Disorder-induced rounding of certain quantum phase transitions

We study the influence of quenched disorder on quantum phase transitions in systems with overdamped dynamics. For Ising order-parameter symmetry disorder destroys the sharp phase transition by rounding because a static order parameter can develop on rare spatial regions. This leads to an exponential dependence of the order parameter on the coupling constant. At finite temperatures the static order on the rare regions is destroyed. This restores the phase transition and leads to a double-exponential relation between critical temperature and coupling strength. We discuss the behavior based on Lifshitz-tail arguments and illustrate the results by simulations of a model system.     

二维声子晶体中简单旋转操作导致的拓扑相变

构建了一种简单的二维声子晶体:由两个横截面为三角形的钢柱所组成的复式元胞按三角点阵的形式排列在空气中,等效地形成了一个蜂巢点阵结构.当三角形钢柱的取向与三角点阵的高对称方向一致时,整个体系具有C_(6v)对称性.研究发现:在保持钢柱填充率不变的条件下,只需要将所有三角柱绕着自己的中心旋转180°,就可实现二重简并的p态和d态在布里渊区中心Γ点处的频率反转,且该能带反转过程实质上是一个拓扑相变过程.通过利用Γ点的P态和d态的空间旋转对称性,构造了一个赝时反演对称性,并在声学系统中实现了类似于电子系统中量子自旋霍尔效应的赝自旋态.随后通过k·p微扰法导出了Γ点附近的有效哈密顿量,并分别计算了拓扑平庸和非平庸系统的自旋陈数,揭示了能带反转和拓扑相变的内在联系.最后通过数值模拟演示了受到拓扑不变量保护的声波边界态的单向传输行为和对缺陷的背向散射抑制.文中所研究的声波体系,尽管材料普通常见,但其拓扑带隙的相对宽度超过21%,比已报道的类似体系的带隙都要宽,且工作原理涵盖从次声波到超声波的很大频率范围,从而在实际应用上具有较大的优势和潜力.     

Reentrant phase transitions in liquid crystals

A comprehensive review of the recent developments regarding the phenomenon of reentrant phase transitions (RPT) in liquid crystals is presented. In addition to liquid crystals this phenomenon has been observed in amazingly diverse systems. A critical assessment of the experimental investigations concerning single and multiple reentrances is given. A brief account of the theoretical efforts is also given. The article ends with the identification of the factors which impede the proper understanding of the phenomenon.     

Multipolar phase transitions in magnetic crystals

We have studied the possibility of successive multipolar phase transitions in magnetic crystals. A Hamiltonian including various (l ? 4) multipolar interactions is treated in the molecularfield approximation. If each interaction is introduced with its characteristic symmetry, three successive phase transitions at most are found in the absence of any crystalline field anisotropy.     

Disorder-induced losses in planar photonic crystals

The phenomenological approach introduced by Benisty [Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 532 (2000)] to model out-of-plane radiation losses in planar photonic crystals with a low vertical refractive index contrast is extended to the case of in-plane disorder. The model is experimentally validated by means of optical measurements on GaAs-based structures. For the present fabrication techniques the disorder-induced contribution is found to be negligible compared with the other loss mechanisms.     

Birefringence and phase transitions in liquid crystals

The birefringence of liquid-crystalline phases is the result of the parallel order of molecules exhibiting a polarizability anisotropy. The magnitude and sign of the birefringence are determined by the structure and order of the liquid-crystalline phase types as well as by the polarizability properties of the constituent molecules. The characteristic change of the birefringence at phase transitions between liquid-crystalline phases indicates more or less pronounced structural changes. The temperature dependence of the birefringence is due to the temperature change of the molecular order.

It is shown that the structural variety of the liquid crystalline state is reflected by a big variety of their optical anisotropy properties.     

Field-induced phase transitions in antiferroelectric liquid crystals

A theoretical study is made of the process by which an antiferroelectric smectic liquid crystal undergoes a field-induced transition to ferroelectric alignment. We find that for cells of moderate thickness the initial departure from antiferroelectric alignment occurs as a continuous Fréedericksz transition. The following transition from partial alignment to complete ferroelectric ordering may occur as either a first-order or continuous transition, depending on the relative strength of some of the model parameters. The case where the transition is continuous provides a possible mechanism for some recently observed thresholdless transitions in these systems.     

Isoperimetric phase transitions of two-dimensional droplets

We consider two-dimensional assemblies of particles governed by hamiltonians depending on the area and the perimeter of their convex hull. Provided the hamiltonian is quadratically homogeneous in the coordinates, we find an exact formula for the free energy. Phase transitions resulting from the competition between area and perimeter can easily be produced and explicitly dealt with. We illustrate those features by a simple example undergoing a second-order transition.     

