25 research outputs found
Chromium at High Pressures: Weak Coupling and Strong Fluctuations in an Itinerant Antiferromagnet
The spin- and charge-density-wave order parameters of the itinerant
antiferromagnet chromium are measured directly with non-resonant x-ray
diffraction as the system is driven towards its quantum critical point with
high pressure using a diamond anvil cell. The exponential decrease of the spin
and charge diffraction intensities with pressure confirms the harmonic scaling
of spin and charge, while the evolution of the incommensurate ordering vector
provides important insight into the difference between pressure and chemical
doping as means of driving quantum phase transitions. Measurement of the charge
density wave over more than two orders of magnitude of diffraction intensity
provides the clearest demonstration to date of a weakly-coupled, BCS-like
ground state. Evidence for the coexistence of this weakly-coupled ground state
with high-energy excitations and pseudogap formation above the ordering
temperature in chromium, the charge-ordered perovskite manganites, and the blue
bronzes, among other such systems, raises fundamental questions about the
distinctions between weak and strong coupling.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures (8 in color
Statics and dynamics of domain patterns in hexagonal-orthorhombic ferroelastics
We study the statics and the dynamics of domain patterns in proper
hexagonal-orthorhombic ferroelastics; these patterns are of particular interest
because they provide a rare physical realization of disclinations in crystals.
Both our static and dynamical theories are based entirely on classical,
nonlinear elasticity theory; we use the minimal theory consistent with
stability, symmetry and ability to explain qualitatively the observed patterns.
After scaling, the only parameters of the static theory are a temperature
variable and a stiffness variable. For moderate to large stiffness, our static
results show nested stars, unnested stars, fans and other nodes, triangular and
trapezoidal regions of trapped hexagonal phase, etc observed in electron
microscopy of Ta4N and Mg-Cd alloys, and also in lead orthovanadate (which is
trigonal-monoclinic); we even find imperfections in some nodes, like those
observed. For small stiffness, we find patterns like those observed in the
mineral Mg-cordierite. Our dynamical studies of growth and relaxation show the
formation of these static patterns, and also transitory structures such as
12-armed bursts, streamers and striations which are also seen experimentally.
The major aspects of the growth-relaxation process are quite unlike those in
systems with conventional order parameters, for it is inherently nonlocal; for
example, the changes from one snapshot to the next are not predictable by
inspection.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures (1 b&w, 2 colour); animations may be viewed at
http://huron.physics.utoronto.ca/~curnoe/sim.htm
The Shapes of Cooperatively Rearranging Regions in Glass Forming Liquids
The shapes of cooperatively rearranging regions in glassy liquids change from
being compact at low temperatures to fractal or ``stringy'' as the dynamical
crossover temperature from activated to collisional transport is approached
from below. We present a quantitative microscopic treatment of this change of
morphology within the framework of the random first order transition theory of
glasses. We predict a correlation of the ratio of the dynamical crossover
temperature to the laboratory glass transition temperature, and the heat
capacity discontinuity at the glass transition, Delta C_p. The predicted
correlation agrees with experimental results for the 21 materials compiled by
Novikov and Sokolov.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
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Structure analysis of NiAl martensite
Neutron elastic scattering experiments were performed in order to investigate the structure of the low temperature martensitic phase of Ni/sub 62.5/Al/sub 37.5/ alloy. The average structure analyzed from the integrated intensity was approximately described by the (5,/minus/2) structure proposed by Martynov et al. Small deviation from the exact (5,/minus/2) model in the positional parameters and the anomalously large Debye-Waller factor were obtained. The observed satellite profiles show asymmetrical broadening, and the peak positions shift from the regular reciprocal lattice points. These anomalous features of scattering profiles were tentatively interpreted by introducing spatial modulation of the strain and order parameters. 12 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab