This book is intended for postgraduate students as well as researchers in various areas of physics such as statistical physics, magnetism and materials sciences. The content of the book covers mainly frustrated spin systems with possible applications in domains where physical systems can be mapped into the spin language. Pedagogical effort has been made to make each chapter to be self-contained, comprehensible for researchers who are not really involved in the field. Basic methods are given in detail.
Systems displaying competing interactions of some kind are widespread - much more, in fact, as commonly anticipated (magnetic and Ising-type interactions or the dynamics of DNA molecules being only two popular examples). Written for researchers in the field with different professional backgrounds, this volume classifies phenomena not by system but rather by the type of competing interactions involved. This allows for a straightforward presentation of the underlying principles and the universal laws governing the behaviour of different systems. Starting with a historical overview, the author proceeds by describing self-competitions of various types of interactions (such as diploar or multipolar interactions), competitions between a short-range and a long-range interaction (as in Ising systems or DNA models) or between a long-range interaction and an anisotropy (as in ultrathin magnetic films or magnetic nanoparticles) and finally competitions between interactions of the same range (as in spin glasses). Each chapter contains a few problems with solutions which provide suitable material for lecturers of mathematics and physics as well as biology courses. A vast body of references to the original literature make the volume self-contained and ideally suited to master this interdisciplinary field.
Many macroscopic properties of materials are determined primarily by inhomogeneous structures and textures. These intermediate-scale structures often arise from competing interactions operating on different length scales within the material. Our understanding of such phenomena has increased substantially with the identification and theoretical description of solid-state materials with incommensurate and long-period modulated phases, such as ferroelectrics, charge-density-wave compounds, epitaxial layers and polytypes. Experimental diagnosis of inhomogeneous ground states and metastable phases has advanced so far that these are now well-accepted phenomena. These proceedings bring together the work of physicists and materials scientists to review developments in this area and to examine possible future directions, such as how the microscopic understanding emerging in bench-top solid-state systems can be applied in materials science.
The field of highly frustrated magnetism has developed considerably and expanded over the last 15 years. Issuing from canonical geometric frustration of interactions, it now extends over other aspects with many degrees of freedom such as magneto-elastic couplings, orbital degrees of freedom, dilution effects, and electron doping. Its is thus shown here that the concept of frustration impacts on many other fields in physics than magnetism. This book represents a state-of-the-art review aimed at a broad audience with tutorial chapters and more topical ones, encompassing solid-state chemistry, experimental and theoretical physics.
Carbon Based Magnetism is the most complete, detailed, and accurate guide on the magnetism of carbon, the main element of living creatures. Written by the leading experts in the field, the book provides a comprehensive review of relevant experimental data and theoretical concepts related to the magnetism of metal-free carbon systems. These systems include carbon based compounds, namely organic radical magnetic systems, and magnetic materials based on carbon structures. The aim is to advance the understanding of the fundamental properties of carbon. This volume discusses all major modern hypotheses on the physical nature of magnetic ordering in carbon systems. The first chapters deal with magnetic ordering mechanisms in p-electron systems as well as molecular magnets with spins residing only in p-orbitals. The following chapters explore the magnetic properties of pure carbon, with particular emphasis on nanosized carbon systems with closed boundary (fullerenes and nanotubes) and with open boundary (structures with edge-localized magnetic states). The remaining chapters focus on newer topics: experimental observation and theoretical models for magnetic ordering above room temperature in pure carbon. The book also includes twenty three review articles that summarize the most significant recent and ongoing exciting scientific developments and provide the explanation. It also highlights some problems that have yet to be solved and points out new avenues for research. This book will appeal to physicists, chemists and biologists. - The most complete, detailed, and accurate Guide in the magnetism of carbon - Dynamically written by the leading experts - Deals with recent scientific highlights - Gathers together chemists and physicists, theoreticians and experimentalists - Unified treatment rather than a series of individually authored papers - Description of genuine organic molecular ferromagnets - Unique description of new carbon materials with Curie temperatures well above ambient.
An understanding of the quantum mechanical nature of magnetism has led to the development of new magnetic materials which are used as permanent magnets, sensors, and information storage. Behind these practical applications lie a range of fundamental ideas, including symmetry breaking, order parameters, excitations, frustration, and reduced dimensionality. This superb new textbook presents a logical account of these ideas, staring from basic concepts in electromagnetsim and quantum mechanics. It outlines the origin of magnetic moments in atoms and how these moments can be affected by their local environment inside a crystal. The different types of interactions which can be present between magnetic moments are described. The final chapters of the book are devoted to the magnetic properties of metals, and to the complex behaviour which can occur when competing magnetic interactions are present and/or the system has a reduced dimensionality. Throughout the text, the theorectical principles are applied to real systems. There is substantial discussion of experimental techniques and current reserach topics. The book is copiously illustrated and contains detailed appendices which cover the fundamental principles.
In recent years there have been exciting developments in techniques for producing multilayered structures of different materials, often with thicknesses as small as only a few atomic layers. These artificial structures, known as superlattices, can either be grown with the layers stacked in an alternating fashion (the periodic case) or according to some other well-defined mathematical rule (the quasiperiodic case). This book describes research on the excitations (or wave-like behavior) of these materials, with emphasis on how the material properties are coupled to photons (the quanta of the light or the electromagnetic radiation) to produce "mixed waves called polaritons.·Clear and comprehensive account of polaritons in multilayered structures·Covers both periodic and quasiperiodic superlattices·Careful attention to theoretical developments and tools·Invaluable guide for researchers in this field·Shows developments from the basics to advanced topics
This status report features the most recent developments in the field, spanning a wide range of topical areas in the computer simulation of condensed matter/materials physics. Both established and new topics are included, ranging from the statistical mechanics of classical magnetic spin models to electronic structure calculations, quantum simulations, and simulations of soft condensed matter.
This book deals with functional materials that are in the frontiers of current materials science and technology research, development and manufacture. The first of its kind, it deals with three classes of materials, (1) magnetic semiconductors, (2) multiferroics, and (3) graphene. Because of the wide popularity of these materials there is a strong need for a book about these materials for graduate students, new researchers in science and technology, as well as experienced scientists and technologists, technology based companies and government institutes for science and technology. The book will provide this broad audience with both theoretical and experimental understanding to help in technological advances in the development of devices and related new technologies based on these very interesting and novel materials. - Covers both the theoretical and experimental aspects of advanced functional materials, which are important for use in a number of rapidly developing novel technological devices - Includes excellent coverage of three of the leading advanced functional materials - Edited by a leading expert at the forefront of advanced functional materials research
The present volume contains the courses given at a Summer School on "Magne tic Phase Transitions" held at the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture, at Erice (Trapani), Italy in July 1983 under the auspices of the Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society in their series on Materials Science and Technology. The student participants came from West Germany, Great Britain, Brazil, Greece, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, USA and The Netherlands. The lecturers came from various European countries, Israel, USA and Canada. The atmosphere at the meeting was excellent and a good spirit of companion ship developed during two weeks of working together. The spread of interests among the lecturers and students was divers;jfied but balanced. The main lec turing contributions are reported in this volume. They represent up-to-date reviews in a pedagogical style. In addition, informal presentations on cur rent research interests were made which have not been included. The school attempted to summarize the current position on the properties of magnetic phase transitions from several points of view. The range and scope of the oretical techniques, and of particular aspects of materials or phenomena as observed experimentally were very well put forward by the lecturers. The grouping of manuscripts in chapters does not represent, however, the sched ule followed during the school. Contributions on mean-field approximations and renormalization-group methods either for static or dynamic phenomena can be found at various places in the following sections.
