Elastic anomalies at phase transitions in multiferroics

The temperature dependences of the elastic modulus in multiferroics-magnetoelectrics are analyzed, in which magnetic and ferroelectric orderings appear as the result of two successive phase transitions. The analytical relationships for the elastic modulus near the phase transitions to ordered states are obtained for the cases of either linear-quadratic or biquadratic contributions to magneto- and electroelastic coupling. The explicit dependence of the elastic modulus in the multiferroic phase on the magnetoelectric coupling constant was found. It is shown that the characteristic elastic properties in multiferroics can be treated using the Landau theory without taking into account fluctuations. The analysis includes changes in the phase diagrams due to the magneto- and electroelastic coupling.     

Soliton microdynamics of heat conduction in plutonium and uranium in the temperature range of martensitic phase transitions

The microdynamics of large-amplitude nonlinear lattice vibrations of plutonium and uranium has been investigated at high reactor temperatures in the ranges of martensitic phase transitions. Solutions of nonlinear dynamic equations have been obtained using the Lennard-Jones interatomic potential for the soliton generation and the energy transfer by solitons between the crystal boundaries in the shells. The synchronism of the soliton trajectories and peaks of energy fluxes demonstrates an analog of the shot effect. The temperature dependences of thermal conductivity coefficients are consistent with the experiment and exhibit local maxima in the ranges of phase transitions. A spectral analysis has revealed that the dominant heat transfer is provided by rarefaction solitons. The martensitic phase transitions are accompanied by a reorganization of the spectral density in the phase plane with a sharp increase in the high-frequency range. The spectral density has maxima of the quasi-biphonon type. The obtained data in dimensionless form, apart from plutonium and uranium, can be used for other monatomic crystals. The specific features of the thermal conductivity and microdynamics of the formation of vacancies and pores in crystals without shells have been discussed.     

Pressure-induced phase transitions in some AnS (An = Th,U, Np,Pu) Compounds

Pressure-induced structural phase transitions at high-pressure in monosulfides of thorium, uranium, neptunium and plutonium (AnS) have been studied theoretically by an inter-ionic potential theory with modified ionic charge introduced to include the Coulomb screening effect due to localized ‘f’ electrons. These AnS compounds undergo a phase transition from sodium chloride (NaCl) to cesium chloride (CsCl) structure at a very high-pressure. The present theoretical investigation carried out up to 120?GPa reveals that these compounds undergo NaCl–CsCl phase transitions at 100, 81, 75 and 105?GPa for ThS, US, NpS and PuS, respectively. The first-order pressure derivatives calculated from the present theory agree well with observed data.     

Heterogeneous nucleation of martensite at dislocations and the martensitic-transformation kinetics in shape memory alloys

The martensite phase formation in elastic fields of isolated screw and edge dislocations, as well as in planar clusters of like-sign dislocations and in a two-dimensional network of opposite-sign edge dislocations, is quantitatively analyzed within the theory of smeared martensitic transitions. The heterogeneous nucleation of martensite at dislocations is shown to increase the characteristic temperature of the martensitic transition and its temperature smearing.     

First-order phase transition in potassium dysprosium tungstate induced by the field renormalization and softening of the elastic moduli in the vicinity of a structural Jahn-Teller-type transition

The magnetostriction of KDy(WO₄)₂ single crystals is measured in an external magnetic field at temperatures below the temperature of a structural phase transition of the Jahn-Teller type. A steplike irreversible variation in the elastic strain is observed to occur with an increase in the magnetic field applied along the a or b axis of the monoclinic cell of the crystal. The residual change in the strain is retained after changing the sign of the magnetic field. The return to the initial state characterized by field-induced jumps in the strain is possible only after thermal cycling well above the structural phase transition temperature. The theory of this phenomenon is developed using a phenomenologically derived thermodynamic potential of the elastic sub-system that takes into account the crystal symmetry and the field renormalization of the elastic moduli. The jumplike transitions are interpreted as being due to the magnetic softening of the elastic moduli in the vicinity of the structural phase transition temperature.     

