Transitions in lyotropic liquid crystals caused by concentration change and γ-radiation

A molecular-statistical theory of phase transitions in lyotropic liquid crystals, which describes the phase transitions between the isotropic (micellar), nematic and lamellar phases was developed. The equations describing the dependence of parameters of orientation and translational long-range order on the concentration were obtained. It was shown that depending on the values of the model microscopic constants, the nematic phase–lamellar phase transition can be both of the first and the second order. The influence of intensive and low intense γ-radiation on the phase transitions mentioned herein was considered. It was shown that the irradiation changes the model constants responsible for the phase transitions. On this basis, it can be assumed that the γ-radiation influences the course of the dependence of the long-range order parameters on concentration as well as it changes the values of the critical concentrations of the phase transitions and even the phase transition order.     

Plasticity-induced characteristic changes of pattern dynamics and the related phase transitions in small-world neuronal networks

Phase transitions widely exist in nature and occur when some control parameters are changed. In neural systems, their macroscopic states are represented by the activity states of neuron populations, and phase transitions between different activity states are closely related to corresponding functions in the brain. In particular, phase transitions to some rhythmic synchronous firing states play significant roles on diverse brain functions and disfunctions, such as encoding rhythmical external stimuli, epileptic seizure, etc. However, in previous studies, phase transitions in neuronal networks are almost driven by network parameters （e.g., external stimuli）, and there has been no investigation about the transitions between typical activity states of neuronal networks in a self-organized way by applying plastic connection weights. In this paper, we discuss phase transitions in electrically coupled and lattice-based small-world neuronal networks （LBSW networks） under spike-timing-dependent plasticity （STDP）. By applying STDP on all electrical synapses, various known and novel phase transitions could emerge in LBSW networks, particularly, the phenomenon of self-organized phase transitions （SOPTs）： repeated transitions between synchronous and asynchronous firing states. We further explore the mechanics generating SOPTs on the basis of synaptic weight dynamics.     

Strain phase diagram and domain orientation in SrTiO3 thin films

SrTiO3 thin films were used as a model system to study the effects of strain and epitaxial constraint on structural phase transitions of perovskite films. The basic phenomena revealed will apply to a variety of important structural transitions including the ferroelectric transition. Highly strained SrTiO3 films were grown on different substrates, providing both compressive and tensile strain. The measured strain-temperature phase diagram is qualitatively consistent with theory; however, the increase in the phase transition temperature is much larger than predicted. Because of the epitaxial strain and substrate clamping, the SrTiO3 lattice is tetragonal at all temperatures. The phase transitions involve only changes in internal symmetry. The low temperature phase under tensile strain has a unique structure with orthorhombic Cmcm space group but a tetragonal lattice, an interesting consequence of epitaxial constraint.     

Li-ion batteries: Phase transition

Progress in the research on phase transitions during Li+extraction/insertion processes in typical battery materials is summarized as examples to illustrate the significance of understanding phase transition phenomena in Li-ion batteries.Physical phenomena such as phase transitions(and resultant phase diagrams) are often observed in Li-ion battery research and already play an important role in promoting Li-ion battery technology. For example, the phase transitions during Li+insertion/extraction are highly relevant to the thermodynamics and kinetics of Li-ion batteries, and even physical characteristics such as specific energy, power density, volume variation, and safety-related properties.     

Quantum phase transitions in electronic systems

Quantum phase transitions occur at zero temperature when some non‐thermal control‐parameter like pressure or chemical composition is changed. They are driven by quantum rather than thermal fluctuations. In this review we first give a pedagogical introduction to quantum phase transitions and quantum critical behavior emphasizing similarities with and differences to classical thermal phase transitions. We then illustrate the general concepts by discussing a few examples of quantum phase transitions occurring in electronic systems. The ferromagnetic transition of itinerant electrons shows a very rich behavior since the magnetization couples to additional electronic soft modes which generates an effective long‐range interaction between the spin fluctuations. We then consider the influence of rare regions on quantum phase transitions in systems with quenched disorder, taking the antiferromagnetic transitions of itinerant electrons as a primary example. Finally we discuss some aspects of the metal‐insulator transition in the presence of quenched disorder and interactions.     

