Related papers: Ferroelectric ordering in chiral smectic C^* liqui…
Dabconium hybrid perovskites include a number of recently-discovered ferroelectric phases with large spontaneous polarisations. The origin of ferroelectric response has been rationalised in general terms in the context of hydrogen bonding,…
The coupling between magnetic order and ferroelectricity has been under intense investigation in a wide range of transition-metal oxides. The strongest coupling is obtained in so-called magnetically-induced multiferroics where…
The newly-discovered ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal exhibits a variety of unique defect phenomena. The depolarization field in the material favors spontaneous spatial variations in polarization, manifesting in diverse forms such as…
Liquid crystal materials exhibiting up to three nematic phases are reported. Dielectric response measurements show that while the lower temperature nematic phase has ferroelectric order and the highest temperature nematic phase is apolar,…
We present a first principles study of the ferrochiral phase transition in chiral BaTiOCu$_4$(PO$_4$)$_4$, which has been shown using X-ray diffraction to proceed via the antiferroaxial rotation of antipolar structural units. We analyze the…
Molecular orientation fluctuations in ferroelectric smectic liquid crystals produce space charges, due to the divergence of the spontaneous polarization. These space charges interact with mobile ions, so that one must consider the coupled…
The emergence of ferroelectric mesophases in non-chiral liquid crystal (LCs) has sparked fundamental interest in the molecular mechanisms governing polarity. In this study, we investigate how terminal molecular groups influence the…
We carry out Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the effect of molecular shape on liquid-crystal order. In our approach, each model mesogen consists of several soft spheres bonded rigidly together. The arrangement of the spheres may be…
Introducing structural and/or chemical heterogeneity into otherwise ordered crystals can dramatically alter material properties. Lead-based relaxor ferroelectrics are a prototypical example, with decades of investigation having connected…
Cu3Nb2O8 is an unusual multiferroic compound that undergoes a series of magnetic ordering at low temperatures. Concurrent development of electric polarization has been reported at TN1 ~25 K corresponding to a non-collinear helicoidal…
The distinctive characteristics of water, evident in its thermodynamic anomalies, have implications across disciplines from biology to geophysics. Considered a valid hypothesis to rationalize its unique properties, a liquid-liquid phase…
Using molecular dynamics simulation, we study dipolar glass in crystals composed of slightly spheroidal, polar particles and spherical, apolar impurities between metal walls. We present physical pictures of ferroelectric glass, which have…
Using Monte Carlo (MC) computer simulations we explore the self-assembly and ordering behavior of a hybrid, soft magnetic system consisting of small magnetic nano-spheres in a liquid-crystalline (LC) matrix. Inspired by recent experiments…
Chemotactic cells establish cell polarity in the absence of external guidance cues. Such self-organized polarity is induced by spontaneous symmetry breaking in the intracellular activities, which produces an emergent memory effect…
The interplay between ferroelectricity, magnetism, and superconductivity provides a rich platform for discovering novel quantum phenomena. Here, we develop an effective theory and propose a heterostructure composed of an antiferromagnetic…
Polar liquid crystals possess three dimensional orientational order coupled with unidirectional electric polarity, yielding fluid ferroelectrics. Such polar phases are generated by rod-like molecules with large electric dipole moments.…
A four-state model is proposed for description of the sequence of phase transitions in ferroelectric crystals of DMAGaS and DMAAlS type. The ordering processes in the subsystems of DMA groups are considered as a main reason of such…
An unresolved issue in the theory of liquid crystals is the molecular basis of the electroclinic effect in the smectic-A phase. Recent x-ray scattering experiments suggest that, in a class of siloxane-containing liquid crystals, an electric…
The nature of the "forbidden" local- and long-range polar order in nominally nonpolar paraelectric phases of ferroelectric materials has been an open question since the discovery of ferroelectricity in oxide perovskites (ABO3). A currently…
Achieving strong magnetoelectric coupling (MEC) together with large ferroelectric polarization remains a central challenge in type-II multiferroics. In conventional spin-driven multiferroics, the induced polarization is usually mediated by…