Magnetic phase transitions in the LiNi0.9 M 0.1PO4 (M = Mn, Co) single crystals

The LiNiPO4, LiNi0.9Mn0.1PO4, and LiNi0.9Co0.1PO4 single crystals are studied with heat capacity and neutron diffraction measurements over the temperature interval (10–30) K. Two peaks are observed on the temperature dependence of heat capacity for LiNiPO4, and LiNi0.9Co0.1PO4 samples. One peak indicates the first order phase transition from an antiferromagnetic commensurate (C) structure to an incommensurate (IC) one upon heating. According to neutron diffraction, in LiNiPO4 the IC ordering is described by the propagation vector k = 2π/b(0, 0.080, 0) at the Néel temperature T N = 20.8 K, and k = 2π/b(0, 0.098, 0) at T N = 20.2(1) K for LiNi0.9Co0.1PO4. A further increase in temperature leads to the second order phase transition to a paramagnetic state at critical temperature T IC = 21.7 K and 21.1 K for LiNiPO4 and LiNi0.9Co0.1PO4, respectively. The C and IC phases coexist over the temperature interval (20.6–20.8) K and (20.2–21.2) K in LiNiPO4 and LiNi0.9Co0.1PO4, respectively. In the LiNi0.9Mn0.1PO4 the magnetic phase transition occurs at T N = 22.7 K, but a magnetic scattering is observed up to 24.6 K.

Исследование влияния слабых магнитных полей на термодинамические свойства модели Поттса с числом состояний спина q=4 на гексагональной решетке

The replica exchange algorithm of the Monte Carlo method was used to study phase transitions and thermodynamic properties of the two-dimensional Potts model with the number of spin states q = 4 on a hexagonal lattice in weak magnetic fields. The studies were carried out for the interval of the magnetic field value 0.0 ≤ Н ≤ 3.0 with a step of 1.0. It is found that a first-order phase transition is observed in the considered range of field values.

Спектры пропускания монокристаллов гибридных перовскитов MAPbI-=SUB=-3-=/SUB=- вблизи края фундаментального поглощения

The paper presents the transmission spectra of hybrid perovskite MAPbI3 single crystals near the fundamental absorption edge in a wide temperature range. The absorption coefficient α of the single crystal samples is estimated at a temperature T = 150 K for the light with a photon energy E = 1.6 eV and at T = 40 K for E = 1.8 eV. The obtained values turned out to be several orders of magnitude smaller than the values of α for thin-film samples known from the literature. A sharp shift of the fundamental absorption edge by ~ 100 meV was observed at a temperature T1 = 160 K of the structural phase transition from the tetragonal to the orthorhombic phase. The temperature hysteresis of the shift of the fundamental absorption edge near T1 was recorded, which is characteristic of a first-order phase transition.

Electroweak phase transition triggered by fermion sector

To realize first-order electroweak phase transition, it is necessary to generate a barrier in the thermal Higgs potential, which is usually triggered by scalar degree of freedom. We instead investigate phase transition patterns in pure fermion extensions of the standard model, and find that additional fermions with mass hierarchy and mixing could develop such a barrier and realize a strongly first-order phase transition in such models. In the Higgs potential with polynomial parametrization, the barrier can be generated in the following two patterns by fermionic reduction effects: (I) positive quadratic term, negative cubic term and positive quartic term or (II) positive quadratic term, negative quartic term and positive higher dimensional term, such as dimensional 6 operator.

Dark confinement and chiral phase transitions: gravitational waves vs matter representations

We study the gravitational-wave signal stemming from strongly coupled models featuring both, dark chiral and confinement phase transitions. We therefore identify strongly coupled theories that can feature a first-order phase transition. Employing the Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model, we focus our attention on SU(3) Yang-Mills theories featuring fermions in fundamental, adjoint, and two-index symmetric representations. We discover that for the gravitational-wave signals analysis, there are significant differences between the various representations. Interestingly we also observe that the two-index symmetric representation leads to the strongest first-order phase transition and therefore to a higher chance of being detected by the Big Bang Observer experiment. Our study of the confinement and chiral phase transitions is further applicable to extensions of the Standard Model featuring composite dynamics.

