Experimental and theoretical study of the influence of disorder on diffuse first-order phase transitions: NaNbO3: Gd and KTaO3: Li as examples

TL;DR

This paper investigates how local disorder affects first-order phase transitions using experimental and theoretical methods, focusing on materials like NaNbO3: Gd and KTaO3: Li, revealing that disorder broadens phase coexistence regions.

Contribution

It provides a combined experimental and theoretical analysis of disorder effects on diffuse first-order phase transitions in specific materials.

Findings

Disorder increases the temperature range of phase coexistence.

Disorder alters the thermodynamics of phase transitions.

Monte Carlo simulations support experimental observations.

Abstract

We consider consequences of local disorder in systems experiencing first order phase transitions. Such systems can be of rather different nature. For example, manganates showing gigantic magnetoelectric effect, doped antiferroelectrics or biomembranes. Monte-Carlo computations performed have shown that the disorder increases the temperature interval where the high- and lowtemperature phases coexist and this provides thermodynamics in the disordered systems distinct from the thermodynamics of classical homogeneous systems.