32 research outputs found
Tuning electronic structures via epitaxial strain in Sr2IrO4 thin films
We have synthesized epitaxial Sr2IrO4 thin-films on various substrates and
studied their electronic structures as a function of lattice-strains. Under
tensile (compressive) strains, increased (decreased) Ir-O-Ir bond-angles are
expected to result in increased (decreased) electronic bandwidths. However, we
have observed that the two optical absorption peaks near 0.5 eV and 1.0 eV are
shifted to higher (lower) energies under tensile (compressive) strains,
indicating that the electronic-correlation energy is also affected by in-plane
lattice-strains. The effective tuning of electronic structures under
lattice-modification provides an important insight into the physics driven by
the coexisting strong spin-orbit coupling and electronic correlation.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
Monte Carlo study of the magnetic critical properties of the two-dimensional Ising fluid
A two-dimensional fluid of hard spheres each having a spin and
interacting via short-range Ising-like interaction is studied near the second
order phase transition from the paramagnetic gas to the ferromagnetic gas
phase. Monte Carlo simulation technique and the multiple histogram data
analysis were used. By measuring the finite-size behaviour of several different
thermodynamic quantities,we were able to locate the transition and estimate
values of various static critical exponents. The values of exponents
and are close to the ones for the two-dimensional
lattice Ising model. However, our result for the exponent is very
different from the one for the Ising universality class.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Stable propagation of an ordered array of cracks during directional drying
We study the appearance and evolution of an array of parallel cracks in a
thin slab of material that is directionally dried, and show that the cracks
penetrate the material uniformly if the drying front is sufficiently sharp. We
also show that cracks have a tendency to become evenly spaced during the
penetration. The typical distance between cracks is mainly governed by the
typical distance of the pattern at the surface, and it is not modified during
the penetration. Our results agree with recent experimental work, and can be
extended to three dimensions to describe the properties of columnar polygonal
patterns observed in some geological formations.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to appear in PR
Development and geometry of isotropic and directional shrinkage crack patterns
We have studied shrinkage crack patterns which form when a thin layer of an
alumina/water slurry dries. Both isotropic and directional drying were studied.
The dynamics of the pattern formation process and the geometric properties of
the isotropic crack patterns are similar to what is expected from recent
models, assuming weak disorder. There is some evidence for a gradual increase
in disorder as the drying layer become thinner, but no sudden transition, in
contrast to what has been seen in previous experiments. The morphology of the
crack patterns is influenced by drying gradients and front propagation effects,
with sharp gradients having a strong orienting and ordering effect.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, 8 in jpg format, 3 in postscript. See also
http://mobydick.physics.utoronto.ca/mud.htm
Diffusion coefficients of fluctuations in semi-infinite ferromagnets
The nearest-neighbour Ising model of a semi-infinite ferromagnet in which near-surface couplings may differ from their bulk values is considered. In the critical region near second-order phase transitions the decay of fluctuations of the magnetization density is described by a diffusion equation with a damping term. Using mean-field theory, the diffusion coefficients of fluctuations in the paramagnetic phase near the ordinary, surface-bulk and surface phase transitions are obtained and their dependence on the distance from the surface of the ferromagnet and on the temperature is discussed.Nous appliquons le modèle d'Ising avec interactions entre proches voisins au cas d'un ferromagnétique semi-infini, les interactions en surface pouvant être différentes de celles en volume. Les fluctuations d'aimantation au voisinage de transitions du deuxième ordre sont décrites par une équation de diffusion contenant un terme d'amortissement. Le coefficient de diffusion des fluctuations paramagnétiques est obtenu en champ moyen pour les transitions en volume, en surface-volume et en surface et nous discutons leur variation avec la distance à la surface et la température