X-PressMatter Group' IHPP PAS
Soft Matter Blog
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PHYSICS of CRITICAL PHENOMENA
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NEW Grand Critical Universality is Approaching !??
In 2014, Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska, Sylwester J. Rzoska, and J. C. Martinez-Garcia experimentally and analytically extended the range of universality to the liquid-gas critical point case. Later, in 2022, Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska, Sylwester J. Rzoska et al. showed the basis for a model combining all the above systems with pretransitional effect in orientationally disordered crystals (ODIC) from the family of plastic crystals.
[1] Sylwester J. Rzoska, "Kerr effect and the nonlinear dielectric effect on approaching the critical consolute point", Phys. Rev E, Vol. 48, Number 2 1992.
[2[ Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska, Sylwester J. Rzoska, J. C. Martinez-Garcia, "Nonlinear dielectric effect in supercritical diethyl ether.", Vol. 141, Issue 9 2014.
[3] Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska, Sylwester J. Rzoska, et al. "Supercritical anomalies in liquid ODIC-forming cyclooctanol under thestrong electric field.",
Journal of Molecular Liquids 345 (2022) 117849.
The latter means that the Grand Universal Model emerges, combining the mentioned, apparently diverse physical systems and methods. The mystery started by Piekara (1936, Rydzyna) and the cognitive puzzle has been finally assembled also in Poland (1993-2022).
But the universality can be even much broader and related to the impact of uniaxiality on mystic topological criticality.
It means New Grand Critical Universality, which can penetrate many fields, also beyond physics.
In 1936 Arkadiusz Piekara discovered an extremely strong increase in the nonlinear dielectric effect (NDE) (change in dielectric constant in
a strong electric field) when approaching the critical point in solutions with limited miscibility. Over the next 57 years, many experimental studies were published on this topic, not only for NDE studies, but also for Kerr Effect. Inconsistency of critical exponents obtained theoretically and experimentally was observed, and no common pattern was obtained - although it might seem that such a pattern is obvious, as evidenced by the achievements of the Physics of Critical Phenomena (Nobel Prize 1981).
This puzzle (discrepancy between experiment and theory) was explained in 1992 by Sylwester J. Rzoska by a NEW MODEL, introducing so-called ‘mixed criticality’, which provided a universal description of NDE, the Kerr Effect, and the intensity of scattered light in mentioned systems, also in the isotropic phase of liquid crystals.
This model, proposed by Sylwester J. Rzoska, found the enthusiastic interest of Prof. Pierre Gilles de Gennes (Nobel Prize 1991)
long evening discussion after the Congress of Societa Fisica Italiana (1991).
PHYSICS of SEMICONDUCTORS
Searching Universal Scalling Patternes
In today's world, the insight into properties of materials significant for the semiconductors industry, which can be next used for material engineering implementations is of primary importance. Germanium (Ge), silicon (Si) and, in the last decade, gallium nitride (GaN) are the most critically important materials.
However, in each case, modeling the pressure changes of the melting temperature has remained a challenge for decades.
The mentioned relation seems to be the solution to the cognitive puzzle and opens the door to new solutions of "materials engineering under pressure".
The NEW relationship, matched with the derivative-based implementation protocol developed by Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska [1,2] proposed novel description of melting temperature vs. pressure.
This relation was first considered for the glass temperature [1] and then extended for the melting temperature [2]. Its application explained the unusual Tm decrease on compressing in Si, revealing the maximum of T m (P) curve in the negative pressures domain. For GaN, the application of the model introduced in ref. [3]. GaN not only described all existing experimental data but also demonstrated the existence of a hypothetical maximum of the Tm (P) curve. Two long-standing cognitive puzzles have been solved.
[1] A. Drozd-Rzoska, Pressure dependence of the glass temperature in supercooled liquids. Phys. Rev. E 72 (2005) 041505. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.72.041505
[2] A. Drozd-Rzoska, S.J. Rzoska, A.R. Imre, On the pressure evolution of the melting temperature and the glass transition temperature. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 353
(2007 )3915-3923.
[3]. S. Porowski, B. Sadovyi, S. Gierlotka, S. J. Rzoska, I. Grzegory, I. Petrusha, V.Turkevich, D. Stratiichuk, The challenge of high pressure and high-temperature
decomposition and melting of gallium nitride, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 85 (2015) 138-143 (2015).
* 1. Popularization of knowledge, especially regarding Soft Matter Physics and the impact of High Pressure
* 2. Promoting achievements of young scientists associated with the X-PressMatter IHPP PAS Laboratory
* 3. Promoting knowledge about personalities of the world of science
* 4. Supporting co-organization/ organization of the "Show Yourself in Science" Workshop & International Seminar on Soft Matter
This WEBSITE was created to realize the following, main GOALS:
Soft Matter systems have common features, such as the dominance of elements or local structures on the mesoscale, combined with their relatively weak interactions, which turns out to be sufficient to obtain a tendency to self-organize with even a small change in parameters. This additionally leads to extraordinary sensitivity to even minor endogenous and exogenous factors, e.g., nanoparticles and pressure. In the case of the latter, relatively low pressures P~1 GPa, or even much lower ones, can lead to phases/states with exotic features, often persisting after decompression.
Worth stressing, that for "classical hard matter" systems, a pressure similar to that at the Earth's core (~300 GPa) is typically required, and the resulting "exotic" properties most often disappear upon decompression.
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