First-Order Phase Transformation at Constant Volume: A Continuous Transition?

We describe a first-order phase transition of a simple system in a process where the volume is kept constant. We show that, unlike what happens when the pressure is constant, (i) the transformation extends over a finite temperature (and pressure) range, (ii) each and every extensive potential (internal energy U, enthalpy H, Helmholtz energy F, and Gibbs energy G), and the entropy S is continuous across the transition, and (iii) the constant-volume heat capacity does not diverge during the transition and only exhibits discrete jumps. These non-intuitive results highlight the importance of controlling the correct variables in order to distinguish between continuous and discontinuous transitions. We apply our results to describe the transition between ice VI and liquid water using thermodynamic information available in the literature and also to show that a first-order phase transition driven in isochoric condition can be used as the operating principle of a mechanical actuator.

A simple mechanism leading to first-order phase transitions in a model of tax evasion

In this work, we study a dynamics of tax evasion. We considered a fully-connected population divided in three compartments, namely honest tax payers, tax evaders and susceptibles, a class that is composed by honest tax payers that can become evaders. We consider a contagion model where the transitions among the compartments are governed by probabilities. Such probabilities represent the possible interactions among the individuals, as well as the government fiscalization. We show by analytical and numerical calculations that the emergence of tax evaders in the population is associated with an active-absorbing nonequilibrium first-order phase transition. In the absorbing phase, only honest tax payers survive in the steady states of the model, and we observe a coexistence of the three subpopulations in the active phase.

Gravitational waves from cosmic strings after a first-order phase transition

We study the possibility of probing high scale phase transitions that are unaccessible by LIGO. Our study shows that the stochastic gravitational-wave radiation from cosmic strings that are formed after the first-order phase transition can be detected by space-based interferometers when the phase transition temperature is $T_n\sim \mathcal{O}(10^{8-11})$ GeV. Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Article funded by SCOAP3 and published under licence by Chinese Physical Society and the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Science and the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and IOP Publishing Ltd.

Tri-Hexagonal charge order in kagome metal CsV3Sb5 revealed by 121Sb NQR

We report 121Sb nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) measurements on kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5 with T c = 2.5 K. 121Sb NQR spectra split after a charge density wave (CDW) transition at 94 K, which demonstrates a commensurate CDW state. The coexistence of the high temperature phase and the CDW phase between 91 K and 94 K manifests that it is a first order phase transition. The CDW order exhibits Tri-Hexagonal deformation with a lateral shift between the adjacent kagome layers, which is consistent with 2×2×2 superlattice modulation. The superconducting state coexists with CDW order and shows a conventional s-wave behavior in the bulk state.

A first order dark SU(2) D phase transition with vector dark matter in the light of NANOGrav 12.5 yr data

We study a dark SU(2) D gauge extension of the standard model (SM) with the possibility of a strong first order phase transition (FOPT) taking place below the electroweak scale in the light of NANOGrav 12.5 yr data. As pointed out recently by the NANOGrav collaboration, gravitational waves (GW) from such a FOPT with appropriate strength and nucleation temperature can explain their 12.5 yr data. We impose a classical conformal invariance on the scalar potential of SU(2) D sector involving only a complex scalar doublet with negligible couplings with the SM Higgs. While a FOPT at sub-GeV temperatures can give rise to stochastic GW around nano-Hz frequencies being in agreement with NANOGrav findings, the SU(2) D vector bosons which acquire masses as a result of the FOPT in dark sector, can also serve as dark matter (DM) in the universe. The relic abundance of such vector DM can be generated in a non-thermal manner from the SM bath via scalar portal mixing. We also discuss future sensitivity of gravitational wave experiments to the model parameter space.