Features Of Phase Diagram Research Articles

Emergent biaxiality in chiral hybrid liquid crystals.

Biaxial nematic liquid crystals are fascinating systems sometimes referred to as the Higgs boson of soft matter because of experimental observation challenges. Here we describe unexpected states of matter that feature biaxial orientational order of colloidal supercritical fluids and gases formed by sparse rodlike particles. Colloidal rods with perpendicular surface boundary conditions exhibit a strong biaxial symmetry breaking when doped into conventional chiral nematic fluids. Minimization of free energy prompts these particles to orient perpendicular to the local molecular director and the helical axis, thereby imparting biaxiality on the hybrid molecular-colloidal system. The ensuing phase diagram features colloidal gas and liquid and supercritical colloidal fluid states with long-range biaxial orientational symmetry, as supported by analytical and numerical modeling at all hierarchical levels of ordering. Unlike for nonchiral hybrid systems, dispersions in chiral nematic hosts display biaxial orientational order at vanishing colloid volume fractions, promising both technological and fundamental research utility.

Inhomogenuous instabilities at large chemical potential in a rainbow-ladder QCD model

In this work we continue our efforts to study the existence of a phase with an inhomogeneous, i.e., spatially varying, chiral condensate in QCD. To this end we employ a previously established method of stability analysis of the two-particle irreducible effective action in a truncation that corresponds to a rainbow-ladder approximation of the quark-gluon interaction of QCD. If the analysis is restricted to homogeneous phases, the phase diagram features a first-order chiral transition in the lower-temperature regime. Performing the stability analysis along the lower-chemical-potential border of the corresponding spinodal region, we find that below a certain temperature the homogeneous chirally symmetric solution is unstable against inhomogeneous condensation. We argue that this instability may persist to chemical potentials above the homogeneous first-order phase boundary, in which case it signals the existence of an inhomogeneous ground state. Our methodology is also applicable for more sophisticated truncations of the QCD effective action. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Ginzburg–Landau approach to the Gross–Neveu model: success and failure

The phase diagram of the Gross–Neveu model in 1+1 dimensions is studied using Ginzburg–Landau expansion. It predicts several features of the exact phase diagram correctly even at low orders. It is shown that increasing the order of the expansion improves the accuracy of the crystal phase except for very small temperatures, where the expansion completely fails regardless of the order of the expansion. The source of this behaviour seems to be related to the Silver-Blaze phenomenon.

Electronic and magnetic phase diagram of Sr2FeO4 at high pressure: A synchrotron Mössbauer study

Transition metal (TM) oxides with high oxidation state TM ions exhibit a variety of unconventional electronic and magnetic states owing to electron correlations effects combined with highly covalent TM–O bonding. Here, we have studied the pressure dependence of electronic state and magnetism of the K2NiF4-type iron(IV) oxide Sr2FeO4 up to 89 GPa by temperature and magnetic field dependent energy-domain synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy and derived a (P,T) magnetic phase diagram. Considering also previous resistance studies [Rozenberg , ] several magnetic and electronic regimes with increasing pressure can be identified. Near 7 GPa, the insulating cycloidal antiferromagnetic low-P state is transformed into a semiconducting ferromagnetic state and the magnetic ordering temperature Tm increases from 55 K at ambient pressure to about 100 K at 13 GPa. Between 18 and about 50 GPa the system is ferromagnetic and metallic (FMM) with a strong rise of Tm to above room temperature (RT). Contrary to a recent theoretical study [Kazemi-Moridani , ], the FMM state is attributed to a high-spin t2g3eg1 electronic state with itinerant eg coupled to more localized t2g electrons. Between 50 and 89 GPa a doublet with large quadrupole splitting in the RT Mössbauer spectra indicates a partial high-spin to low-spin (t2g4) transition leading to a decrease in Tm again. The general features of the (P,T) phase diagram of Sr2FeO4 are comparable to those of other simple and A-site ordered iron(IV) perovskite-related oxides with the peculiarity that Sr2FeO4 adopts an insulating state without charge disproportionation of Fe4+ in the low-P region. The high-pressure behavior of Sr2FeO4 and other iron(IV) oxides may be relevant for exploring the role of Hund's physics in multiorbital systems and contributing to the understanding of the electronic situation in unconventional superconductors such as La3Ni2O7 and Sr2RuO4. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Investigating the phase diagram-ionic conductivity isotherm relationship in aqueous solutions of common acids: hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric and phosphoric acid

