Magnetocaloric effect and critical behavior of the Mn-rich itinerant material Mn_3GaC with enhanced ferromagnetic interaction

We revisit the reversible magnetocaloric effect of itinerant ferromagnet Mn3GaC near the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition by adopting the experimental and theoretical methods and critical behavior of Mn-rich Mn3GaC with an enhanced FM interaction.Landau theory model cannot account for temperature dependent magnetic entropy change which is estimated from thermal magnetic methods only considering magnetoelastic coupling and the electron-electron interaction,apart from molecular mean-field model.Critical behavior is studied by adopting the modified Arrott plot,Kouvel-Fisher plot,and critical isotherm analysis.With these critical exponents,experimental data below and above Tc collapse into two universal branches,fulfilling the single scaling equation m=f±(h),where m and h are renormalized magnetization and field.Critical exponents are confirmed by Widom scaling law and just between mean-field model and three-dimensional Heisenberg model,as the evidence for the existence of long-range ferromagnetic interaction.With increasing the Mn content,Tc increases monotonously and critical exponents increases accordingly.The exchange distance changes from J(r)~r^-4.68 for x=0 to J(r)~r^-4.71 for x=0.08,respectively,which suggests the competition of the Mn-Mn direct interaction and the itinerant Mn-C-Mn hybridization.The possible mechanism is proposed.     

Stochastic resonance and nonequilibrium dynamic phase transition of Ising spin system driven by a joint external field

The dynamic response and stochastic resonance of a kinetic Ising spin system （ISS） subject to the joint action of an external field of weak sinusoidal modulation and stochastic white-nolse are studied by solving the mean-field equation of motion based on Glauber dynamics. The periodically driven stochastic ISS shows that the characteristic stochastic resonance as well as nonequilibrium dynamic phase transition （NDPT） occurs when the frequency ω and amplitude h0 of driving field, the temperature t of the system and noise intensity D are all specifically in accordance with each other in quantity. There exist in the system two typical dynamic phases, referred to as dynamic disordered paramagnetic and ordered ferromagnetic phases respectively, corresponding to a zero- and a unit-dynamic order parameter. The NDPT boundary surface of the system which separates the dynamic paramagnetic phase from the dynamic ferromagnetic phase in the 3D parameter space of ho-t-D is also investigated. An interesting dynamical ferromagnetic phase with an intermediate order parameter of 0.66 is revealed for the first time in the ISS subject to the perturbation of a joint determinant and stochastic field. The intermediate order dynamical ferromagnetic phase is dynamically metastable in nature and owns a peculiar characteristic in its stability as well as the response to external driving field as compared with a fully order dynamic ferromagnetic phase.     

Critical properties of XY model on two-layer Villain－ferromagnetic lattice

We investigate phase transitions of the XY model on a two-layer square lattice which consists of a Villain plane (J) and a ferromagnetic plane (I), using Monte Carlo simulations and a histogram method. Depending on the values of interaction parameters (I,J), the system presents three phases: namely, a Kosterlitz－Thouless (KT) phase in which the two planes are critical for I predominant over J, a chiral phase in which the two planes have a chiral order for J predominant over I and a new phase in which only the Villain plane has a chiral order and the ferromagnetic plane is paramagnetic with a small value of chirality. We clarify the nature of phase transitions by using a finite size scaling method. We find three different kinds of transitions according to the values of (I,J): the KT transition, the Ising transition and an XY-Ising transition with ν=0.849(3). It turns out that the Ising or XY-Ising transition is associated with the disappearance of the chiral order in the Villain plane.     

Phase transition and critical phenomenon of AdS black holes in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

Thermodynamics of phase transition for a black hole in 5D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with a negative cosmological constant is studied.As the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is adopted,we find the heat capacity,volume expansion coefficient and isothermal compressibility are divergent at the critical points,which implies the existence of phase transitions.The fact that the phase transitions are indeed second order is revealed by studying the Ehrenfest’s equations and the Prigogine-Defay ratio.Furthermore near the critical points,we also explicitly calculate the critical exponents of the relevant thermodynamic quantities at fixed charge or fixed temperature.It is shown that the corresponding critical exponents satisfy the thermodynamic scaling law.The Generalized Homogeneous Function hypothesis is also checked by studying the Helmholtz free energy,which is shown to be consistent with the thermodynamic scaling law.     

