Related papers: Phonon soft modes and para- to ferroelectric phase…
We review the theory of second--order (ferro--)elastic phase transitions, where the order parameter consists of a certain linear combination of strain tensor components, and the accompanying soft mode is an acoustic phonon. In…
The lattice dynamics of TiO$_2$ in the rutile crystal structure was studied by a combination of thermal diffuse scattering, inelastic x-ray scattering and density functional perturbation theory. We experimentally confirm the existence of an…
Understanding surface collective dynamics in quantum materials is crucial for advancing quantum technologies. For example, surface phonon modes in quantum paraelectrics are thought to play an essential role in facilitating interfacial…
We have investigated the phonon and the magnetic excitations in LaCoO3 by inelastic neutron scattering measurements. The acoustic phonon dispersions show some characteristic features of the folded Brillouin zone (BZ) for the rhombohedrally…
The normal ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition in model ferroelectric materials such as BaTiO3 is typically characterized by a sharp, well-defined dielectric constant peak at a specific transition temperature. However, under…
By analyzing the dielectric non-linearity with the Landau thermodynamic expansion, we find a simple and direct way to assess the importance of the eighth order term. Following this approach, it is demonstrated that the eighth order term is…
Structural softness - often characterized by unstable phonon modes and large electromechanical responses - is a hallmark of ferroelectric perovskites like BaTiO3 or Pb(Ti,Zr)O3. Whether HfO2 ferroelectrics present any such structural…
The antiferrodistortive (AFD) structural transitions of calcium titanate (CaTiO3) at ambient pressure have been extensively studied during the last few years. It is found none of the AFD polymorphs is polar or ferroelectric. However, it was…
Dielectric spectroscopy of $SrTiO_3$ single crystal over a broad range of microwave frequency using quasi $TE_{m,1,1}$ and quasi $TM_{m,1,1}$ modes reveals crystal asymmetry from typical measurement of $Q$-factor, transmission or frequency…
General features of the $\alpha-\beta$ transition of quartz are investigated. Molecular dynamics methods are mainly used, an analytic treatment being deferred to a work in preparation. A basic preliminary observation is that the transition…
Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations show that the reversible Sn/Ge(111) $\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3} \leftrightarrow 3\times3$ phase transition can be described in terms of a surface soft phonon. The isovalent Sn/Si(111) case does not…
The atomic, electronic structure and phonon frequencies have been calculated in a cubic and low-temperature tetragonal SrTiO3 phases at the ab initio level. We demonstrate that the use of hybrid exchange-correlation PBE0 functional gives…
High-frequency dielectric studies of Bi_0.85Nd_0.15FeO_3 ceramics performed betweeen 100 and 900 K reveal hardening of most polar phonons on cooling below antiferroelectric phase transition, which occurs near 600 K. Moreover, a strong THz…
We develop a first-principles scheme to study ferroelectric phase transitions for perovskite compounds. We obtain an effective Hamiltonian which is fully specified by first-principles ultra-soft pseudopotential calculations. This approach…
In ferroelectricity, atomic-scale dipole moments interact collectively to produce strong electro-mechanical coupling and switchable macroscopic polarization. Hence, the functionality of ferroelectrics emerges at a solid-solid phase…
Monoclinic crystal structure of the undoped BaBiO3 can be described as a cubic perovskite distorted by a frozen breathing and tilting phonon modes of BiO6 octahedra. The phonon mode softening is experimentally observed [M. Braden et al.,…
Group theoretical aspects of the three temperature-dependent and temperature-reversible experimentally observed phase transitions in the KNbO3 crystal (cubic-tetragonal, tetragonal-orthorhombic, orthorhombic-rhombohedral) in the framework…
We measured phonon dispersion in single crystal EuTiO$_3$ using inelastic x-ray scattering. A structural transition to an antiferrodistortive phase was found at a critical temperature $T_0$=287$\pm$1 K using powder and single-crystal x-ray…
Nonlinear phononics play important role in strong laser-solid interactions. We discuss nonlinear dynamical protocols which allow for efficient excitation and control of nonlinear phonons. We consider recent inspiring proposals: inducing…
The low-energy part of the vibration spectrum in KNbO$_3$ was studied by cold neutron inelastic scattering in the cubic phase. In addition to acoustic phonons, we observe strong diffuse scattering, which consists of two components. The…