Irreversible process

In science, a process that is not reversible is called irreversible. This concept arises frequently in thermodynamics. All complex natural processes are irreversible, although a phase transition at the coexistence temperature (e.g. melting of ice cubes in water) is well approximated as reversible. In thermodynamics, a change in the thermodynamic state of a system and all of its surroundings cannot be precisely restored to its initial state by infinitesimal changes in some property of the system without expenditure of energy. A system that undergoes an irreversible process may still be capable of returning to its initial state. Because entropy is a state function, the change in entropy of the system is the same whether the process is reversible or irreversible. However, the impossibility occurs in restoring the environment to its own initial conditions. An irreversible process increases the total entropy of the system and its surroundings. The second law of thermodynamics can be used

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Giant shape memory and domain memory effects in antiferroelectric single crystals

Dragan Damjanovic, Yiling Zhang, Yaming Zhou, Fangping Zhuo

We report irreversible and reversible antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transitions, shape memory and domain memory effects in (Pb,La)(Zr,Sn,Ti)O3 antiferroelectric tetragonal single crystals. We find that electric-field-induced antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transition is an irreversible process at temperatures below depolarization temperature (~50 °C), and achieve a giant shape memory strain value of 0.70% at room temperature. With the help of in situ polarized light microscope, we discover a reversible phase transition between antiferroelectric and ferroelectric phases and domain memory effect during the electric field cycling above the depolarization temperature. In addition, single crystal X-ray diffraction results reveal that field-induced transformations between incommensurate antiferroelectric and commensurate ferroelectric modulations enable the emergence of shape and domain memory effects. A physical picture is proposed to explain these phase-transformation-mediated memory effects. Their discovery is expected to stimulate a systematic research upsurge of domain engineering and structure–property relationships in the quest for developing new antiferroelectric or ferroelectric devices.

2019

Modélisation et analyse numérique de problèmes de réaction-diffusion provenant de la solidification d'alliages binaires

In this work, we are interested in elaborating models and numerical methods in order to study some phenomena which arise in the solidification of binary alloys. We propose two distinct models based on the mass and energy conservation laws as well as on classical thermodynamics. The first model is based on the irreversible process theory and therefore requires the computation of the entropy of the system to complete the description. To obtain this quantity, we develop a formalism and a method which yields numerical results. This construction is made so that the entropy function inherits some interesting mathematical properties from physical requirements. These properties allow us to elaborate and analyze mathematically an original scheme using a time discretization depending on a real parameter to solve the solidification problem. In particular, we are able to prove that the scheme is stable for all values of the time step if the parameter is chosen correctly. Furthermore, we give some numerical results to support the theory. The second model, called phase-field model, is used to describe dendrites' formation during the solidification of binary alloys. The nature of the problem constrains us to use very fine meshes in some physical regions. To reduce the number of discrete unknowns, we develop an adaptive mesh strategy based on an ad-hoc error estimator. We make numerical tests showing that the method converges on regular meshes and that the estimator is in good agreement with the true error. We also show that the mesh refinement strategy gives good results in academic and physical cases.

EPFL1999

Effect of Heat Current on Magnetization Dynamics in Magnetic Insulators and Nanostructures

Francesco Antonio Vetrò

The term "spin caloritronics" defines a novel branch of spintronics that focuses on the interplay between electron spins with heat currents. In the frame of this research area, this thesis is aimed at investigating the effect of a heat current on magnetization dynamics in two different typologies of systems and materials: magnetic insulators and metallic nanostructures. In the first case we conduct studies on yttrium iron garnet (YIG) samples subjected to a temperature gradient. The irreversible thermodynamics of a continuous medium with magnetic dipoles predicts that a thermal gradient across a YIG slab, in the presence of magnetization waves, produces a magnetic field that is the magnetic analog of the well known Seebeck effect. This thermally induced field can influence the time evolution of the magnetization, in such a way that it is possible to modulate the relaxation of the precession when applying a heat current. We found evidence for such a magnetic Seebeck effect (MSE) by conducting transmission measurements in a thin slab of YIG subjected to an in-plane temperature gradient. We showed how the MSE can modulate the magnetic damping depending on the direction of the propagating magnetostatic modes with respect to the orientation of the temperature gradient. In the second part of the thesis we focus our investigation on metallic nanostructures subjected to a heat current. In a metal, the three-current model (current of entropy, of spin up and spin down electrons) predicts that a heat current induces a spin current which will then influence the magnetization dynamics like a charge-driven spin current would. Hence, we explore what has been called Thermal Spin Torque in electrodeposited Co / Cu / Co asymmetric spin valves placed in the middle of copper nanowires. These samples are fabricated by conventional electrodeposition technique in porous polycarbonate membranes using an original method that allows high frequency electrical measurements. We used a modulated laser to investigate the effect of a temperature gradient. We observed a heat-driven spin torque by measuring electrically the quasi-static magnetic response of a spin valve when subjected to the heat current, generated by two laser diodes heating the electrical contact at one end or the other of the nanowire. Analysing the variation in the resistance induced by a heat-driven spin torque, represented by peaks occurring in correspondence with the GMR transition, we found that a temperature difference of the order of 5 K is sufficient to produce sizeable torque in spin valves.

EPFL2015

PHYS-105: Advanced physics II (thermodynamics)

Ce cours présente la thermodynamique en tant que théorie permettant une description d'un grand nombre de phénomènes importants en physique, chimie et ingéniere, et d'effets de transport. Une introduction à la physique statistique renforce les notions acquises grâce à une modélisation microscopique.

PHYS-106(a): General physics : thermodynamics

Le but du cours de Physique générale est de donner à l'étudiant les notions de base nécessaires à la compréhension des phénomènes physiques. L'objectif est atteint lorsque l'étudiant est capable de prévoir quantitativement les conséquences de ces phénomènes avec des outils théoriques appropriés

PHYS-106(h): General physics : thermodynamics

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The second law of thermodynamics is a physical law based on universal experience concerning heat and energy interconversions. One simple statement of the law is that heat always moves from hotter ob