The relationship between phase diagram features around the solid–liquid equilibrium region and ionic conductivity in aqueous solutions is not well understood over the whole concentration range as is the case for acidic aqueous solutions. In this work, we have studied the ionic conductivity (κ) as a function of molar fraction (x) and temperature (T) for four acid/water solutions namely, monoprotic hydrochloric acid (HCl) and nitric acid (HNO3), diprotic sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and triprotic phosphoric acid (H3PO4) along with their binary phase diagrams. The connection between the main features of the phase diagrams and the trends in the ionic conductivity isotherms is established with a new insight on the two pertinent dominant conductivity mechanisms (hopping and vehicular). Ionic conductivity at different temperatures were collected from literature and fitted to reported isothermal (κ vs. x) and iso-compositional (κ vs. T) equations along with a novel semi-empirical equation (κ = f (x, T)) for diprotic and triprotic acids. This equation not only has the best fit for acids with different valency; but also contains four parameters, less than any other similar equation in literature. This work is one of few that advances the understanding of the intricate relationship between structure and ionic transport in various acidic aqueous solutions.

Critical behaviour of the contact angle within nonwetting gaps

Recent density functional theory and simulation studies of fluid adsorption near planar walls in systems where the wall–fluid and fluid–fluid interactions have different ranges, have shown that critical point wetting may not occur and instead nonwetting gaps appear in the surface phase diagram, separating lines of wetting and drying transitions, that extend up to the critical temperature Tc . Here we clarify the features of the surface phase diagrams that are common, regardless of the range and balance of the forces, showing, in particular, that the lines of temperature driven wetting and drying transitions, as well as lines of constant contact angle π>θ>0 , always converge to an ordinary surface phase transition at Tc . When nonwetting gaps appear the contact angle either vanishes or tends to π as t≡(Tc−T)/Tc→0 . More specifically, when the wall–fluid interaction is long-ranged (dispersion-like) and the fluid–fluid short-ranged we estimate π−θ∝t0.16 , compared with θ∝t0.77 when the wall–fluid interaction is short-ranged and the fluid–fluid dispersion-like, allowing for the effects of bulk critical fluctuations. The universal convergence of the lines of constant contact angle implies that critical point filling always occurs for fluids adsorbed in wedges.

Robust features of a QCD phase diagram through a contact interaction model for quarks: a view from the effective potential

Robust features of a QCD phase diagram through a contact interaction model for quarks: a view from the effective potential

Continuous Spectrum of Morphologies and Phase Behavior across the Contact Zone from Poly(l-lactide) to Poly(d-lactide): Stereocomplex, Homocrystal, and Between.

The enantiomeric ratio is a key factor affecting the crystallization behavior and morphology of poly-l-lactide/poly-d-lactide (PLLA/PDLA) blends. Despite a number of studies on crystallization of nonequimolar PLLA/PDLA blends, a full picture of the effect of the L/D ratio is still lacking. Here, we put the two enantiomers in contact and allow interdiffusion above the melting point of the stereocomplex crystal (SC) to prepare samples with a continuously changing L/D ratio from enantiopure PLLA (ratio 0/100) to enantiopure PDLA (100/0). Using polarized optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and microbeam X-ray diffraction, the continuous spectrum of morphologies and phase behaviors across the contact zone is investigated. The blend morphology shows clear evidence of "poisoning by purity" of SC crystallization at all blend compositions. The low birefringence of the 50/50 SC is found to be due to the meandering of broken edge-on lamellae. Its further decrease to near zero as L/D deviates further away from 50/50 is explained by transition from radial edge-on lamellae to fully random meandering lamellae, then to mixed flat-on lamellae, and finally to submicron-sized axialites. In comparison with the smooth and straight homocrystal (HC) lamellae of pure enantiomers, the lamellae in the blends often have serrated edges caused by pinning by rejected excess enantiomer acting as an impurity during lamellar growth. A feature of the binary phase diagram is pure enantiomers acting as an impurity to the SC and counter-enantiomer acting as an impurity to homocrystallization of the enantiomers. Crystallization was found to be most suppressed at 99% enantiomeric purity, where the amount of the counter-enantiomer is insufficient for creation of SC nuclei and HC growth is inhibited by the small amount of the enantio-impurity. These and other intriguing results are less likely to be noticed without the continuous composition gradient of the contact sample.

