Thermodynamic properties of successive phase transitions in Rb2ZnBr4

Heat capacity measurements have given the following transition temperatures and entropies: 0.027 J K^?1mol^?1 at 76.5 K, 0.47 J K^?1mol^?1 at 111.7 K, and 0.048 J K^?1mol^?1 at 193.6 K. These are interpreted as “lock-in”, soft-mode, and “lock-in” transitions, respectively, from comparison with analogous results for Rb₂ZnCl₄ and K₂SeO₄. The N-IC transition was located at 347 K by DTA.     

Thermodynamic formalism of phase transitions in solid solutions

A thermodynamic theory of ferroelectric and ferroelectric-semiconductor solid solutions is presented with account of the effect of hydrostatic pressure in the cases of sharp as well as diffuse transitions. A number of analytical relations are obtained which allow to estimate the effect of admixture concentration and hydrostatic pressure on dielectric permeability, transition temperature, Curie-Weiss constant, heat capacity, thermal expansion coefficient and other properties of crystals with a ferroelectric subsystem. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental data.     

Thermodynamic properties of Rb2ZnCl4 associated with three phase transitions

Transitions were observed by heat capacity measurements at 74.6 K, 195.2 K, and 303 K. They are a soft mode transition (ΔH_t = 30 J mol^?1, ΔS_t = 0.42 J K^?1 mol^?1), a first-order commensurate-incommensurate transition (ΔH_t = 6.2 J mol^?1ΔS_t = 0.032 J K^?1 mol^?1), and a second-order incommensurate-normal transition, respectively.     

Crystal field parameters and phase transitions in ErSb

The crystal field levels of the Er ($\text{J =}\text{15}\text{2}$) ion in a single crystal of ErSb have been measured by inelastic neutron scattering. The crystal field parameters obtained by a least squares fit to the spectra at several temperatures are: B₄ = (0·473 ± 0·005) × 10^?2°K and B₆ = (0·59 ± 0·06) × 10^?5°K, which differ considerably from the values o by interpolation from measurements on other compounds. In addition the temperature dependence of the magnetic scattering in the vicinity of the Néel temperature (T_N = 3·55°K) clearly demonstrates that the transition is second order in contrast to the first order behavior suggested by specific heat measurements. Also, any lattice distortion accompanying the magnetic ordering is less than 0.1 per cent, the resolution of the present experiment.     

Secondary order parameters in the structural phase transitions

In the Landau type phase transitions the primary order parameter is related with irreducible representation which subduces the high symmetry space groupG _o to the low symmetry space subgroupG andG _o G. We propose to define the secondary order parameters as irreducible representations which subduceG _o to the subgroupsH _l , whereH _l are simultaneously supergroups forG, i.e.G _o H _l G. From this statement general conclusions are drawn. In particular, for some phase transitions with elargement of the elementary cell, in addition to the superlattice reflections from the primary order parameter, the superlattice reflections from the secondary order parameters can arise in another non-equivalent high symmetry point of the reciprocal space.     

Anomalous thermal expansion at phase transitions of Ag4RbI5

High resolution capacitance dilatometry has been used to verify the first-order nature of the 208 K phase transition in Ag RbI and to measure the volume change at the 122 K first-order phase transition. The latter is in accord with prediction using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. Problems relating to the chemical stability of the compound are discussed.     

Levels and transitions in126Te

The decay of¹²⁶Sb to¹²⁶Te is studied by use of Ge(Li) detectors in singles and coincidence arrangements. The gamma-gamma directional correlations of six cascades are measured. A level scheme is constructed where all transitions observed are located. The characteristics of several of the levels are assigned, on basis of the logft values deduced and the directional correlation results. Mixing ratios are deduced for three transitions. From the comparison of the relative intensities ofE1 andE2 transitions depopulating the same levels, threeE1 transitions are concluded to be strongly retarded.     

Levels and transitions in125Te

Gamma transitions and levels of¹²⁵Te following the decay of¹²⁵Sb have been studied using Ge(Li) detector and NaI(Tl)-NaI(Tl) sum-coincidence spectrometer incorporated with a fast-slow coincidence circuit. In all, twenty five gamma rays have been reported, out of which two weak gamma rays with energies 366·0 and 402·0 keV have been observed and confirmed for the first time. These gamma rays have been fitted by assigning a new level of 402 keV energy. An ambiguous transition of energy 122·1 keV has also been confirmed. No evidence was found for the existence of 145·9, 315·0, 489·8, and 497·4 keV transitions. The accurate intensities for various transitions have been determined.     

Thermodynamic theory of phase transitions in a ferroelectric binary system with morphotropic region

A thermodynamic theory of phase transitions is developed for binary ferroelectric systems with a morphotropic phase region. Ah expansion of the thermodynamic potential of a perovskite-structure ferroelectric with coefficients that depend on the temperature and concentration yields equations for the isotherms for the tetragonal and rhombohedral phases, whose stability boundaries and phase transition points are determined.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 2, pp. 26–29, February, 1981.     

Amorphous to crystalline phase transition in glassy Se65Te20Ag15 alloy

In the present work, the amorphous to crystalline phase transition of chalcogenide glass Se₆₅Te₂₀Ag₁₅ has been studied using differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) measurements. The heating rate dependence of crystallization peaks has been used for the determination of activation energies of glass transition (E _g) and crystallization (E _c). Different non-isothermal methods have been used for this purpose. Other useful kinetic parameters such as the order parameter (n), the numerical factor of crystallization mechanism (m) and the frequency factor (K _o) of the rate constant (K) have been also determined.     

Non-saturating linear magnetoresistance in phase separated amorphous Ag10Ge15Te75 films

We report non-saturating linear magnetoresistance (LMR) in silver-poor composite thin films of Ag₁₀Ge₁₅Te₇₅ (AGT). The LMR increases with decreasing temperature and reaches a value of 110% at 200 K under a magnetic field of 70 kOe. The observed magnetoresistance is proportional to carrier mobility due to identical temperature dependencies. The microstructures of AGT films annealed at different temperature are investigated by TEM observations. The observed LMR effect is resulting from the inhomogeneous distribution of conductivity caused by highly conductive Ag₂Te and GeTe₄ precipitates, which generate a current distortion in the surrounding amorphous silver-poor Ag–Ge–Te matrix.     

Multipole mixing ratios of transitions in Te

Gamma-gamma directional correlation measurements were made on nine transitions in ¹²⁴Te with a NaI(Tl)-Ge(Li) detector arrangement and multichannel analysis. The multipole mixing ratios obtained were δ(646) = 0.000±0.001, δ(714) = 1.5_−0.3^+0.6, δ(723) = −3.3±0.2, δ(1437) = 3.7_−2.0^+2.7, δ(1489) = −3.4_−1.5^+0.9, δ(968) = −0.03_−0.05^+0.06, δ(1368) = −0.045±0.090, δ(1045) = 0.041_−0.041^+0.047, δ(1691) = −0.02±0.01, and δ(2091) = 0.00_−0.03^+0.02. The first δ is M3/E2, the next three are E2/M1, and the last five are M2/E1. The retardation (a factor of approximately 50) of the crossover to cascade transitions from the 2039 keV, third 2⁺ level to the second and first 2⁺ levels is essentially the same for both the M1 and E2 components. In addition, spin and parity assignments of 2⁺ were made for the 2039 and 2092 keV levels.     

