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

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