Phase Diagram of a Spin-Orbit Coupled Dipolar Fermi Gas at T=0K

We study a homogeneous two-component dipolar Fermi gas with 1D spin-orbit coupling(SOC) at zero temperature and find that the system undergoes a transition from the paramagnetic phase to the ferromagnetic phase under suitable dipolar interaction constant λ_d,SOC constant λ_SOC and contact interaction constant As.This phase transition can be of either 1st order or 2nd order,depending on the parameters.Near the 2nd-order phase transition,the system is partially magnetized in th...     

Phase diagrams in mixed spin-3/2 and spin-2 Ising system with two alternative layers within the effective-field theory

The phase diagrams in the mixed spin-3/2 and spin-2 Ising system with two alternative layers on a honeycomb lattice are investigated and discussed by the use of the effective-field theory with correlations. The interaction of the nearest-neighbour spins of each layer is taken to be positive (ferromagnetic interaction) and the interaction of the adjacent spins of the nearest-neighbour layers is considered to be either positive or negative (ferromagnetic or anti-ferromagnetic interaction). The temperature dependence of the layer magnetizations of the system is examined to characterize the nature (continuous or discontinuous) of the phase transitions and obtain the phase transition temperatures. The system exhibits both second-and first-order phase transitions besides triple point (T P ), critical end point (E), multicritical point (A), isolated critical point (C) and reentrant behaviour depending on the interaction parameters. We have also studied the temperature dependence of the total magnetization to find the compensation points, as well as to determine the type of behaviour, and N-type behaviour in N′eel classification nomenclature existing in the system. The phase diagrams are constructed in eight different planes and it is found that the system also presents the compensation phenomena depending on the sign of the bilinear exchange interactions.     

Critical behavior and magnetocaloric effect in magnetic Weyl semimetal candidate Co_(2-x)ZrSn

We investigate the critical exponents and magnetocaloric effect of Co_(2-x)ZrSn polycrystal. The Co_(2-x)ZrSn undergoes a second-order ferromagnetism phase transition around the Curie temperature of Tc ～280 K. The critical behavior in the vicinity of the magnetic phase transition has been investigated by using modified Arrott plot and Kouvel–Fisher methods.The obtained critical exponents, β, γ, and δ can be well described by the scaling theory. The determined exponents of Co_(2-x)ZrSn obey the mean-field model with a long-range magnetic interaction. In addition, the maximum magnetic entropy change-?Sm ax M of Co_(2-x)ZrSn is about 0.57 J·kg~(-1)·K~(-1) and the relative cooling power(RCP) is 14.68 J·kg~(-1) at 50 kOe(1 Oe = 79.5775 A·m~(-1)).     

CRITICAL SCALING THEORY OF GENERALIZED PHASE TRANSITION AND ITS UNIVERSALITY

Generalized phase transition (GPT) refers to the transition process of material systems from one steady-state to another. It includes equilibrium phase transition (EPT) and nonequilibrium phase transition (NPT), and phase transitions intermediate between them. In this paper some results on the study of critical scaling relations of the NPT and EPT are obtained. We developed the critical scaling theory of EPT and advanced a universal critical scaling theory of GPT. The critical scaling relations(scaling laws) has more niversality. The critical exponents calculated from our theory are identical with the results of experiments and other theories about EPT and NPT systems. Because the basic model of the theory does not depend on the concrete material system, it has a certain unversality. Its results thus can be applied to generlized phase transition systems, such as the electrorheological fluid and magnetorheological fluid systems.     

The effects of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction on the ground-state properties of the XY chain in a transverse field

The effects of the Dzyaloshinski-Moriya (DM) interaction on the ground-state properties of the anisotropic XY chain in a transverse field have been studied by means of correlation functions and entanglement. Different from the case without the DM interaction, the excitation spectra εk of this model are not symmetrical in the momentum space and are not always positive. As a result, besides the ferromagnetic (FM) and the paramagnetic (PM) phases, a gapless chiral phase is induced. In the chiral phase, the von Neumann entropy is proportional to log2L (L is the length of a subchain) with the coefficient A ≈ 1/3, which is the same as that of the XY chain in a transverse field without the DM interaction for γ = 0 and 0 h ≤ 1. And in the vicinity of the critical point between the chiral phase and the FM (or PM) phase, the behaviors of the nearest-neighbor concurrence and its derivative are like those for the anisotropy transition.     