Thermodynamic studies of successive phase transitions in BaZnGeO4 and a new solid phase below 186.1 K

The successive phase transitions of BaZnGeO₄ have been studied on meltsolidified samples. A new solid phase (named phase VI) has been found below 186.1 K in samples of large particle size (diameter:D0.1 mm). The higher temperature crystalline phase V can be supercooled easily down to liquid helium temperature. On heating, however, it transforms into phase VI above 95 K in a slow exothermic process. Heat capacities have been measured by adiabatic calorimetry between 14 and 300 K. The enthalpy and entropy of the V–VI phase transition are 187.1 Jmol^–1 and 0.971 J K^–1 mol^–1, respectively. The corresponding data for the IV–V phase transition at 199.8 K are 229.3 J mol^–1 and 1.168 JK^–1 mol^–1. The phase VI does not appear in samples of smaller particle size (D0.1 mm).     

Thermal behavior of Jonscher’s formalism in relaxor ferroelectrics showing diffuse phase transitions

A theoretical study of the thermal behavior of the exponent s of Jonscher’s power law in ferroelectric materials showing diffuse phase transitions (DPTs) is presented. The proposed model is applied to the experimental results of lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate ferroelectric ceramics. Both the proposed model and the experimental results show a critical point (a maximum) around the maximum of the dielectric loss factor, which moves to higher temperatures when the frequency increases, the typical behavior of a relaxor material with DPTs. PACS 77.22.Gm; 77.80.Bh; 77.84.Dy     

Thermodynamic data for solid AgI and its phase transitions from ENF measurements

From EMF measurements in the cell Ag(s)/AgI(s)/I₂(g), graphite as a function of temperature, the enthalpy and entropy values for the formation of γ-, β- and α-AgI were obtained. From these data, the following thermodynamic quantities corresponding to the phase transitions were also calculated: Δ_tH_γ→β= -34.3 ±2 kJmol^-1, Δ_tS_γ→β= -107 ± 4 Jmol^-1K^-1, Δ_tH_β→α = 5.4 ± 2 kJmol^-1, Δ_tS_β→α = 23 ± 4 Jmol^-1K^-1.     

Magnetic phase transitions and phase diagrams of DyMn2Ge2

The experimental studies of magnetic phase transitions in the layered tetragonal intermetallic compound DyMn₂Ge₂ are continued. The existence of spontaneous phase transitions is confirmed by the results of measurements of the temperature dependences of lattice parameters and the initial magnetic susceptibility. The measurements in strong (up to 50 T) and ultrastrong (up to 150 T) fields revealed two new field-induced magnetic transitions. The inclusion of the exchange interaction between next-to-nearest layers of manganese and the crystal field effects for the rare-earth subsystem along with the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction of nearest Mn layers has made it possible to describe the magnetic properties of DyMn₂Ge₂ in a wide range of magnetic fields. The parameters of these interactions are determined from a comparison of the experimental and theoretical magnetization curves and H-T phase diagrams.     

Shape phase transitions in nuclei: Effective order parameters and trajectories

We analyze systematically the effective order parameters in nuclear shape phase transition both in experiments and in the interacting boson model. We find that energy ratios and B(E2) ratios can distinguish the first- from the second-order phase transition in theory above a certain boson number N (about 50), but in experiments, only those quantities, such as E(L ₁ ⁺)/E(0₂ ⁺) and B(E2; (L+2)₁ → L ₁)/B(E2; 2₁ → 0₁), etc., of which the monotonous transitional behavior in the second-order phase transition is broken in the first-order phase transition independent of N, are qualified as the effective order parameters. By implementing the originally proposed effective order parameters and the new ones, we find that the isotones with neutron number N _n = 62 are a trajectory of the secondorder phase transition. In addition, we predict that the transitional behavior of isomer shifts of Xe, Ba isotopes and N _n = 62 isotones is approximately monotonous due to the finiteness of nuclear system.     

Heat conductivity and thermomagnetic effects in Ag2Te at low temperatures

The heat conductivity and thermomagnetic effects are investigated in Ag₂Te of stoichiometric composition and compositions with excess Te and Ag in the 5–100 K domain. Experimental results are compared with a theoretical model of the heat conductivity that takes account of intraphonon processes and phonon scattering by the boundaries and point defects.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 6, pp. 41–45, June, 1990.