Abstract
Variable-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy is used to study an order-order phase transition in a virtually defect-free quasi-one-dimensional surface system. The phase transition is driven by competing electronic interactions. The phase diagram is captured by a modified Landau formalism containing a coupling term between two different subsystems. The extra term has the effect of a spontaneously generated field which drives the phase transition. The proposed formalism applies to a variety of problems, where competing interactions produce sometimes counter-intuitive ordering phenomena.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 26004 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Europhysics Letters |
Volume | 92 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103018 Materials physics