Unconventional phase transition of phase-change-memory materials for optical data storage

Recent years, optically controlled phase-change memory draws intensive attention owing to some advanced applications including integrated all-optical nonvolatile memory, in-memory computing, and neuromorphic computing. The light-induced phase transition is the key for this technology. Traditional understanding on the role of light is the heating effect. Generally, the RESET operation of phase-change memory is believed to be a melt-quenching-amorphization process. However, some recent experimental and theoretical investigations have revealed that ultrafast laser can manipulate the structures of phase-change materials by non-thermal effects and induces unconventional phase transitions including solid-to-solid amorphization and order-to-order phase transitions. Compared with the conventional thermal amorphization,these transitions have potential superiors such as faster speed, better endurance, and low power consumption. This article summarizes some recent progress of experimental observations and theoretical analyses on these unconventional phase transitions. The discussions mainly focus on the physical mechanism at atomic scale to provide guidance to control the phase transitions for optical storage. Outlook on some possible applications of the non-thermal phase transition is also presented to develop new types of devices.     

Optical methods in studies of structural transformations in thin organic films

The examples of phase transitions in Langmuir-Blodgett films of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and in the surface layer of polystyrene were chosen to demonstrate the great potential of using luminescent molecular probes for studying the heterogeneity of the surfaces of solids and thin films, as well as structural transformations and phase transitions in systems of different natures. The method provides unique information on the local properties of surfaces and thin films when used in combination with other techniques.     

Coupled phase transitions under periodic perturbation

The influence of periodic perturbation on the system of two nonlinear stochastic equations, which model low-frequency pulsations in crisis and transient modes of heat-and-mass transfer with phase transitions, has been investigated by numerical methods. When studying the influence of the periodic perturbation on the system, a researcher should largely take into account the phase diagram. It is shown that nonequilibrium phase transitions from asymmetric cycles of phase trajectories to centrally symmetric ones occur in the absence of noise. These transitions are accompanied by the stochastic resonance response, which enhances as the frequency of the external periodic force decreases.     

Phase transitions in lattices of magnetic dipoles

Hexagonal magnetic-dipole lattices containing three to six rows are investigated. Conditions of the excitation of phase transitions that change the orientation configuration of the system are revealed on the basis of a numerical analysis. The changes in the magnetic moment of the system and in the energy of dipole-dipole interaction upon the emergence of phase transitions are found. Both symmetric phase transitions propagating identically on the two sides of the lattice away from the excitation region and asymmetric phase transitions such in which the configurations of the system to the left and to the right of the excitation region are different are considered. Conditions under which there occur unidirectional phase transitions in which either the left-or the right-hand front of the phase transition propagates along the lattice are found.     

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.     

Macroscopic description of the ferromagnetic superconductors

We present an improved analysis of the phase transitions in spin-triplet ferromagnetic superconductors within Ginzburg–Landau theory. We put special emphasis on the phase transitions from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence of ferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity. We present a detailed analysis of the different phases that can occur and analyze the question under which conditions the phase transitions from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence of ferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity are possible when compared to other phase transitions. The conditions for the phase transitions and the stability conditions are calculated. On the basis of this model, it is argued that the transition from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence is always of first order. It was observed from the theoretical calculations that the transition from the ferromagnetic phase to the coexistence phase can cross over from the first to the second order at the tricritical point.     

Symmetry aspects of finite-temperature confinement transitions

Analytical and numerical work on confinement phase transitions in finite-temperature Abelian and non-Abelian gauge theories is reviewed. These transitions are order-disorder transitions and their critical properties (if any) can be understood from the standard theory of critical phenomena. Strong coupling, large-N, and non-perturbative lattice methods are discussed. The role of matter fields as symmetry-breaking perturbations is noted as important to the eventual unraveling of the phase structure of quantum chromodynamics.     

Excited state quantum phase transitions in many-body systems

Phenomena analogous to ground state quantum phase transitions have recently been noted to occur among states throughout the excitation spectra of certain many-body models. These excited state phase transitions are manifested as simultaneous singularities in the eigenvalue spectrum (including the gap or level density), order parameters, and wave function properties. In this article, the characteristics of excited state quantum phase transitions are investigated. The finite-size scaling behavior is determined at the mean-field level. It is found that excited state quantum phase transitions are universal to two-level bosonic and fermionic models with pairing interactions.     

