Phase Transitions And Crystal Symmetry

About half a century ago Landau formulated the central principles of the phe nomenological second-order phase transition theory which is based on the idea of spontaneous symmetry breaking at phase transition. By means of this ap proach it has been possible to treat phase transitions of different nature in altogether distinct systems from a unified viewpoint, to embrace the aforemen tioned transitions by a unified body of mathematics and to show that, in a certain sense, physical systems in the vicinity of second-order phase transitions exhibit universal behavior. For several decades the Landau method has been extensively used to an alyze specific phase transitions in systems and has been providing a basis for interpreting experimental data on the behavior of physical characteristics near the phase transition, including the behavior of these characteristics in systems subject to various external effects such as pressure, electric and magnetic fields, deformation, etc. The symmetry aspects of Landau's theory are perhaps most effective in analyzing phase transitions in crystals because the relevant body of mathemat ics for this symmetry, namely, the crystal space group representation, has been worked out in great detail. Since particular phase transitions in crystals often call for a subtle symmetry analysis, the Landau method has been continually refined and developed over the past ten or fifteen years.

About half a century ago Landau formulated the central principles of the phe nomenological second-order phase transition theory which is based on the idea of spontaneous symmetry breaking at phase transition. By means of this ap proach it has been possible to treat phase transitions of different nature in altogether distinct systems from a unified viewpoint, to embrace the aforemen tioned transitions by a unified body of mathematics and to show that, in a certain sense, physical systems in the vicinity of second-order phase transitions exhibit universal behavior. For several decades the Landau method has been extensively used to an alyze specific phase transitions in systems and has been providing a basis for interpreting experimental data on the behavior of physical characteristics near the phase transition, including the behavior of these characteristics in systems subject to various external effects such as pressure, electric and magnetic fields, deformation, etc. The symmetry aspects of Landau's theory are perhaps most effective in analyzing phase transitions in crystals because the relevant body of mathemat ics for this symmetry, namely, the crystal space group representation, has been worked out in great detail. Since particular phase transitions in crystals often call for a subtle symmetry analysis, the Landau method has been continually refined and developed over the past ten or fifteen years.

本书从相变的物理机制、晶化及相图等方面系统地阐述了相变,是相变及晶化研究领域不可多得的一本好书。

Continuum Models for Phase Transitions and Twinning in Crystals presents the fundamentals of a remarkably successful approach to crystal thermomechanics. Developed over the last two decades, it is based on the mathematical theory of nonlinear thermoelasticity, in which a new viewpoint on material symmetry, motivated by molecular theories, plays a c

Crystal Symmetries is a timely account of the progress in the most diverse fields of crystallography. It presents a broad overview of the theory of symmetry and contains state of the art reports of its modern directions and applications to crystal physics and crystal properties. Geometry takes a special place in this treatise. Structural aspects of phase transitions, correlation of structure and properties, polytypism, modulated structures, and other topics are discussed. Applications of important techniques, such as X-ray crystallography, biophysical studies, EPR spectroscopy, crystal optics, and nuclear solid state physics, are represented. Contains 30 research and review papers.

The lecture notes presented in this volume were developed over a period of time that originated with the investigation of a research problem, the distortion from NiAs-type to MnP-type, the group-theoretical implications of which were investigated in collaboration with Professors F. Jellinek and C. Haas of the Laboratory for Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Groningen during the 1973-1974 year. This distortion provides the major example that is worked through in the notes. The subject matter of the notes has been incorporated in part in the lectures of a course in Solid State Chemistry taught several times at Iowa State University, and formed the basis of a series of lectures presented at the Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart during 1981- 19821 and as part of a Solid State Chemistry course taught during the spring of 1982 at Arizona State University in Tempe. I wish here to express my gratitude to the Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Research and to Arizona State University for the opportunity and support they provided during the time I was developing and writing the lecture notes of this volume. I wish also to thank the many colleagues and students who have offered comments and suggestions that have improved the accuracy and readability of the notes, and who have provided stimulation through discussion of the ideas presented here. am especially indebted to Professors C. Haas and F.