Physics

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/52

The Physics department is committed to education and research in physics, the study of the fundamental universal laws that govern the behavior of matter and energy, and the exploration of the consequences and applications of those laws. Our department is widely known for its excellent teaching and student mentoring. Our department plays an important role in the university’s Core Curriculum. We have strong academic programs with several options for undergraduate physics majors, leading to the B.S. degree, as well as graduate curricula leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Our research groups span a variety of fields within physics. Our principal concentrations are in Astrophysics, Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology, Condensed Matter Physics, Lasers and Optics, Physics Education, Solar Physics, and the Space Science and Engineering Lab.

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

Short-range interaction explanation of ferroelectric, antiferroelectric and proton glass behavior in pure RDP, ADP, and mixed RDP-ADP crystals respectively
(1985-01) Schmidt, V. Hugo; Wang, J. T.; Schnackenberg, P. T.
A unified model is presented for Rb1-x(NH4)xH2PO4 crystals over the whole range x=0 (RDP) to x=1 (ADP). Two short-range interactions are postulated. One is the Slater energy ε0 which is kept at the value for RDP for all x. The other is an interaction εa between two hydrogens in O-H...O bonds across an NH4+ ion from each other. It is responsible for the off-center positions observed for ammonium ions in the antiferroelectric phase of ADP. Its strength is assumed proportional to x. By minimizing the free energy, one finds a range of x for which no transition occurs, but instead proton glass behavior sets in. Fox x near 0 and 1 respectively, first-order ferroelectric and antiferroelectric transitions are predicted. Both phase boundaries are close to those observed experimentally.
Anisotropy in Anomalies of Hypersound Velocity and Attenuation in Ferroelectric TSCC
(1985-01) Hikita, T.; Wang, J. T.; Schnackenberg, P. T.; Schmidt, V. Hugo
From Brillouin shift and linewidth of longitudinal phonons propagating along the [100] and [001] directions of TSCC, the polarization relaxation time was calculated to be τ=3.1×10-12/(Tc-T) sec below the transition temperature Tc. The anomalies in the longitudinal phonons of the [010] propagation were carefully examined using an annealed crystal of excellent quality. No essential difference was observed between the velocities of a normal and high quality crystals. The relaxation time was deduced as a function of temperature from the observed anomalies in the velocity and linewidth. Spectra are observed for nearly forward scattering from the q\varparallel[010] phonons.
Brillouin scattering near the ferroelectric phase transition in TSCC
(1985-06) Hikita, T.; Schnackenberg, P. T.; Schmidt, V. Hugo
Brillouin spectra from longitudinal phonons in ferroelectric tris-sarcosine calcium chloride (TSCC) propagating along [100], [010] and [001] have been measured as functions of temperature. Large anomalies were found in the Brillouin shift and linewidth in the [100] and [001] phonons. These anomalies are interpreted as arising from the linear coupling of the polarization and phonons. From the the temperature where the linewidth is maximum, the relaxation time of the polarization fluctuations is estimated to be τ = 3.1×10−12/(Tc−T) sec, where Tc is the ferroelectric transition temperature. We also observed anomalies in Brillouin shift and linewidth of the [010] phonons which propagate along the ferroelectric axis. These anomalies are interpreted as coming from electrostrictive coupling. The energy relaxation time was estimated to be τE=2.5×10−10/(T−Tc) sec in the paraelectric (PE) phase and τE=1.0x10−9/(T−Tc) sec in the ferroelectric (FE) phase, by comparing our Brillouin results with those f the ultrasonic measurements.
Proton-glass dielectric behavior of a Rb0.52(ND4)0.48D2PO4 crystal
(1984-09) Schmidt, V. Hugo; Waplak, S.; Hutton, Stuart L.; Schnackenberg, P. T.
The c axis dielectric permittivity at 1 kHz was measured for a 71.4 at.% deuterated crystal of Rb0.52(ND4)0.48D2PO4 from 4 to 300 K. The permittivity follows, down to 150 K, a Curie-Weiss law with a Curie temperature of 0 K. Below this temperature the susceptibility rounds off to a broad maximum at 80 K, and below 50 K, starts decreasing rapidly. Between 25 and 40 K, the inverse susceptibility obeys a Curie-Weiss law which extrapolates to zero at 43 K. At 4 K, the relative permittivity flattens out to a value of 11.5. The results show general agreement with predictions of a Landau model giving a second-order transition to an antiferroelectric state at 43 K, but the rounding of the susceptibility peak over a very wide temperature range agrees better with predictions of a model which considers the asymmetry of the typical hydrogen bond caused by the crystal being only partly ammoniated. Permittivity results of Courtens and of Iida and Terauchi for undeuterated crystals with 35% and 60% ammonium, respectively, are also compared with predictions of this second model.
Brillouin scattering study of the ferroelectric phase transition in tris-sarcosine calcium chloride
(1985-01) Hikita, T.; Schnackenberg, P. T.; Schmidt, V. Hugo
Brillouin spectra from longitudinal phonons in ferroelectric tris-sarcosine calcium chloride propagating along [100], [010], and [001] have been measured as functions of temperature. Large anomalies were found in the Brillouin shift and linewidth in the [100] and [001] phonons. These anomalies are interpreted as arising from the linear coupling of the polarization and the phonons. From the temperature where the linewidth is maximum, the relaxation time of the polarization fluctuations is estimated to be τ=3.1×10−12/(Tc-T) sec, where Tc is the ferroelectric transition temperature. We also observed anomalies in Brillouin shift and linewidth of the [010] phonons which propagate along the ferroelectric b axis. These anomalies are interpreted as coming from electro- strictive coupling. The energy-relaxation time was estimated to be τE=2.5×10−10/(T-Tc) sec in the paraelectric phase and τE=1.0×10−9/(Tc-T) sec in the ferroelectric phase, by comparing our Brillouin results with those of the ultrasonic measurements.

Physics

Browse

Filters

Settings

Sort By

Results per page

Search Results