Related papers: Barocaloric effect of elastomers and plastic cryst…
In this note we revisit the Kovacs effect, concerning the way in which the volume of a glass-forming liquid, which has been driven out of equilibrium, changes with time while the system evolves towards a metastable state. The theoret- ical…
This article reviews some recent developments for new cooling technologies in the fields of condensed matter physics and cold gases, both from an experimental and theoretical point of view. The main idea is to make use of distinct many-body…
The effect of finite temperature $T$ and finite strain rate $\dot\gamma$ on the statistical physics of plastic deformations in amorphous solids made of $N$ particles is investigated. We recognize three regimes of temperature where the…
This paper presents a theory for the behaviour of isotropic-hardening/softening elastoplastic materials that do not have a preferred reference configuration. In spite of important differences, many ingredients of classical plasticity are…
Adiabatic decompression of para-quadrupolar materials has significant potential as a cryogenic cooling technology. We focus on TmVO$_4$, an archetypal material that undergoes a continuous phase transition to a ferroquadrupole-ordered state…
We study the phase ordering dynamics of a two dimensional model colloidal solid using molecular dynamics simulations. The colloid particles interact with each other with a Hamaker potential modified by the presence of equatorial "patches"…
Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the effect of uniaxial elastostatic compression on the potential energy, structural relaxation, and mechanical properties of binary glasses. We consider the three-dimensional Kob-Andersen…
We predict the existence of large barocaloric effects above room temperature in the thermoelectric fast-ion conductor Cu$_{2}$Se by using classical molecular dynamics simulations and first-principles computational methods. A hydrostatic…
The three primary ferroics, namely ferromagnets, ferroelectrics and ferroelastics exhibit corresponding large (or even giant) magnetocaloric,electrocaloric and elastocaloric effects when a phase transition is induced by the application of…
For nearly a century, introduction of nanoparticles to elastomers has yielded extraordinarily tough nanocomposites that are critical to technologies from actuators to tires. The mechanisms by which this reinforcement occurs have…
We propose a theory based on simple physical arguments that describes a non equilibrium steady-state by a temperature-like parameter (an "effective temperature"). We show how one can predict the effective temperature as a function of the…
Organic ferroelectric materials are in demand in the growing field of environmentally friendly, lightweight electronics. Donor-Acceptor charge transfer crystals have been recently proposed as a new class of organic ferroelectrics, which may…
Conventional barocaloric materials typically exhibit limited operating temperature ranges. In contrast, KPF$_6$ has recently been reported to achieve an exceptional all-temperature barocaloric effect (BCE) via pressure-driven phase…
The giant electro- and elasto-caloric effects in spin chain materials are predicted. The theory is based on the exact quantum mechanical solution of the problem. It is shown that the giant jumps in the entropy and the temperature caused by…
Theoretical calculations of the elastic response of carbon composites and amorphous carbon are reported. The studied composites consist of crystalline nanoinclusions, either spherical diamonds or carbon nanotubes, embedded in amorphous…
Control of physical behaviors of nematic colloids and colloidal crystals has been demonstrated by tuning particle shape, topology, chirality and surface charging. However, the capability of altering physical behaviors of such soft matter…
Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers have interesting and potentially very useful photonic properties. In an ideal monodomain configuration of these materials, one finds a Bragg-reflection of light in a narrow wavelength range and a…
In liquid crystal elastomers, the orientational order of liquid crystals is coupled with elastic distortions of crosslinked polymer networks. Previous theoretical research has described these materials through two different approaches: a…
Photoactive liquid crystal elastomers are polymer networks of liquid crystal mesogens embedded with chromophores like azobenzene. They undergo large deformation when illuminated by light of a certain wavelength through photochemical…
Polymers and composite materials play an essential role in accelerator and detectors technology, with varying roles that range from electrical insulation and structural support to thermal management. This paper provides a general review of…