Phase transition and thermodynamic properties of Sr under high pressure

We have performed the first-principles and classical molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the phase diagram and thermodynamic properties of Sr under high pressure and temperature. The obtained solid phase diagram of Sr, based on the quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA), is greatly supported by the available experimental data under low pressure. From the coexistence-phase molecular dynamics simulations, we also obtained the high-pressure melting curve of Sr which shows good agreement with the experiment. While, the experimentally observed β-Sn structure of Sr-III was found to be mechanically unstable according to our phonon dispersion calculations and evolutionary algorithm structure searches. We find that α-U phase (space group Cmcm) is energetically favorable and is the good candidate of Sr-III.     

Prediction of a bcc-hcp phase transition for Sn: A first-principles study

The high-pressure structural transformation of elemental Sn is studied using an ab initio density functional theory implementation of the metadynamics method that predicts with sufficient compression, Sn will transform from the bcc structure into an hcp structure. The low-free-energy pathway associated with this phase transition is characterized as the Burgers transition mechanism. The superconducting properties of Sn under pressure are also investigated. Both bcc and hcp structures of Sn exhibit very weak electron-phonon coupling and therefore would not sustain superconductivity at high pressure.     

Phase transition properties of the spin-1 Blume-Emery-Griffiths model with random transverse crystal field

Phase transition properties of a spin-1 Blume-Emery-Griffiths model (BEGM) with random transverse crystal field is studied by the effective field theory for a simple cubic lattice. In T−D_x space, we obtain the phase diagrams with the ratio α between the biquadratic interaction and the exchange interaction as well as a tunable parameter l of the transverse crystal field. The tricritical point (TCP) appears at α<0, which undergoes a crossover from positive to negative direction of the transverse crystal field when l<0. The TCP cannot be observed for α>0. The maximum critical temperature increases with the increase of α. The position of the peak value tends to the drift of negative or positive direction for a different magnitude or an imperfect (±) transverse crystal field distribution. In T−α space, the range of ordered phase is magnified when the ratio is changed from α<0 to α>0. The random transverse crystal field obviously affects the TCP.     

A novel algorithm for branch cut phase unwrapping

Branch cut method is a powerful noise-immune algorithm for correct phase unwrapping of noisy phase maps. The shortest branch cut length promises the optimal unwrapping result of the wrapped phase maps. A new algorithm is proposed to search for the shortest branch cut length by simple exchange operation. Although the algorithm is on the basis of stochastic search techniques, it has a high probability of finding the shortest branch cut length or an approximation of it. Compared with the traditional algorithms, the algorithm is fast and competitive.     

Single fringe projection profilometry based on sinusoidal intensity normalization and subpixel fitting

A novel fringe projection profilometry using a single sinusoidal fringe pattern projected is proposed. Computer-generated sinusoidal fringe and uniform intensity patterns are firstly projected on a testing object by a liquid crystal display projector. The variable reflection intensity of a fringe pattern is then roughly normalized by division operation applied to the grabbed fringe and uniform intensity patterns projected. Fringe intensity is further normalized by employing an interpolation algorithm. The deformed sinusoidal pattern encoding object shape is converted to a wrapped phase map without using phase-shifting or Fourier transform. Computer simulation and experimental performance are evaluated to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. The experimental results compared with those of the four-step phase-shifting and fast Fourier transform methods are also presented.     

Parametric model of the BAW resonator phase-noise

Excepted for the very short terms the frequency stability of ultra-stable oscillators is mainly limited by the resonator noise. In this work we proposed a parametric model of the bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonator phase noise based on an equivalent circuit. This model explains phase noise generated by a BAW crystal from a point of view of parametric fluctuations and proves the f⁻¹ dependences of the crystal noise. The model performance is verified with simulation. Simulation results are compared to experimental data and discussed. Comparison of three existing models is made.     

Oxygen relaxation and phase transition in GdBaCo2O5 + δ oxide

Electrical conductivity, internal friction techniques and dilatometer have been used to investigate the oxygen relaxation, phase transition and thermal expansion behavior of GdBaCo₂O_5 + δ. The main electronic charge carriers in GdBaCo₂O_5 + δ are electronic holes, which could be assigned to the formation of Co⁴⁺. The oxygen exchange kinetics intensely depends on oxygen partial pressure and is also closely related to temperature. Both electrical conductivity and internal friction give rise to an abnormal at about 75 °C, which are related to the insulator-metal transition occurring in GdBaCo₂O_5 + δ. One large relaxation internal friction peak, due to the motion of oxygen within Gd-O plane, is also found in the oxide. The average thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of GdBaCo₂O_5 + δ is about 21.4 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ between 500 °C and 900 °C.     

The behavior of a many-particle electrode in a lithium-ion battery

We study a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that uses a many-particle FePO₄ electrode to reversibly store lithium atoms. This process is accompanied by a phase transition and charging/discharging run along different paths, so that hysteretic behavior is observed.Although there are experimental studies suggesting that the overall behavior of the battery is a many-particle effect, most authors exclusively describe the phase transition within a single particle model of the electrode.In this work, we study in detail a many-particle model for the electrode. The model is capable to describe a kind of phase transition where each individual particle of the electrode is homogeneous. It will be shown that the particles are either in the first phase or in the second phase. This phenomenon is due to the non-monotone relation between the chemical potential and the lithium mole fraction of a single particle.The pressure-radius relation of a spherical elastic rubber balloon also exhibits non-monotone behavior. In fact, a system of many interconnected balloons behaves correspondingly to an electrode consisting of many storage particles. The analogy between the two systems is important, because the predictions of the many-particle model can easily be tested with rubber balloons of macroscopic size than with an ensemble of microscopically small (FePO₄) particles.     

Complete synchronization of Kuramoto oscillators with finite inertia

We present an approach based on Gronwall’s inequalities for the asymptotic complete phase-frequency synchronization of Kuramoto oscillators with finite inertia. For given finite inertia and coupling strength, we present admissible classes of initial configurations and natural frequency distributions, which lead to the complete phase-frequency synchronization asymptotically. For this, we explicitly identify invariant regions for the Kuramoto flow, and derive second-order Gronwall’s inequalities for the evolution of phase and frequency diameters. Our detailed time-decay estimates for phase and frequency diameters are independent of the number of oscillators. We also compare our analytical results with numerical simulations.