Phase transitions of two spin-1/2 Baxter–Wu layers coupled with Ising-type interactions

Using a Monte Carlo simulation and the single histogram reweighting technique,we study the critical behaviors and phase transitions of the Baxter-Wu(BW)model on a two-layer triangular lattice with Ising-type interlayer couplings.Via the finite-size analysis,we obtain the transition temperatures and critical exponents at repulsive and attractive interlayer couplings.The data for the repulsive interlayer coupling suggest continuous transitions,and the critical behaviors are the same as those of the 2D BW model,belonging to the four-state Potts universality class.The reduced energy cumulants and the histograms reveal that attractive coupling leads to weak firstorder phase transitions.The pseudocritical exponents with the existence of the interlayer couplings indicate that the first-order transition is very close to the critical point of the 2D standard BW model.     

Criticality of Epidemic Spreading in Mobile Individuals Mediated by Environment

We investigate the critical behaviour of an epidemical model in a diffusive population mediated by a static vector environment on a 2D network. It is found that this model presents a dynamical phase transition from disease-free state to endemic state with a finite population density. Finite-size and short-time dynamic scaling relations are used to determine the critical population density and the critical exponents characterizing the behaviour near the critical point. The results are compatible with the universality class of directed percolation coupled to a conserved diffusive field with equal diffusion constants.     

Moessbauer Investigation of the Ferromagnetic Coupling in Copper-Iron Polycyanides

One of the Prussian blue analogs, molecular magnet Cu3^Ⅲ [Fe^Ⅲ (CN)6]2.11.6H2 O, was investigated by Moessbauer spectroscopy. It was found that transition temperature was around Tc = 18.5 K from paramagnetic phase to ferromagnetic phase. The β value of the critical exponent is around 0.338 at magnetic ordering temperature.Therefore, the ferromagnetic coupling interaction of Cu-Fe cyanide could be clearly explained by spin wave theory.     

Low-temperature physical properties and electronic structures of Ni_3Sb,Ni_5Sb_2,NiSb_2,and NiSb

We report the results of low temperature resistivity and magnetization measurements on polycrystalline samples of four Ni–Sb compounds,Ni3 Sb,Ni5Sb2,NiS b,and Ni Sb2.Resistivity measurements revealed that these compounds exhibit a metallic type of electrical conductivity.Temperature dependences of the resistivities were well fitted by the generalized Bloch–Gr u¨neisen formula with an exponent of n = 3,indicating that the s–d interband scattering is the dominant scattering mechanism.The magnetic susceptibilities of Ni5Sb2,Ni Sb,and Ni Sb2 are almost independent of temperature(above150 K),exhibiting Pauli paramagnetic behavior.The temperature dependences of the susceptibilities were fitted using the Curie–Weiss law.Ni3 Sb was found to have a paramagnetic–ferromagnetic phase transition at 229 K.First-principles calculations have been performed to investigate the electronic structures and physical properties of these Ni–Sb alloys.The calculation of the band structure predicted that Ni3 Sb,Ni5Sb2,Ni Sb,and Ni Sb2 have characteristics of metal,and the ground state of Ni3 Sb is ferromagnetic.The electrical and magnetic properties observed experimentally are consistent with that predicted by the first-principle electronic structure calculations.     

Influence of the Boundary Condition on the Short—Time Dynamic Behaviour of the Ising—Like Phase Transition in Square—LOattice Fully Frustrated XY Models

We investigate the influence of the boundary condition on the short-time dynamic behaviour of the Ising-like phase transition in square-lattice fully frustrated (FF) XY models with periodic and fluctuating twist boundary conditions.The transition temperature Tc and the dynamic and static critical exponents z,2β/υ and υ are estimated for both cases using short-time dynamic scaling analysis.The results show that both models have the same critical exponents,indicating that the boundary condition has nearly no effect on the short-time dynamic behaviour of the FFXY model.     

Ground State Property of LiV2O4

The spinel structure LiV2O4 is studied by local density approximation （LDA） as well as including strong correlation correction potential, i.e. the LDA＋U scheme, which concerns the strongly correlated interaction. With LDA, the orbitals of V 3d and O 2p are well separated so that it presents purely metallic heavv fermion behaviour. The total energy of ferromagnetic phase is slightly lower than that of paramagnetic phase within the LDA ap- proach. This implies that the ferromagnetic instability as a consequence of spin frustrated magnetism can be observed in experiments. The strong correlation interaction by using LDA＋U enhances the exchange splitting. The heavy-fermion feature can be derived from the sharp peak around the Fermi level from the density of states.     

