We show that a parametrically driven cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation exhibits a hysteretic nonequilibrium Ising-Bloch transition for large enough quintic nonlinearity. These results help to understand the recent experimental observation of this pheomenon [A. Esteban-Martin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 223903 (2005)].
We describe the controlled observation of the nonequilibrium Ising-Bloch transition in a broad area nonlinear optical cavity, namely, a quasi-1D single longitudinal-mode photorefractive oscilator in a degenerate four-wave mixing configuration. Our experimental technique allows for the controlled injection of the domain walls. We use cavity detuning as control parameter and find that both Ising and Bloch walls can exist for the same detuning values within a certain interval of detunings, i.e., the Ising-Bloch transition is hysteretic in our case. A complex Ginzburg-Landau model is used for supporting the observations.
We study the Ising-Bloch bifurcation in two systems, the Complex Ginzburg Landau equation (CGLE) and a FitzHugh Nagumo (FN) model in the presence of spatial inhomogeneity introduced by Dirichlet boundary conditions. It is seen that the interaction of fronts with boundaries is similar in both systems, establishing the generality of the Ising-Bloch bifurcation. We derive reduced dynamical equations for the FN model that explain front dynamics close to the boundary. We find that front dynamics in a highly non-adiabatic (slow front) limit is controlled by fixed points of the reduced dynamical equations, that occur close to the boundary.
We have observed hysteresis in superconducting resistive transition curves of Ba$_{0.07}$K$_{0.93}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ ($T_csim$8 K) below about 1 K for in-plane fields. The hysteresis is not observed as the field is tilted away from the $ab$ plane by 20$^{circ}$ or more. The temperature and angle dependences of the upper critical field indicate a strong paramagnetic effect for in-plane fields. We suggest that the hysteresis can be attributed to a first-order superconducting transition due to the paramagnetic effect. Magnetic torque data are also shown.
Hysteresis underlies a large number of phase transitions in solids, giving rise to exotic metastable states that are otherwise inaccessible. Here, we report an unconventional hysteretic transition in a quasi-2D material, EuTe4. By combining transport, photoemission, diffraction, and x-ray absorption measurements, we observed that the hysteresis loop has a temperature width of more than 400 K, setting a record among crystalline solids. The transition has an origin distinct from known mechanisms, lying entirely within the incommensurate charge-density-wave (CDW) phase of EuTe4 with no change in the CDW modulation periodicity. We interpret the hysteresis as an unusual switching of the relative CDW phases in different layers, a phenomenon unique to quasi-2D compounds that is not present in either purely 2D or strongly-coupled 3D systems. Our findings challenge the established theories on metastable states in density wave systems, pushing the boundary of understanding hysteretic transitions in a broken-symmetry state.
We establish a set of nonequilibrium quantum phase transitions in the Ising model driven under monochromatic nonadiabatic modulation of the transverse field. We show that besides the Ising-like critical behavior, the system exhibits an anisotropic transition which is absent in equilibrium. The nonequilibrium quantum phases correspond to states which are synchronized with the external control in the long-time dynamics.