Thermodynamic simulation of thermophysical and elastic properties of plutonium

A self-consistent thermodynamic model taking into account phonon anharmonicity effects is used for calculating the temperature dependences of the lattice components of thermophysical and elastic properties of the alpha-phase of plutonium. The theoretical curves are in good agreement with experimental data and make it possible to compare the mechanisms of formation of thermophysical and elastic properties of the alpha- and delta-phases of plutonium. The entropy of both phases is estimated, the role of the lattice magnetic anharmonicity is analyzed, and the key question concerning the reasons for stabilization of the delta-phase of plutonium relative to its α-phase is considered.     

The role of elastic strains at non-ferroelastic displacive phase transitions

The role of elastic strains at structural phase transitions is illustrated within the Landau theory and its first-order corrections due to critical fluctuations and defects are described. The Landau theory is sufficient to demonstrate the impossibility of bulk nucleation in a supercooled symmetrical phase and the absence of heterophase fluctuations in solids. The critical fluctuations are known to convert a second-order transition in an Ising-like system in a solid to a first-order one. Close to the mean-field tricritical point the effect can be described, for displacive systems, within a first-order perturbation theory and takes place for the Heisenberg systems as well. The influence of defects on these transitions is mediated essentially by the elastic strains. Defects smear the transition. For the “random local field” defects and an incommensurate (Heisenberg-like) transition this effect is so strong that first-order perturbation theory leads to a divergence.     

Influence of size factors on the character of phase transformations in light actinides

The transformations of crystalline phases of light actinides have been analyzed as the processes of formation and growth of nanoparticles. The influence of size factors on the character of martensitic phase transitions and reverse phase transformations has been investigated using plutonium as an example.     

Reorientation phase transition in temperature in a two- and three-dimensional ferromagnet with the account of magnetoelastic coupling

In the paper, we have investigated reorientation phase transitions in a two-dimensional ferromagnet. It is shown that the account of magnetoelastic coupling results in the appearance of an angular phase, and the phase transitions are of the first order. The temperature interval of the angular phase existence is determined mainly by elastic and magnetoelastic parameters of the system. For a three-dimensional system the observable effect disappears. The obtained results are consistent with experimental data.     

Phase Transitions for the Cavity Approach to the Clique Problem on Random Graphs

We give a rigorous proof of two phase transitions for a disordered statistical mechanics system used to define an algorithm to find large cliques inside Erdös random graphs. Such a system is a conservative probabilistic cellular automaton inspired by the cavity method originally introduced in spin glass theory.     

Magnetic contribution to the Debye temperature and the lattice heat capacity of ferromagnetic rare-earth metals (using gadolinium as an example)

A thermodynamic approach that describes the spontaneous magnetic contribution to the Debye temperature of a ferromagnetic metal has been developed using the theory of second-order Landau phase transitions. It is shown that the essential cause of the formation of the spontaneous magnetic contribution to the Debye temperature is the magnetostrictive variation of the volume. By using an expression for the spontaneous magnetic contribution to the Debye temperature, the magneto-phonon contribution to the lattice specific heat is found. The resulting generalized expression for the Debye temperature is found to be in good agreement with experimental data concerning the elastic constants of the ferromagnetic phase of gadolinium. The magneto-phonon heat capacity makes an appreciable contribution to the heat-capacity anomaly of gadolinium close to the Curie point. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1248–1253 (July 1999)     

Decoupled phase transitions and grain-boundary melting in supported phospholipid bilayers

Two separate liquid-solid phase transitions are detected in the two monolayers of a mica-supported phospholipid bilayer by atomic force microscopy. The phase transitions of the two monolayers are decoupled by the stronger interaction between the lipid headgroups of the proximal monolayer and the mica support. The transition temperature of the proximal monolayer is increased and this transition occurs over a narrower temperature range. Both transitions occur via grain-boundary melting and the variation of the width of the interfacial zone with temperature is consistent with mean-field theory.     

