ordinary beam. The parameter $S_\textrm{NL}$ , whose definition in terms of the nonlinear absorption coefficient follows the definition of the optical-order parameter in terms of the linear dichroic ratio, behaves like an order parameter with critical exponent 0.22 ±0.05, in good agreement with the tricritical hypothesis for the nematic?Cisotropic transition.     

Magnetostructural phase transitions in NiO and MnO: Neutron diffraction data

Structural and magnetic phase transitions in NiO and MnO antiferromagnets have been studied by high-precision neutron diffraction. The experiments have been performed on a high-resolution Fourier diffractometer (pulsed reactor IBR-2), which has the record resolution for the interplanar distance and a high intensity in the region of large interplanar distances; as a result, the characteristics of both transitions have been determined simultaneously. It has been shown that the structural and magnetic transitions in MnO occur synchronously and their temperatures coincide within the experimental errors: T_str ≈ T_mag ≈ (119 ± 1) K. The measurements for NiO have been performed with powders with different average sizes of crystallites (~1500 nm and ~138 nm). It has been found that the transition temperatures differ by ~50 K: T_str = (471 ± 3) K, T_mag = (523 ± 2) K. It has been argued that a unified mechanism of the “unsplit” magnetic and structural phase transition at a temperature of T_mag is implemented in MnO and NiO. Deviation from this scenario in the behavior of NiO is explained by the quantitative difference—a weak coupling between the magnetic and secondary structural order parameters.     

Random Matrix Theory and the Anderson Model

This paper is devoted to a discussion of possible strategies to prove rigorously the existence of a metal-insulator Anderson transition for the Anderson model in dimension d≥3. The possible criterions used to define such a transition are presented. It is argued that at low disorder the lowest order in perturbation theory is described by a random matrix model. Various simplified versions for which rigorous results have been obtained in the past are discussed. It includes a free probability approach, the Wegner n-orbital model and a class of models proposed by Disertori, Pinson, and Spencer, Comm. Math. Phys. 232:83–124 (2002). At last a recent work by Magnen, Rivasseau, and the author, Markov Process and Related Fields 9:261–278 (2003) is summarized: it gives a toy modeldescribing the lowest order approximation of Anderson model and it is proved that, for d=2, its density of states is given by the semicircle distribution. A short discussion of its extension to d≥3 follows.     

The Condensation Phase Transition in Random Graph Coloring

Based on a non-rigorous formalism called the “cavity method”, physicists have put forward intriguing predictions on phase transitions in diluted mean-field models, in which the geometry of interactions is induced by a sparse random graph or hypergraph. One example of such a model is the graph coloring problem on the Erd?s–Renyi random graph G(n, d/n), which can be viewed as the zero temperature case of the Potts antiferromagnet. The cavity method predicts that in addition to the k-colorability phase transition studied intensively in combinatorics, there exists a second phase transition called the condensation phase transition (Krzakala et al. in Proc Natl Acad Sci 104:10318–10323, 2007). In fact, there is a conjecture as to the precise location of this phase transition in terms of a certain distributional fixed point problem. In this paper we prove this conjecture for k exceeding a certain constant k₀.     

Phase transitions in random Potts systems and the community detection problem: spin-glass type and dynamic perspectives

Phase transitions in spin-glass type systems and, more recently, in related computational problems have gained broad interest in disparate arenas. In the current work, we focus on the “community detection” problem when cast in terms of a general Potts spin-glass type problem. As such, our results apply to rather broad Potts spin-glass type systems. Community detection describes the general problem of partitioning a complex system involving many elements into optimally decoupled “communities” of such elements. We report on phase transitions between solvable and unsolvable regimes. A solvable region may further split into “easy” and “hard” phases. Spin-glass type phase transitions appear at both low and high temperatures (or noise). Low-temperature transitions correspond to an “order by disorder” type effect wherein fluctuations render the system ordered or solvable. Separate transitions appear at higher temperatures into a disordered (or an unsolvable) phase. Different sorts of randomness lead to disparate behaviors. We illustrate the spin glass character of both transitions and report on memory effects. We further relate Potts type spin systems to mechanical analogs and suggest how chaotic-type behavior in general thermodynamic systems can indeed naturally arise in hard computational problems and spin glasses. The correspondence between the two types of transitions (spin glass and dynamic) is likely to extend across a larger spectrum of spin-glass type systems and hard computational problems. We briefly discuss potential implications of these transitions in complex many-body physical systems.     

Secondary ferroic properties of partial mixed ferroelectric ferroelastics

Nineteen types of phase transitions in nonmagnetic crystals that exhibit only partial mixed ferroelectric-ferroelastic properties in the low-temperature phase are analyzed. A crystal-physical method is used to establish that all partial mixed ferroelectric ferroelastics are full ferroelastoelectrics and partial ferrobielastics except for the crystals undergoing the $\overline 4 3m \to 3$ phase transition, which results in the appearance of both full ferroelastoelectric and full ferrobielastic properties. The possible appearance of partial mixed ferroelectric-ferroelastic properties in perovskite-like crystals is discussed.     

High-temperature differentiability of lattice Gibbs states by Dobrushin uniqueness techniques

We establish conditions for the differentiability, to any order, of the Gibbs states of classical lattice systems with arbitrary compact single-spin space and with interactions in the Dobrushin uniqueness region. The derivatives are expressed as series expansions and are shown to be continuous on the uniqueness region. We also provide a procedure for estimating the size of the derivatives. These results verify a conjecture of L. Gross and extend his results in “Absence of second-order phase transitions in the Dobrushin uniqueness region,”Journal of Statistical Physics 25(1):57–72 (1981). The techniques of this paper are based on those employed by Gross.     

The big bang as a result of the first-order phase transition driven by a change of the scalar curvature in an expanding early Universe: The “hyperinflation” scenario

We suggest that the Big Bang could be a result of the first-order phase transition driven by a change in the scalar curvature of the 4D spacetime in an expanding cold Universe filled with a nonlinear scalar field φ and neutral matter with an equation of state p = νε (where p and ε are the pressure and energy density of the matter, respectively). We consider the Lagrangian of a scalar field with nonlinearity φ⁴ in a curved spacetime that, along with the term–ξR|φ|² quadratic in φ (where ξ is the interaction constant between the scalar and gravitational fields and R is the scalar curvature), contains the term ξRφ₀(φ + φ⁺) linear in φ, where φ₀ is the vacuum mean of the scalar field amplitude. As a consequence, the condition for the existence of extrema of the scalar-field potential energy is reduced to an equation cubic in φ. Provided that ν > 1/3, the scalar curvature R = [κ(3ν–1)ε–4Λ] (where κ and Λ are Einstein’s gravitational and cosmological constants, respectively) decreases with decreasing ε as the Universe expands, and a first-order phase transition in variable “external field” parameter proportional to R occurs at some critical value R _c < 0. Under certain conditions, the critical radius of the early Universe at the point of the first-order phase transition can reach an arbitrary large value, so that this scenario of unrestricted “inflation” of the Universe may be called “hyperinflation.” After the passage through the phase-transition point, the scalar-field potential energy should be rapidly released, which must lead to strong heating of the Universe, playing the role of the Big Bang.