Bistability and nonequilibrium condensation in a driven-dissipative Josephson array: A c-field model

Developing theoretical models for nonequilibrium quantum systems poses significant challenges. Here we develop and study a multimode model of a driven-dissipative Josephson junction chain of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates, as realised in the experiment of Labouvie et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 235302 (2016)]. The model is based on c-field theory, a beyond-mean-field approach to Bose-Einstein condensates that incorporates fluctuations due to finite temperature and dissipation. We find the c-field model is capable of capturing all key features of the nonequilibrium phase diagram, including bistability and a critical slowing down in the lower branch of the bistable region. Our model is closely related to the so-called Lugiato-Lefever equation, and thus establishes new connections between nonequilibrium dynamics of ultracold atoms with nonlinear optics, exciton-polariton superfluids, and driven damped sine-Gordon systems.

Nonequilibrium phases of ultracold bosons with cavity-induced dynamic gauge fields

Gauge fields are a central concept in fundamental theories of physics, and responsible for mediating long-range interactions between elementary particles. Recently, it has been proposed that dynamical gauge fields can be naturally engineered by photons in composite, neutral quantum gas-cavity systems using suitable atom-photon interactions. Here we comprehensively investigate nonequilibrium dynamical phases appearing in a two-leg bosonic lattice model with leg-dependent, dynamical complex tunnelings mediated by cavity-assisted two-photon Raman processes. The system constitutes a minimal dynamical flux-lattice model. We study fixed points of the equations of motion and their stability, the resultant dynamical phase diagram, and the corresponding phase transitions and bifurcations. Notably, the phase diagram features a plethora of nonequilibrium dynamical phases including limit-cycle and chaotic phases. In the end, we relate regular periodic dynamics (i.e., limit-cycle phases) of the system to time crystals.

Quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional Dicke-Hubbard model with coupled qubits

We study the ground state phase diagram of a one-dimensional two qubits Dicke-Hubbard model with XY qubit-qubit interaction. We use a numerical method combing the cluster mean-field theory and the matrix product state(MPS) to obtain the exact wave function of the ground state. When counter-rotating wave terms(CRTs) in the qubit-cavity coupling are neglected, we observe a rich phase diagram including a quantum phase transition between the Mott-insulating phase and the superfluid phase. This phase transition can be either the first-order or the second-order type depending on whether the total angular momentum changes across the phase diagram. Moreover, we observe two quantum triple points, at which three different phases coexist, with both positive and negative XY interactions. By further considering the effect of CRTs, we find that the main feature in the previous phase diagram, including the existence of quantum triple points, is retained. We also show that CRTs extremely demolish the non-local correlations in the coherent phase.

Diverging current fluctuations in critical Kerr resonators

The parametrically pumped Kerr model describes a driven-dissipative nonlinear cavity, whose nonequilibrium phase diagram features both continuous and discontinuous quantum phase transitions. We consider the consequences of these critical phenomena for the fluctuations of the photocurrent obtained via continuous weak measurements on the cavity. Considering both direct photodetection and homodyne detection schemes, we find that the current fluctuations diverge exponentially at the discontinuous phase transition. However, we find strikingly different current fluctuations for these two detection schemes near the continuous transition, a behaviour which is explained by the complementary information revealed by measurements in different bases. To obtain these results, we develop formulas to efficiently compute the diffusion coefficient -- which characterises the long-time current fluctuations -- directly from the quantum master equation, thus connecting the formalisms of full counting statistics and stochastic quantum trajectories. Our findings highlight the rich features of current fluctuations near nonequilibrium phase transitions in quantum-optical systems.

