15 research outputs found
Coexistence of the Critical Slowing Down and Glassy Freezing in Relaxor Ferroelectrics
We have developed a dynamical model for the dielectric response in relaxor
ferroelectrics which explicitly takes into account the coexistence of the
critical slowing down and glassy freezing. The application of the model to the
experiment in PMN allowed for the reconstruction of the nonequilibrium spin
glass state order parameter and its comparison with the results of recent NMR
experiment (Blinc et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, No. 2 (1999)). It is shown that
the degree of the local freezing is rather small even at temperatures where the
field-cooled permittivity exceeds the frequency dependent permittivity by an
order of magnitude. This observation indicates the significant role of the
critical slowing down (accompanying the glass freezing) in the system dynamics.
Also the theory predicts an important interrelationship between the frequency
dependent permittivity and the zero-field-cooled permittivity, which proved to
be consistent with the experiment in PMN (A. Levstik et. al., Phys. Rev. B 57,
11204 (1998))
The Energetics of Li Off-Centering in KLiTaO; First Principles Calculations
KLiTaO (KLT) solid solutions exhibit a variety of
interesting physical phenomena related to large displacements of Li-ions from
ideal perovskite A-site positions. First-principles calculations for KLT
supercells were used to investigate these phenomena. Lattice dynamics
calculations for KLT exhibit a Li off-centering instability. The energetics of
Li-displacements for isolated Li-ions and for Li-Li pairs up to 4th neighbors
were calculated. Interactions between nearest neighbor Li-ions, in a Li-Li
pair, strongly favor ferroelectric alignment along the pair axis. Such Li-Li
pairs can be considered "seeds" for polar nanoclusters in KLT.
Electrostriction, local oxygen relaxation, coupling to the KT soft-mode, and
interactions with neighboring Li-ions all enhance the polarization from Li
off-centering. Calculated hopping barriers for isolated Li-ions and for nearest
neighbor Li-Li pairs are in good agreement with Arrhenius fits to experimental
dielectric data.Comment: 14 pages including 10 figures. To Physical Review B. Replaced after
corrections due to referees' remark
Colossal dielectric constants in transition-metal oxides
Many transition-metal oxides show very large ("colossal") magnitudes of the
dielectric constant and thus have immense potential for applications in modern
microelectronics and for the development of new capacitance-based
energy-storage devices. In the present work, we thoroughly discuss the
mechanisms that can lead to colossal values of the dielectric constant,
especially emphasising effects generated by external and internal interfaces,
including electronic phase separation. In addition, we provide a detailed
overview and discussion of the dielectric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 and related
systems, which is today's most investigated material with colossal dielectric
constant. Also a variety of further transition-metal oxides with large
dielectric constants are treated in detail, among them the system La2-xSrxNiO4
where electronic phase separation may play a role in the generation of a
colossal dielectric constant.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J. for publication in
the Special Topics volume "Cooperative Phenomena in Solids: Metal-Insulator
Transitions and Ordering of Microscopic Degrees of Freedom
Noise-induced failures of chaos stabilization: Large fluctuations and their control.
Noise-induced failures in the stabilization of an unstable orbit in the one-dimensional logistic map are considered as large fluctuations from a stable state. The properties of the large fluctuations are examined by determination and analysis of the optimal path and the optimal fluctuational force corresponding to the stabilization failure. The problem of controlling noise-induced large fluctuations is discussed, and methods of control have been developed