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We revisit the antiferromagnetic structure of $\rm Tb_{14}Ag_{51}$ [P. Fischer., $et\, al$. (2005). PRB, 72 134413] with the propagation vector $[{1\over3},{1\over3},{0}] $ and parent space group $P6/m$ using both magnetic symmetry and irreducible representation arguments. We have found a new magnetic structure under the hexagonal Shubnikov magnetic space group $P\bar{6}'$, which fits much better the experimental data. This new solution was obtained by constraining the spin arrangement to one of the three possible magnetic space groups of maximal symmetry that can be realised by a magnetic ordering transforming according to the 4-dimensional physically irreducible representation that is known to be relevant in this magnetic phase. The refined model, parameterised under $P\bar{6}'$, implicitly includes the presence of a third harmonic with the propagation vector at the gamma point $[0,0,0]$, which has an important weight in the final result. The structure consists of 13 symmetry-independent Tb magnetic moments with the same size of $8.48(2)\mu_B$, propagating cycloidally in the $ab$-plane. The modulation has a substantial deviation from being purely sinusoidal due to the contribution of the mentioned third harmonic., Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, 7 figures

We propose that systems exhibiting compositional patterning at the nanoscale, so far assumed to be due to some kind of ordered phase segregation, can be understood instead in terms of coherent, single phase ordering of minority motifs, caused by some constrained drive for uniformity. The essential features of this type of arrangements can be reproduced using a superspace construction typical of uniformity-driven orderings, which only requires the knowledge of the modulation vectors observed in the diffraction patterns. The idea is discussed in terms of a simple two dimensional lattice-gas model that simulates a binary system in which the dilution of the minority component is favored. This simple model already exhibits a hierarchy of arrangements similar to the experimentally observed nano-chessboard and nano-diamond patterns, which are described as occupational modulated structures with two independent modulation wave vectors and simple step-like occupation modulation functions., Comment: Preprint. 11 pages, 11 figures

Although superspace formalism has become the standard approach for the analysis of structurally modulated crystals, it has remained during the last thirty years almost unexplored as a practical tool to deal with magnetic incommensurate structures. This situation has recently changed with the development of new computer tools for magnetic phases based on this formalism. In this context we show here that, as in the case of nonmagnetic incommensurate systems, the concept of superspace symmetry provides a simple, efficient and systematic way to characterize the symmetry and rationalize the structural and physical properties of incommensurate magnetic materials. The method introduces significant advantages over the most commonly employed method of representation analysis for the description of the magnetic structure of a crystal. But, more importantly, in contrast with that method, it consistently yields and classifies all degrees of freedom of the system. The knowledge of the superspace group of an incommensurate magnetic material allows to predict its crystal tensor properties and to rationalize its phase diagram, previous to any appeal to microscopic models or mechanisms. This is especially relevant when the properties of incommensurate multiferroics are being studied. We present first a summary of the superspace method under a very practical viewpoint particularized to magnetic modulations. Its relation with the usual representation analysis is then analyzed in detail, with the derivation of important general rules for magnetic modulations with a single propagation vector. The power and efficiency of the formalism is illustrated with various selected examples, including some multiferroic materials.

Based on density functional theory calculations and group theoretical analysis, we have studied NaLaMnWO$_{6}$ compound which has been recently synthesized [Phys. Rev. B 79, 224428 (2009)] and belongs to the $AA'BB'{\rm O}_{6}$ family of double perovskites. At low temperature, the structure has monoclinic $P2_{1}$ symmetry, with layered ordering of the Na and La ions and rocksalt ordering of Mn and W ions. The Mn atoms show an antiferromagnetic (AFM) collinear spin ordering, and the compound has been reported as a potential multiferroic. By comparing the low symmetry structure with a parent phase of $P4/nmm$ symmetry, two distortion modes are found dominant. They correspond to MnO$_{6}$ and WO$_{6}$ octahedron \textit{tilt} modes, often found in many simple perovskites. While in the latter these common tilting instabilities yield non-polar phases, in NaLaMnWO$_{6}$ the additional presence of the $A$-$A^{'}$ cation ordering is sufficient to make these rigid unit modes as a source of the ferroelectricity. Through a trilinear coupling with the two unstable tilting modes, a significant polar distortion is induced, although the system has no intrinsic polar instability. The calculated electric polarization resulting from this polar distortion is as large as $\sim$ 16 ${\mu}{\rm C/cm^{2}}$. Despite its secondary character, this polarization is coupled with the dominant tilting modes and its switching is bound to produce the switching of one of two tilts, enhancing in this way a possible interaction with the magnetic ordering. The transformation of common non-polar purely steric instabilities into sources of ferroelectricity through a controlled modification of the parent structure, as done here by the cation ordering, is a phenomenon to be further explored., Comment: Physical Chemistry Chemical physics (in press)