Phases and phase equilibria in the Fe–Al–Zr system

AbstractIsothermal sections at 800, 1000, and 1150 °C as well as a tentative partial liquidus surface of the ternary Fe–Al–Zr system were established by means of electron-probe microanalysis, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and light-optical as well as scanning electron microscopy. The most prominent features of the ternary phase diagram are the extended homogeneity ranges of the Laves phases. By continuous substitution of Fe by Al, the structure changes three times starting from the cubic C15 structure of Fe2Zr to hexagonal C14 (λ1) back to cubic C15 (λ2) and again to hexagonal C14 (Al2Zr). The various Laves phase fields are separated by very small two-phase fields. Besides the Laves phases λ1and λ2, three more ternary intermetallic phases were found, whose homogeneity ranges have been determined for the first time. In addition, new results concerning the homogeneity ranges of intermetallic phases in the binary subsystems Fe–Al and Al–Zr are reported. The solubilities of the third components in the binary phases are found to be generally very low with the exception of the Laves phases. As a consequence, extended two-phase fields between the Fe(Al) solid solution and Laves phase or between Fe(Al) solid solution and the ternary ThMn12-type phase τ1are formed.

Effect of composition and phase diagram features on printability and microstructure in laser powder bed fusion: Development and comparison of processing maps across alloy systems

Additive manufacturing (AM) has gained considerable academic and industrial interest due to its ability to produce parts with complex geometries with the potential for local microstructural control. However, due to the large number of material and process variables associated with AM, optimization of alloying compositions and process parameters to achieve desired properties is an arduous task. There is a fundamental gap in understanding how changes in process variables and alloy composition and thermodynamics affect additively manufactured parts. The present systematic study sheds light on the effects of alloying composition and corresponding phase diagram features on the printability and solidification microstructures of four binary nickel-based alloys, namely, Ni-20 at% Cu, Ni-5 at% Al, Ni-5 at% Zr, and Ni-8.8 at% Zr. These compositions are selected to represent binary isomorphous, weak solute partitioning, strong solute partitioning, and eutectic alloying conditions, respectively. Single track and bulk experiments are conducted to quantify the effects of varying material thermodynamic properties such as solidification temperature ranges, alloy melting temperatures, and other solidification conditions on resultant microstructures across the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) parameter space. A simple framework for developing processing maps detailing porosity formation and microsegregation across the laser power – scan speed parameter space is established and validated for each of these alloys to determine how material properties affect printability and microstructure in L-PBF. This knowledge will be vital in optimizing alloy chemistry and process parameters to design alloys specifically for additive manufacturing, as well as to provide a path toward local microstructure control.

Ab initio study of pressure-induced structural and electronic phase transitions in Ca2RuO4

${\mathrm{Ca}}_{2}\mathrm{Ru}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ is a compound with a Mott insulating ground state, which responds to external pressure in a variety of ways, some of which are expected (an insulator-metal transition) while others are more surprising (an expansion of the $c$ lattice constant). We provide here a comprehensive study of these pressure-induced structural and electronic changes using DFT$+U$ calculations, and demonstrate generally good agreement with experiment. The insulator-metal transition is reproduced and coincides with an isostructural transition, the $c$ lattice expansion, $\mathrm{Ru}{\mathrm{O}}_{6}$ octahedral distortions, and associated changes to the Ru $4d$ orbital order. The metallic part of the phase diagram features several competing phases. The high-pressure $Bbcm$ phase is found to be unstable in the ground state over a broad pressure range and suggested to be thermally stabilized instead.