Ordering and phase transitions in liquid crystals

Structures and properties of different types of liquid crystals are discussed from a uniform point of view. Apart from the traditional mesophases (nematics, cholesterics, smectics), some new examples, including polymeric, metalloorganic and ferromagnetic liquid crystals, are also investigated. Systems with several macroscopic scales on which the type of ordering may differ, are described and analysed. Phase transitions and certain types of critical behaviour in different liquid crystals are studied.     

Dynamical phase transitions in the two-dimensional ANNNI model

We study the phase diagram of the two-dimensional anisotropic next-nearest neighbor Ising (ANNNI) model by comparing the time evolution of two distinct spin configurations submitted to the same thermal noise. We clearly see several dynamical transitions between ferromagnetic, paramagnetic, antiphase, and floating phases. These dynamical transitions seem to occur rather close to the transition lines determined previously in the literature.     

One-dimensional phase transitions in a two-dimensional optical lattice

A phase transition for bosonic atoms in a two-dimensional anisotropic optical lattice is considered. If the tunnelling rates in two directions are different, the system can undergo a transition between a two-dimensional superfluid and a one-dimensional Mott insulating array of strongly coupled tubes. The connection to other lattice models is exploited in order to better understand the phase transition. Critical properties are obtained using quantum Monte Carlo calculations. These critical properties are related to correlation properties of the bosons and a criterion for commensurate filling is established.     

Thermodynamics and phase transitions in two-dimensional Yukawa systems

The results of numerical simulations of strongly-coupled two-dimensional dissipative Yukawa systems are presented. The thermodynamic characteristics of these systems were studied, namely the internal energy, the specific heat and the entropy. For the first time, it is discovered that the considered characteristics have two singular points on the melting line; one of these points corresponds to the first-order phase transition from crystal to the hexatic phase, and another point corresponds to the second-order phase transition from the hexatic phase to the isotropic liquid. The obtained results are compared to the existing numerical and analytical data.     

Magnetostructural phase transitions in manganese arsenide single crystals

The effect of an external magnetic field with a strength up to 140 kOe on the phase transitions in manganese arsenide single crystals has been investigated. The existence of unstable magnetic and crystal structures at temperatures above the Curie temperature T _C = 308 K has been established. The displacements of manganese and arsenic atoms during the magnetostructural phase transition and the shift in the temperature of the first-order magnetostructural phase transition in a magnetic field have been determined. It has been shown that the magnetocaloric effect in a magnetic field of 140 kOe near the Curie temperature T _C is equal to ??T ?? 13 K. A model of the superparamagnetic state in MnAs above the temperature T _C has been proposed using the data on the magnetic properties and structural transformation in the region of the first-order magnetostructural phase transition. It has been demonstrated that, at temperatures close to T _C, apart from the contribution to the change in the entropy from the change in the magnetization there is a significant contribution from the transformation of the crystal lattice due to the magnetostructural phase transition.     

Quasi phase matching in two-dimensional nonlinear photonic crystals

We analyze quasi-phase-matched (QPM) conversion efficiency of the five possible types of periodic two-dimensional nonlinear structures: Hexagonal, square, rectangular, centered-rectangular, and oblique. The frequency conversion efficiency, as a function of the two-dimensional quasi-phase-matching order, is determined for the general case. Furthermore, it is demonstrated for two basic feasible motifs, a circular motif and a rectangular motif. This enables to determine the optimal motif dimensions for achieving the highest conversion efficiency. We find that a rectangular motif is more efficient than a circular motif for quasi-phase-matched processes that rely on a single reciprocal lattice vector (RLV), and that under optimal choice of motif dimensions, it converges into a one-dimensional periodic structure. In addition, in a few specific cases we found that higher order QPM can be significantly more efficient than lower order QPM.     

Universality away from critical points in two-dimensional phase transitions

The p-state clock model in two dimensions is a system of discrete rotors with a quasiliquid phase in a region T14. We show that, for p>4 and above a temperature T(eu), all macroscopic thermal averages become identical to those of the continuous rotor (p=infinity). This collapse of thermodynamic observables creates a regime of extended universality in the phase diagram and an emergent symmetry, not present in the Hamiltonian. For p> or =8, the collapse starts in the quasiliquid phase and makes the transition at T2 identical to the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition of the continuous rotor. For p< or =6, the transition at T2 is below T(eu) and no longer a BKT transition. The results generate a range of experimental predictions, such as the motion of magnetic domain walls, and limits on macroscopic distinguishability of different microscopic interactions.