1,943 research outputs found
Eight-potential-well order-disorder ferroelectric model and effects of random fields
An eight-potential-well order-disorder ferroelectric model was presented and
the phase transition was studied under the mean-field approximation. It was
shown that the two-body interactions are able to account for the first-order
and the second order phase transitions. With increasing the random fields in
the system, a first-order phase transition is transformed into a second-order
phase transition, and furthermore, a second-order phase transition is
inhibited.
However, proper random fields can promote the spontaneous appearance of a
first-order phase transition by increasing the overcooled temperature. The
connections of the model with relaxors were discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Applied Physics Letter
Spin tunneling properties in mesoscopic magnets: effects of a magnetic field
The tunneling of a giant spin at excited levels is studied theoretically in
mesoscopic magnets with a magnetic field at an arbitrary angle in the easy
plane. Different structures of the tunneling barriers can be generated by the
magnetocrystalline anisotropy, the magnitude and the orientation of the field.
By calculating the nonvacuum instanton solution explicitly, we obtain the
tunnel splittings and the tunneling rates for different angle ranges of the
external magnetic field ( and ). The
temperature dependences of the decay rates are clearly shown for each case. It
is found that the tunneling rate and the crossover temperature depend on the
orientation of the external magnetic field. This feature can be tested with the
use of existing experimental techniques.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Euro. Phys. J.
Kondo correlation and spin-flip scattering in spin-dependent transport through a quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic leads
We investigate the linear and nonlinear dc transport through an interacting
quantum dot connected to two ferromagnetic electrodes around Kondo regime with
spin-flip scattering in the dot. Using a slave-boson mean field approach for
the Anderson Hamiltonian having finite on-site Coulomb repulsion, we find that
a spin-flip scattering always depresses the Kondo correlation at arbitrary
polarization strength in both parallel and antiparallel alignment of the lead
magnetization and that it effectively reinforces the tunneling related
conductance in the antiparallel configuration. For systems deep in the Kondo
regime, the zero-bias single Kondo peak in the differential conductance is
split into two peaks by the intradot spin-flip scattering; while for systems
somewhat further from the Kondo center, the spin-flip process in the dot may
turn the zero-bias anomaly into a three-peak structure.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Field-dependent quantum nucleation of antiferromagnetic bubbles
The phenomenon of quantum nucleation is studied in a nanometer-scale
antiferromagnet with biaxial symmetry in the presence of a magnetic field at an
arbitrary angle. Within the instanton approach, we calculate the dependence of
the rate of quantum nucleation and the crossover temperature on the orientation
and strength of the field for bulk solids and two-dimensional films of
antiferromagnets, respectively. Our results show that the rate of quantum
nucleation and the crossover temperature from thermal-to-quantum transitions
depend on the orientation and strength of the field distinctly, which can be
tested with the use of existing experimental techniques.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, Final version and accepted by Eur. Phys. J
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