Related papers: Field-induced layer thinning transition on free-st…
In this Letter we discuss theoretically the instabilities of thermotropic freely standing smectic-A films under shear flow\cite{re:wu}. We show that, in Couette geometry, the centrifugal force pushes the liquid crystal toward the outer…
The hydrodynamics of smectic films at an air-water interface is discussed, with particular focus on the viscous response of the film under flow normal to the layers. The corrections to the response functions of the smectic phase, arising…
The glass transition temperature and its connection to statistical properties of confined and free-standing polymer films of varying thickness containing unentangled to highly entangled bead-spring chains are studied by molecular dynamics…
The effect of the film thickness and temperature on structural phase transformations in infinite films of bcc zirconium with (001) crystallographic orientation is studied by the molecular dynamics method with a many-body potential of…
We have found a new mean field solution in the BCS theory of superconductivity. This unconventional solution indicates the existence of superconducting phase transitions of third order in thin films, or in bulk matter with a layered…
The electric field applied perpendicularly to smectic layers breaks the rotational symmetry of the system. Consequently, the elastic energy associated with distortions induced by an edge dislocation diverges logarithmically with the size of…
In this work we investigate influence of substrate temperature on the surface morphology for substrate coverage below one monolayer. The model of film growth is based on random deposition enriched by limited surface diffusion. Also…
It is demonstrated by SQUID measurements that (Ga,Mn)As films can exhibit perpendicular easy axis at low temperatures, even under compressive strain, provided that the hole concentration is sufficiently low. In such films, the easy axis…
We study the hydrodynamics of a freely-standing smectic-A film in the isothermal, incompressible limit theoretically by analyzing the linearized hydrodynamic equations of motion with proper boundary conditions. The dynamic properties for…
The $\alpha$-process (segmental motion) of thin polystyrene films supported on glass substrate has been investigated in a wider frequency range from 10$^{-3}$ Hz to 10$^4$ Hz using dielectric relaxation spectroscopy and thermal expansion…
During catastrophic processes of environmental variations of a thermodynamic system, such as rapid temperature decreasing, many novel and complex patterns often form. To understand such phenomena, a general mechanism is proposed based on…
The known ground state of ultrathin smectic films confined to the surface of a sphere is described by four +1/2 defects assembled on a great circle and a director which follows geodesic lines. Using a simple perturbative approach we show…
A Ginzburg-Landau model is used to demonstrate how depletion layers give rise to thickness-dependent ferroelectric properties in thin films. It is shown that free charge layers at the film-electrode interface can result in an internal…
The problem of a thin superconducting film in a parallel magnetic field, first discussed in the classical paper by Ginzburg and Landau for temperatures close to the critical, is revisited with the help of the microscopic BCS theory for…
We investigate the effects of strain on a crystal surface close to the bulk melting temperature T_m, where surface melting usually sets in. Strain lowers the bulk melting point, so that at a fixed temperature below but close to T_m the…
Morphological changes in a dry phospholipid film on a solid substrate were studied below and above the main transition temperature, between the gel and liquid-crystalline phases by phase-contrast microscopy and AFM. A Phospholipid film in…
The McMillan liquid crystalline models under the influence of homeotropic anchoring walls and of external fields are investigated. For thin systems, the existence of the critical thickness, below which the system does not undergo a discrete…
A thin liquid film covered with an insoluble surfactant in the vicinity of a first-order phase transition is discussed. Within the lubrication approximation we derive two coupled equations to describe the height profile of the film and the…
Using an interface displacement model we calculate the shapes of thin liquidlike films adsorbed on flat substrates containing a chemical stripe. We determine the entire phase diagram of morphological phase transitions in these films as…
The effect of annealing under a magnetic field on the microstructure and properties of YNixMn1-xO3 (x=0.33 and 0.5) films has been investigated. It is found that the ferromagnetic transition temperature is significantly enhanced after post…