The asymptotic behaviour near phase transitions can be suitably characterized by the scaling of $\Delta s/Q^2$ with $\epsilon=1-T/T_c$, where $\Delta s$ is the excess entropy and $Q$ is the order parameter. As $\Delta s$ is obtained by integration of the experimental excess specific heat of the transition $\Delta c$, it displays little experimental noise so that the curve $\log(\Delta s/Q^2)$ versus $\log\epsilon$ is better constrained than, say, $\log\Delta c$ versus $\log\epsilon$. The behaviour of $\Delta s/Q^2$ for different universality classes is presented and compared. In all cases, it clearly deviates from being a constant. The determination of this function can then be an effective method to distinguish asymptotic critical behaviour. For comparison, experimental data for three very different systems, Rb2CoF4, Rb2ZnCl4 and SrTiO3, are analysed under this approach. In SrTiO3, the function $\Delta s/Q^2$ does not deviate within experimental resolution from a straight line so that, although Q can be fitted with a non mean-field exponent, the data can be explained by a classical Landau mean-field behaviour. In contrast, the behaviour of $\Delta s/Q^2$ for the antiferromagnetic transition in Rb2CoF4 and the normal-incommensurate phase transition in Rb2ZCl4 is fully consistent with the asymptotic critical behaviour of the universality class corresponding to each case. This analysis supports, therefore, the claim that incommensurate phase transitions in general, and the A$_2$BX$_4$ compounds in particular, in contrast with most structural phase transitions, have critical regions large enough to be observable., Comment: 13 pp. 9 ff. 2 tab. RevTeX. Submitted to J. Phys.: Cond. Matter

First-principles density-functional calculations within the local-density approximation and the pseudopotential approach are used to study and characterize the ferroelastic phase transition in calcium chloride (CaCl_2). In accord with experiment, the energy map of CaCl_2 has the typical features of a pseudoproper ferroelastic with an optical instability as ultimate origin of the phase transition. This unstable optic mode is close to a pure rigid unit mode of the framework of chlorine atoms and has a negative Gruneisen parameter. The ab-initio ground state agrees fairly well with the experimental low temperature structure extrapolated at 0K. The calculated energy map around the ground state is interpreted as an extrapolated Landau free-energy and is successfully used to explain some of the observed thermal properties. Higher-order anharmonic couplings between the strain and the unstable optic mode, proposed in previous literature as important terms to explain the soft-phonon temperature behavior, are shown to be irrelevant for this purpose. The LAPW method is shown to reproduce the plane-wave results in CaCl_2 within the precision of the calculations, and is used to analyze the relative stability of different phases in CaCl_2 and the chemically similar compound SrCl_2., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, uses RevTeX4

We have studied the Devonshire-Landau potential underlying the phase transition sequence of BaTiO3 using the first-principles effective Hamiltonian of Zhong, Vanderbilt, and Rabe [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 1861 (1994)], which has been very successful in reproducing the phase transitions and the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of this compound. The configuration space (determined by the polarization P as order parameter) was explored with the help of auxiliary electric fields. We show that the typically assumed form of the potential, a sixth-order expansion in P around the paraelectric cubic phase, properly accounts for the behavior of the system, but we find a non-trivial temperature dependence for all the coefficients in the expansion, including the quadratic one, which is shown to behave non-linearly. Our results also prove that the sixth-order terms in the free-energy expansion (needed to account for the first-order character of the transitions and the occurrence of an orthorhombic phase) emerge from an interaction model that only includes terms up to fourth order., Comment: 7 pages, two-column style with 11 postscript figures embedded. (Uses RevTeX and epsf macros)

We have performed detailed first-principles calculations to determine the eigenvectors of the zone-center modes of hexagonal BaTiO3 and shown that the experimentally relevant low-energy modes (including the non-polar instability) can be represented as suitable combinations of basic local polar distortions associated with the instability of the cubic perovskite phase. The hexagonal structure provides a testing ground for the analysis of the influence of the stacking of TiO6 octahedra: the occurrence of relatively high-energy chains of dipoles highlights the importance of local effects related to the coherent hybridization enhancement between Ti and O ions. Our results provide simple heuristic rules that could be useful for the analysis of related compounds., Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures

Hexagonal BaTiO_3 undergoes a structural phase transition to an orthorhombic C222_1 phase at T_0 = 222 K. The transition is driven by a soft optical mode with E_2u symmetry whose couplings force the appearance of a spontaneous E_2g strain (improper ferroelastic character). Staying within the same E_2u subspace, the system could in principle settle into a second (not observed) orthorhombic phase (Cmc2_1). We have carried out a first-principles investigation of these questions, studying the structure of the existing C222_1 and the "virtual" Cmc2_1 phases, and describing the spontaneous E_2g strain in accord with the experimental observations. In addition, we show that the occurrence of C222_1 instead of Cmc2_1 cannot be explained by the E_2u soft modes themselves and, therefore, must be related to their couplings with secondary order parameters. A more detailed analysis proves that the E_2g strains do not account for the experimental preference., Comment: 8 pages including 2 postscript figures, LaTeX with one special macro. Presented at the 9th. European Meeting on Ferroelectricity, Prague, July 1999. To be published in "Ferroelectrics"

We present a new scheme for the construction of highly localized lattice Wannier functions. The approach is based on a heuristic criterion for localization and takes the symmetry constraints into account from the start. We compare the local modes thus obtained with those generated by other schemes and find that they also provide a better description of the relevant vibrational subspace., Comment: 6 pages, ReVTeX, plus four postscript files for figures