Elastic phase transitions in metals at high pressures

The elastic phase transitions of cubic metals at high pressures are investigated within the framework of Landau theory. It is shown that at pressures comparable with the magnitude of the bulk modulus the phase transition is connected with the loss of stability relative to uniform deformation of the crystalline lattice. Discontinuity of the order parameter at the transition point and its equilibrium value are expressed through the second-?to fourth-order elastic constants. The second-,third-?and fourth-order elastic constants and phonon dispersion curves of vanadium under hydrostatic pressure are obtained by first-principles calculations. Structural transformation in vanadium under pressure is studied using the obtained results. It is shown that the experimentally observed at P?≈?69?GPa phase transition in vanadium is the first-order phase transition close to a second-order phase transition.     

Phase field modeling of fast crack propagation

We present a continuum theory which predicts the steady state propagation of cracks. The theory overcomes the usual problem of a finite time cusp singularity of the Grinfeld instability by the inclusion of elastodynamic effects which restore selection of the steady state tip radius and velocity. We developed a phase-field model for elastically induced phase transitions; in the limit of small or vanishing elastic coefficients in the new phase, fracture can be studied. The simulations confirm analytical predictions for fast crack propagation.     

On the thickness of domain walls in ferroelectrics and ferroelastics

Ferroelastic and ferroelectric domain walls are commonly described by wall profiles of the tanh(x/w)-type. We argue that this profile is still a good approximation if higher-order gradient energies are considered. Such energies are relevant for phase transitions close to structural incommensurations and also for phase transitions with dominant elastic interactions. Their effect on the wall profile is to influence the effective wall thickness. Positive gradient energies tend to widen domain walls beyond the values predicted in classic Landau-Ginzburg theory.     

Some aspects of the thermodynamic behaviour of ferroelastic and co-elastic phase transitions

Ferroelastic phase transitions and phase transitions involving coupling between the driving order parameter and elastic degrees of freedom (i.e. co-elastic phase transitions) follow empirically a Landau-type mean field behaviour over large temperature intervals. At temperatures close to the transition point the upper critical dimension is reduced to three if fluctuations are sufficiently constrained in reciprocal space. At low temperatures, the observed temperature independence of the order parameter in the saturation regime (S-regime) is correlated with the quantum limit of the dissipation-fluctuation theorem. The good agreement between experimental observations and the predictions of a Landau-type treatment of the excess Gibbs free energy even for large values of the order parameter leads to the conclusion that the convergency of the polynomial form of the Gibbs free energy is due to small energy coefficients rather than due to the order parameter being small.     

Theory of elastic phase transitions in metals at high pressures. Application to vanadium

Structural transformations in elementary metals under high pressures are considered using the Landau theory of phase transitions, in which the finite strain tensor components play the role of the order parameter. As an example, the phase transition in vanadium observed at a pressure of 69 GPa is analyzed. It is shown that it is a first-order elastic phase transition, which is close to a second-order transition.     

高分子凝胶体积相变中的氢键作用

我们把关联模型(association models)推广应用到高分子凝胶体系,研究高分子与溶剂分子间的氢键和溶剂分子与溶剂分子间的氢键在高分子凝胶体积相变中的作用.首先通过分析凝胶体积分数与温度的关系发现,由于两种氢键作用,随着温度变化高分子凝胶出现连续、不连续体积相变,结果表明在体积相变过程中两种氢键都起着重要作用.其次,对不同氢键分数条件下的旋节线的研究发现,对于高分子凝胶体积相变中出现的UCST和LCST(上临界共溶温度和下临界共溶温度)现象也是由于高分子与溶剂分子间氢键和溶剂分子与溶剂分子间氢键共同作用的结果.