Characterization of the Landau expansion equation for SrTiO3 under pressure

This work focuses on the characterization of the expansion of Landau's main equation for Pm3?m structures, which are transformed with symmetry subgroups, associated with M+3 and R+4 special points of the Brillouin zone, under hydrostatic pressure. This solution has been adapted to include the general influence of hydrostatic pressure and the evolution of the order parameter. We present a simple scheme in order to search systematically the ground state of all perovskite structures derivable from octahedral rotations under high pressure. We have applied this adaptation to SrTiO₃ perovskite. Results of the characterization of Landau′s equation for the cubic-tetragonal phase transition under pressure are discussed here.     

Miscibility in poly(L-lactide)- b -poly( $ \upvarepsilon$ -caprolactone) double crystalline diblock copolymers

Thermally stimulated depolarization currents, TSDC, wide-angle X-ray scattering, WAXS, differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, and polarized light optical microscopy, PLOM, have been used to examine poly(L-lactide)-b -poly( -caprolactone) diblock copolymers in a wide composition range. Both components are crystallizable and the miscibility in the amorphous phase has been determined from the behavior of the primary relaxations which are the dielectric manifestation of the glass transition, and also from the superstructural morphology revealed by PLOM and the compositional dependence of the melting points as determined by DSC. Distinct segmental mobilities in the amorphous phase which can be well resolved by TSDC are present; the mode of the slower component shifts to lower temperatures as the PCL content increases while the glass transition of neat PCL is present for all compositions. A relaxation times bimodal distribution is apparent for PCL-rich copolymers. The composition dependence of the multiple glass transitions detected in these weakly segregated copolymers are predicted by the self-concentration model for a miscible blend made of components with a large T_g contrast.     

Decentralized delayed-feedback control of an optimal velocity traffic model

The jam phenomenon in traffic flow wastes not only considerable traffic-transportation time but also great amounts of fuel due to many accelerate-decelerate actions. From traffic-economic and traffic-pollution viewpoints, the suppression of traffic jam is an important issue we have to solve. The present paper shows that -norm, which has been used in the field of control theory, can reveal the traffic jam phenomenon in an optimal velocity traffic model under an open boundary condition. Furthermore, we suppress the traffic jam in the model by the decentralized delayed-feedback control method. Some numerical simulations are shown to verify our theoretical results. Received 27 October 1999     

Phase-ordering dynamics of binary mixtures with field-dependent mobility in shear flow

The effect of shear flow on the phase-ordering dynamics of a binary mixture with field-dependent mobility is investigated. The problem is addressed in the context of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation with an external velocity term, studied in self-consistent approximation. Assuming a scaling ansatz for the structure factor, the asymptotic behavior of the observables in the scaling regime can be analytically calculated. All the observables show log-time periodic oscillations which we interpret as due to a cyclical mechanism of stretching and break-up of domains. These oscillations are damped as consequence of the vanishing of the mobility in the bulk phase. Received 13 April 1999     

The short-time critical behaviour of the Ginzburg-Landau model with long-range interaction

The renormalisation group approach is applied to the study of the short-time critical behaviour of the d-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model with long-range interaction of the form in momentum space. Firstly the system is quenched from a high temperature to the critical temperature and then relaxes to equilibrium within the model A dynamics. The asymptotic scaling laws and the initial slip exponents and of the order parameter and the response function respectively, are calculated to the second order in . Received 9 June 2000 and Received in final form 2 August 2000     

Quantum fluctuations and ground state of weakly interacting helix spin chains in a magnetic field

Ferromagnetic spin chains of a hexagonal lattice coupled by a weak antiferromagnetic interaction J₁ develop a helix arrangement if the intrachain antiferromagnetic NNN exchange J₂ is sufficiently large. We show that the classical minimum energy spin configuration is an umbrella when an external magnetic field is applied. The scenario is dramatically changed by quantum fluctuations. Indeed we find that the zero point motion forces the spins in a plane containing the magnetic field so that classical expectation is deceptive for our model. Our result is obtained by controlled expansion in the low field-long wavelength modulation limit. Received: 9 September 1997 / Revised: 15 October 1997 / Accepted: 17 November 1997     

Swollen-collapsed transition in random hetero-polymers

A lattice model of a hetero-polymer with random hydrophilic-hydrophobic charges interacting with the solvent is introduced, whose continuum counterpart has been proposed by Garel, Leibler and Orland [#!GLO!#]. The transfer matrix technique is used to study various constrained annealed systems which approximate at various degrees of accuracy the original quenched model. For highly hydrophobic chains an ordinary -point transition is found from a high temperature swollen phase to a low temperature compact phase. Depending on the type of constrained averages, at very low temperatures a swollen phase or a coexistence between compact and swollen phases are found. The results are carefully compared with the corresponding ones obtained in the continuum limit, and various improvements in the original calculations are discussed. Received: 10 April 1998 / Revised: 4 June 1998 / Accepted: 1st July 1998     

Deviation of Upper Bounds of Critical Temperature of Two-Dimensional O(N) Spin Models

Critical temperature of the classical O(N) spin model in two dimensions is investigated. We show that no phase transition exists in the system if the inverse temperature is less than _c=_c(N), where _c(N) is a constant such that _c(N) > const. N log N.     

Off-diagonal long-range order in a supersymmetric integrable model of correlated electrons

A new model for correlated electrons is presented which is integrable in one-dimension. The symmetry algebra of the model is the Lie superalgebra gl(2|1) which depends on a continuous free parameter. This symmetry algebra contains the pairing algebra as a subalgebra which is used to show that the model exhibits Off-Diagonal Long-Range Order in any number of dimensions. Received: 9 December 1997 / Revised: 12 February 1998 / Accepted: 17 March 1998     

Ionic diffusion on a lattice: Effects of the order-disorder transition on the dynamics of non-equilibrium systems

We examine the behaviour of the concentration profiles of particles with repulsive interactions diffusing on a host lattice. At low temperature, the diffusion process is strongly influenced by the presence of ordered domains. We use mean field equations and Monte-Carlo simulations to describe the various effects which influence the kinetic behaviour. An effective diffusion coefficient is determined analytically and is compared with the simulations. Finite gradient effects on the ordered domains and on the diffusion are discussed. The kinetics studied is relevant for superionic conductors, for intercalation and also for the diffusion of particles adsorbed on a substrate. Received: 26 June 1997 / Revised: 18 September 1997 / Accepted: 10 November 1997