Orientational Ordering in Spatially Disordered Dipolar Systems

TL;DR

This study investigates how ferroelectric order can emerge in spatially disordered dipolar systems through computer simulations, revealing its dependence on dipole dimensionality and medium dynamics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into ferroelectric order in disordered systems by analyzing models with varying dipole vector components and medium dynamics.

Findings

Ferroelectric order can exist in spatially random systems.

Order sensitivity depends on dipole vector dimensionality.

Medium motion influences ferroelectric transition stability.

Abstract

This letter addresses basic questions concerning ferroelectric order in positionally disordered dipolar materials. Three models distinguished by dipole vectors which have one, two or three components are studied by computer simulation. Randomly frozen and dynamically disordered media are considered. It is shown that ferroelectric order is possible in spatially random systems, but that its existence is very sensitive to the dipole vector dimensionality and the motion of the medium. A physical analysis of our results provides significant insight into the nature of ferroelectric transitions.