Quantum Fluctuation of the Order Parameter in a Structural Phase Transition
Abstract
Using a variety of microscopic and bulk-thermodynamic probes (e.g., elastic neutron scattering, inelastic x-ray scattering, specific heat, and pressure-dependent electrical transport), we provide evidence for the presence of a continuous martensitic transition in the binary AuZn system. In Au0.52Zn0.48 and AuZn, elastic neutron scattering detects new commensurate Bragg peaks (modulation) appearing at Q = (1.33, 0.67, 0) at temperatures corresponding to each sample's martensitic transition temperature, TM. The pressure dependence of the transition in each alloy, shows a low-temperature saturation of the order parameter (strain-shuffle) that leads to highly non-linear phase boundaries in temperature-pressure space and to superconductivity in the case of Au0.52Zn0.48.
- Publication:
-
APS March Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- March 2009
- Bibcode:
- 2009APS..MART41009S