Phase Transitions in the Brominated Ferroelectric Tris‐Sarcosine Calcium Chloride
paraelectrics SrTiO 3 and KTaO 3 . [ 9 ] However, the ultra-weak nature of the dipole moment in TSCC referred to below may reduce the effects of such long-range dipole interactions to a narrow temperature region around the critical point. This would mean that more conventional classical or quantum critical behaviour would be expected over a wider range of temperatures and tuning parameters. TSCC is hydrogen bonded and was characterized in the past as order-disorder albeit with no direct supporting evidence. [ 16,17 ] Since the time of these studies TSCC has come to be a prototypical displacive ferroelectrics, [ 18 ] as demonstrated by the existence of an under-damped soft mode. This mode can be followed into the GHz frequency regime [ 19 ] from highT values of ca 630 GHz = 21 cm −1 . Deuteration [ 20 ] produces little change in T C , implying that the transition is not controlled by the N-Cl-hydrogen bonds, a result compatible with the soft-mode mechanism operating in TSCC. [ 2 ]
Ferroelectric Relaxor Quantum Crystals
A discussion is given of ferroelectrics (FEs) that have their Curie temperatures Tc very near absolute zero. These have differences in their dynamics in comparison with higher-temperature systems, since domain wall motion occurs via quantum mechanical tunneling and not by thermally activated diffusion. Emphasis in the present paper is on FEs that have relaxor characteristics. In such systems, the temperature at which the isothermal electric susceptibility e(T,f) peaks is a strong function of frequency, and it decreases with decreasing frequency. This is due to glassy viscosity and is symbolic of non-equilibrium dynamics, usually described by a Vogel-Fulcher equation. It permits an extra dimension with which to examine the transitions. The second half of this paper reviews domain wall instabilities and asks about their presence in QCP ferroelectrics, which has not yet been reported and may be unobservable due to the absence of thermal diffusion of walls near T = 0; in this respect, we note that diffusion does exist in ferroelectric relaxors, even at T = 0, by virtue of their glassy, viscous dynamics.
Noctilucent cloud observations over Greenland by a Rayleigh lidar
We report on the detection of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) by a Rayleigh lidar system located on the west coast of Greenland during operations in July and August 1994. The lidar detected NLCs in the zenith on three nights (July 28–29, July 31–August 1, and August 4). The lidar measurements are presented at temporal (1 minute) and spatial (192 meter) resolutions exceeding previously reported lidar measurements of NLCs and reveal significantly more structure in the clouds. Unique cloud features are observed for each night NLCs were detected. Because of the large backscatter ratio associated with NLCs, the volume backscatter coefficient for the cloud particles can be determined more accurately from the lidar signal than the backscatter ratio as the upper mesospheric molecular number density is negligible in the volume backscatter coefficient calculation. The volume backscatter coefficient values determined from the three nights of NLC observations would be classified by current models as moderate to extreme. The extreme backscatter from NLC measurements on August 4 tests the assumptions used in existing models.