Related papers: Titanium $\alpha - \omega$ phase transformation pa…
Lithium, a prototypical simple metal under ambient conditions, has a surprisingly rich phase diagram under pressure, taking up several structures with reduced symmetry, low coordination numbers, and even semiconducting character with…
The investigation of the structural phase transition in the vicinity of the Curie temperature $T_c$ of LiNb$_{1-x}$Ta$_x$O$_3$ crystals is motivated by the expected combination of advantageous high-temperature properties of LiNbO$_3$ and…
Materials which can undergo extremely fast displacive transformations as well as very slow diffusive transformations are studied using a Ginzburg-Landau framework to understand the physics behind microstructure formation and…
We study the possibility of pressure-induced transitions from a normal semiconductor to a topological insulator (TI) in bismuth tellurohalides using density functional theory and tight-binding method. In BiTeI this transition is realized…
The power of polymorphism in carbon is vividly manifested by the numerous applications of carbon-based nano-materials. Ranging from environmental issues to biomedical applications, it has the potential to address many of today's dire…
At ambient pressure tin transforms from its ground-state semi-metal $\alpha$-Sn (diamond structure) phase to the compact metallic $\beta$-Sn phase at 13$^\circ$C (286K). There may be a further transition to the simple hexagonal $\gamma$-Sn…
Despite the common expectation that conjugated organic molecules on metals tend to adsorb in a flat-lying wetting layer, several recent studies have found strong indications for coverage-dependent transitions to upright-standing phases,…
High pressure torsion (HPT) is one of the ways to form nanostructured materials with high strength properties. However, HPT hardening mechanisms vary from material to material and are poorly understood for some BCC metals, particularly…
Using ab initio Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, we investigate the electronic structure, phase stability, and magnetic properties of equiatomic binary alloys between Al and 3d magnetic transition elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and…
Metal hydrides can be tuned to have a diverse range of properties and find applications in hydrogen storage and superconductivity. Finding methods to control the synthesis of hydrides can open up new pathways to unlock novel hydride…
A new-type structural transition has been found in Li2RuO3 with honeycomb lattice of edge-sharing RuO6-octahedra. With decreasing temperature T, the electrical resistivity exhibits an anomalous increase at T=Tc~540 K, suggesting the (metal…
We realize laser cooling and trapping of titanium (Ti) atoms in a mangeto-optical trap (MOT). While Ti does not possess a transition suitable for laser cooling out of its $\mathrm{3d^24s^2}$ $\mathrm{a^3F}$ ground term, there is such a…
One of the most challenging problems in understanding the structural phase transformations in Pu is to determine the energetically favored, continuous atomic pathways from one crystal symmetry to another. This problem involves enumerating…
Scaling down materials to an atomic-layer level produces rich physical and chemical properties as exemplified in various two-dimensional (2D) crystals extending from graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides to black phosphorous. This is…
We report a simple technique for the synthesis of uniaxially textured, metastable hexagonal close-packed-like uranium thin films with thicknesses between 175-2800 \r{A}. The initial structure and texture of the layers have been studied via…
At ambient pressure CaFe2As2 has been found to undergo a first order phase transition from a high temperature, tetragonal phase to a low temperature orthorhombic / antiferromagnetic phase upon cooling through T ~ 170 K. With the application…
Phase transitions in metastable $\alpha$-, $\kappa(\epsilon)$-, and $\gamma$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ films to thermodynamically stable $\beta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ during annealing in air, N$_2$, and vacuum have been systematically investigated via in-situ…
The effects of magnetism on high pressure properties of transition metals and transition metal compounds can be quite important. In the case of Fe, magnetism is responsible for stability of the body-centered cubic (bcc) phase at ambient…
The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, via a phenomenological consideration I show that, equally with the conventional phases (body-centred cubic, hexagonal planar and lamellar), such non-conventional phases as simple cubic,…
Using density-functional theory we assess the stability of bulk and surface oxides of the late 4d transition metals in a ``constrained equilibrium'' with a gas phase formed of O2 and CO. While the stability range of the most stable bulk…