Photon transmission technique for studying multiple phase transitions in a liquid crystal

A photon transmission technique was used to monitor the multiple phase transitions in a 4-butoxyphenyl4(')-declyoxybenzoate (BOPDOB) liquid crystal. Drastic decreases in the transmitted photon intensity (I) were attributed to the sequential phase transitions in BOPDOB upon cooling. In this paper, it is assumed that the order parameter rho is proportional to the transmitted photon intensity. The isotropic-nematic and nematic-smectic-A transitions were observed and found to be of first order. It was observed that the smectic-A-smectic-C and smectic-C-smectic-G transitions are second order. It was found that for the smectic-A-smectic-C transition, critical exponent crosses over from beta=0.513+/-0.006, which is consistent with mean-field theory, to beta=0.35+/-0.009, which is consistent with heliumlike behavior, as the Ginzburg criterion predicts. The critical exponent for the smectic-C-smectic-G transition was found to be beta=0.703+/-0.001. Transition temperatures were established at each phase transitions and found to be 84.92 degrees C, 74.85 degrees C, 52.96 degrees C, and 33.03 degrees C for isotropic-nematic, nematic-smectic-A, smectic-A-smectic-C and, smectic-C-smectic-G transitions, respectively.     

Excitation of phase transitions in dipole lattices

Phase transitions in hexagonal lattices with three and four rows of dipoles arising as a result of the reorientation of different sets of dipoles by the external field have been studied. The conditions of the implementation of two types of symmetric phase transitions and the asymmetric transitions, when the configurations of the system to the left and to the right of the excitation region are different, have been established. Merging of two regions of the phase transitions has been considered. Unidirectional phase transitions, in which either the left or the right phase transition front propagates from the excitation region along the lattice, have been obtained in a lattice with four rows of dipoles. The variations of the total dipole moment of the system and the energy of the dipole-dipole interaction during the phase transitions have been given.     

Decoherence in a two-level system coupled to a fermion environment with phase transitions

The decoherence process characterized by Loschmidt echo (LE) in a two-level system dephasingly coupled to a fermion environment with phase transitions is studied in this Letter. The results show that the LE of the two-level system may act as a witness of the environment's phase transitions, which is similar to the relation between quantum phase transitions and the LE.     

On the new universal possibility to detect phase transitions in correlated electron systems

We investigate temperature and concentration driven phase transitions (structural and reentrant phase transitions included) in magnetic and superconducting systems with the use of a wide class of model Hamiltonians applied to rare earth (Re) based compounds and alloys (integer and fluctuating valence systems). Studying the temperature or concentration dependence of the chemical potential we observe small but distinct and well localized kinks at all critical points as evidence for phase transitions. For systems with, at least, two kinds of interacting electrons the kinks at critical temperatures or concentrations occur also in the electronic average occupation numbers (critical electron redistribution). These observations suggest a direct and universal experimental application of the chemical potential as a detector of phase transitions for temperature and concentration driven phase transitions, as well as, for pressure-or external field-induced transitions in solids. The agreement between the calculated critical temperature behaviour of the chemical potential, presented in this paper, and experimental measurements for high-temperature superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ entirely supports these general observations.     

Thermodynamics of the Falicov-Kimball model in large dimensions II

In a former paper we presented the exact solution of the Falicov-Kimball-model in large dimensions and showed the existence of phase transitions for certain parameter combinations, especially for the symmetric case. In this contribution we investigate the conditions for transitions apart from the symmetric case and show that the phase following the homogeneous high temperature phase will have chessboard symmetry if the transition is a continuous charge density transition. The corresponding phase diagrams are shown as well as results on the order parameter of the chessboard phase.     

Nonequilibrium quantum criticality in open electronic systems

A theory is presented of quantum criticality in open (coupled to reservoirs) itinerant-electron magnets, with nonequilibrium drive provided by current flow across the system. Both departures from equilibrium at conventional (equilibrium) quantum critical points and the physics of phase transitions induced by the nonequilibrium drive are treated. Nonequilibrium-induced phase transitions are found to have the same leading critical behavior as conventional thermal phase transitions.     

Re-entrant phase transitions of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model

We have investigated the spin-1 Ising model on the simple cubic lattice with bilinear, biquadratic interaction and anisotropic energy (BEG model). We have been specially interested in the case of antiferro biquadratic interaction, because the interaction will cause the competition with bilinear interaction and anisotropy. A two-sublattice ordering, so called the staggered quadrupole (SQ) phase, occurs as long as biquadratic interaction is negative large enough. We have obtained a full phase diagram in the whole interaction parameter space (for the positive bilinear interaction) by the Bethe approximation, and found several kinds of phase transitions, such as successive, re-entrant and double re-entrant transitions. These transitions are also confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations on simple cubic lattices.