Phase Transition of the Pair Contact Process Model in a Fragmented Network

We investigate the phase transition of the pair contact process （PCP） model in a fragmented network. The network is formed by rewiring the link between two nearest neighbors to another randomly selected site in one dimension with a probability q. When the average degree （k〉 = 2, the system exhibits a structure transition and the lattice is fragmented into several isolated subgraphs, it is shown that a giant cluster appears and its node fraction does not change nearly for q 〉 0. Furthermore, it is found that the critical behavior of the continuous phase transition for the PCP model is different from the directed percolation （DP） class and the estimated values of the critical exponents are independent of the rewiring probability for q 〉 0. We conjecture that the structure transition for （k） = 2 takes an important role in the change of the critical behavior of the continuous phase transition.     

Critical behaviour of the ferromagnetic Ising model on a triangular lattice

We use a new updated algorithm scheme to investigate the critical behaviour of the two-dimensional ferromagnetic Ising model on a triangular lattice with the nearest neighbour interactions. The transition is examined by generating accurate data for lattices with L= 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50. The updated spin algorithm we employ has the advantages of both a Metropolis algorithm and a single-update method. Our study indicates that the transition is continuous at T_c= 3.6403({2}). A convincing finite-size scaling analysis of the model yields υ=0.9995(21), β / υ = 0.12400({17}), γ / υ = 1.75223(22), γ '/υ=1.7555(22), α/υ= 0.00077(420) (scaling) and α / υ = 0.0010(42) (hyperscaling). The present scheme yields more accurate estimates for all the critical exponents than the Monte Carlo method, and our estimates are shown to be in excellent agreement with their predicted values.     

Critical behavior and effect of Sr substitution in double perovskite Ca_2CrSbO_6

The double perovskite Ca2CrSbO6 exhibits a ferromagnetic long-range order below Tc=13 K and a saturation magnetization of 2.35μB at 2 K.In this study,the polycrystalline Ca2CrSbO6 is synthesized under high pressure and high temperature,and the critical behavior of the ferromagnetic material as well as the effects of the magnetic behavior due to the isovalent substitution of Sr2+for Ca2+is investigated.Also studied are the ferromagnetic criticality of the double perovskite Ca2CrSbO6 at the ferromagnetic transition temperature Tc≈12.6 K from the isotherms of magnetization M(H)via an iteration process and the Kouvel–Fisher method.The critical exponents associated with the transition are determined as follows:β=0.322,γ=1.241,andδ=4.84.The magnetization data in the vicinity of Tc can be scaled into two universal curves in the plot of M/|ε|βversus H/|ε|β+γ,whereε=T/Tc?1.The obtainedβandγvalues are consistent with the predicted values from a three-dimensional Ising model.The effects of Sr substitution on the double perovskite Ca2CrSbO6 are taken into consideration.As the Sr content increases,the(Ca2?xSrx)CrSbO6 polycrystal shows a continuous switch from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic behavior.     

Effect of Co on magnetic property and phase stability of Ni--Mn--Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys: A first-principles study

The effect of Co content on magnetic property and phase stability of Ni50-xMn25Ga25Cox ferromagnetic shape memory alloys has been investigated using first-principles calculations. The total energy difference between paramagnetic and ferromagnetic state of austenite plays an important role in the magnetic transition. The high Curie temperature can be attributed to the stronger Co-Mn exchange interaction as compared to the Ni-Mn one. The phase stability of Ni50-xMn25Ga25Cox austenite increases with increasing Co content, which is discussed based on the electronic structure.     

Self-Similarity Breaking: Anomalous Nonequilibrium Finite-Size Scaling and Finite-Time Scaling

Symmetry breaking plays a pivotal role in modern physics.Although self-similarity is also a symmetry,and appears ubiquitously in nature,a fundamental question arises as to whether self-similarity breaking makes sense or not.Here,by identifying an important type of critical fluctuation,dubbed‘phases fluctuations’,and comparing the numerical results for those with self-similarity and those lacking self-similarity with respect to phases fluctuations,we show that self-similarity can indeed be broken,with significant consequences,at least in nonequilibrium situations.We find that the breaking of self-similarity results in new critical exponents,giving rise to a violation of the well-known finite-size scaling,or the less well-known finite-time scaling,and different leading exponents in either the ordered or the disordered phases of the paradigmatic Ising model on two-or three-dimensional finite lattices,when subject to the simplest nonequilibrium driving of linear heating or cooling through its critical point.This is in stark contrast to identical exponents and different amplitudes in usual critical phenomena.Our results demonstrate how surprising driven nonequilibrium critical phenomena can be.The application of this theory to other classical and quantum phase transitions is also anticipated.