Understanding magnetic phase coexistence in Ru2Mn1−xFexSn Heusler alloys: A neutron scattering, thermodynamic, and phenomenological analysis

The random substitutional solid solution between the antiferromagnetic (AFM) full-Heusler alloy Ru$_2$MnSn and the ferromagnetic (FM) full-Heusler alloy Ru$_2$FeSn provides a rare opportunity to study FM-AFM phase competition in a near-lattice-matched, cubic system, with full solubility. At intermediate $x$ in Ru$_2$Mn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$Sn this system displays suppressed magnetic ordering temperatures, spatially coexisting FM and AFM order, and strong coercivity enhancement, despite rigorous chemical homogeneity. Here, we construct the most detailed temperature- and $x$-dependent understanding of the magnetic phase competition and coexistence in this system to date, combining wide-temperature-range neutron diffraction and small-angle neutron scattering with magnetometry and specific heat measurements on thoroughly characterized polycrystals. A complete magnetic phase diagram is generated, showing FM-AFM coexistence between $x \approx 0.30$ and $x \approx 0.70$. Important new insight is gained from the extracted length scales for magnetic phase coexistence (25-100 nm), the relative magnetic volume fractions and ordering temperatures, in addition to remarkable $x$-dependent trends in magnetic and electronic contributions to specific heat. An unusual feature in the magnetic phase diagram (an intermediate FM phase) is also shown to arise from an extrinsic effect related to a minor Ru-rich secondary phase. The established magnetic phase diagram is then discussed with the aid of phenomenological modeling, clarifying the nature of the mesoscale phase coexistence with respect to the understanding of disordered Heisenberg models.

Electro-optical properties of a liquid crystalline colloidal solution of rod shaped V2O5 nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes in an alternating current electric field

ABSTRACT We study the liquid crystalline phase behaviour of the two-component aqueous colloidal suspensions of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and rod-like vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) nanoparticles. The phase diagram features a stable nematic phase in a wide range of concentration of solid components. The oriented nematic phase of the two-component suspension was exposed to the action of alternating current electric field. A variation in MWCNTs concentration within 0.01–0.51 wt.% demonstrates a significant increase in the optical response of the system to the applied electric field.

Interplay of fractional Chern insulator and charge density wave phases in twisted bilayer graphene

We perform an extensive exact diagonalization study of interaction driven insulators in spin- and valley-polarized moir\'{e} flat bands of twisted bilayer graphene aligned with its hexagonal boron nitride substrate. In addition to previously reported fractional Chern insulator phases, we provide compelling evidence for competing charge-density-wave phases at multiple fractional fillings of a realistic single-band model. A thorough analysis at different interlayer hopping parameters, motivated by experimental variability, and the role of kinetic energy at various Coulomb interaction strengths highlight the competition between these phases. The interplay of the single-particle and the interaction induced hole dispersion with the inherent Berry curvature of the Chern bands is intuitively understood to be the driving mechanism for the ground-state selection. The resulting phase diagram features remarkable agreement with experimental findings in a related moir\'{e} heterostructure and affirms the relevance of our results beyond the scope of graphene based materials.

Spontaneous parametric down-conversion induced by optomechanical gradient forces in nanophotonic waveguides

Optomechanical gradient forces arise from evanescent fields of guided waves in parallel photonic waveguides. When designed to be of attractive nature, they increase exponentially as the gap between the waveguides decreases. Moreover, the amplitude of the gradient force can be well controlled due to its linear dependence on the input laser power. Here, we propose to exploit the intrinsic nonlinear nature of the optomechanical gradient force to induce a tunable 3-wave coupling between the fundamental modes of two doubly clamped nanophotonic beams. For one of the beams having half the width of the other beam, the 1:2 internal resonance between the fundamental modes supports degenerate spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). We theoretically explore the main feature of the dissipative phase diagram of the underlying degenerate parametric oscillator model to show that the critical point of the SPDC occurs at parameters which are well in reach of state-of-the-art experiments.

The crossover line in the (T, μ)-phase diagram of QCD

An efficient way to study the QCD phase diagram at small finite density is to extrapolate thermodynamical observables from imaginary chemical potential. The phase diagram features a crossover line starting from the transition temperature already determined at zero chemical potential. In this work we focus on the Taylor expansion of this line up to μ4 contributions. We present the continuum extrapolation of the crossover temperature based on different observables at several lattice spacings.