The work in this thesis falls roughly into three parts, which I characterise loosely as a developmental stage, an exploratory stage, and an attempt to contribute to understanding of the field. In the developmental stage, I have worked to design a variety of methods to create high-quality samples of various Iron Pnictide superconductors, to dope them with various chemicals and to characterise the resulting crystalline samples. I discuss in depth the signature of good quality crystals and the various experiments that they have been used in by myself and my collaborators. These processes are ongoing and will hopefully continue to contribute to my research group's capabilities. My exploratory work involves a detailed survey of one particular family, Sr(Fe1-xCox)2As2, as the level of Cobalt is varied, and the mapping of the phase diagram for the system. I have also made a comparison to the better-measured Barium analogue, and discuss the reasons for the differences in character between the two, most notably the lack of a splitting of the structural and magnetic transitions in the first species. I also discuss the effect of pressure, which can lead to superconductivity in lightly doped samples for very modest pressures; and annealing, which increases transition temperatures within samples, on a limited quantity of crystals. Finally, I attempt to contribute to the understanding of the field via a series of Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopic experiments conducted by a collaborator on my crystals and analysed by me. I see distinct first-order transitions in the parent compounds, characterisable above the high-T structural transition within a Ginzburg-Landau pseudoproper ferroelastic scheme for a transition coupling weakly to strain but driven by another order parameter. My observations allow several statements about the symmetry of the order parameter and are suggestive of a non-magnetically driven structural transition. In the case of doped samples a much richer behavior is seen, with a broad transition and simultaneous relaxation of all elastic peaks and a broad temperature range of significant dispersion. The effect of the softening is seen far above TN and lends strong support to the family of models predicting such high-T fluctuations.

In this work I present a constructive method for finding critical points of the Ginzburg-Landau energy functional using the method of Sobolev gradients. I give a description of the construction of the Sobolev gradient and obtain convergence results for continuous steepest descent with this gradient. I study the Ginzburg-Landau functional with magnetic field and the Ginzburg-Landau functional without magnetic field. I then present the numerical results I obtained by using steepest descent with the discretized Sobolev gradient.

Research in superconductivity is heading towards overcoming the limitations imposed by extreme conditions, and promising candidates in this pursuit are superconductors made from hydrides. Carbonaceous Sulfur Hydride (CSH) was reported in Nature 586, 373-377 (2020) as a room-temperature superconductor in the pressure range of 140-267 GPa; however, there is controversy in the literature regarding these results. Here, we use density functional theory to confirm the hypothesis of Nature 596, E9-E10 (2021) that a metallic path is the reason for the sharp drop in resistance interpreted in Nature 586, 373-377 (2020) as indicative of a weak type 2 superconductor. We find that the metallic behavior of CSH is dominated by sulfur p-orbitals, and not by metallization of hydrogen. If CSH would be a superconductor, the predicted Ginzburg Landau parameter would be 1356.9, reflecting an unusually strong type 2 superconductor and thus contradicting the interpretation of Nature 586, 373-377 (2020). The fact that we find no metallic states below 220 GPa casts doubts on the onset of superconductivity at 140 GPa reported in Nature 586, 373-377 (2020). Additionally, the small fraction of active hydrogen density of states at the Fermi level shows that CSH is not a high-temperature superconductor.

Comprehensive numerical simulations (reviewed in Dissipative Solitons, Akhmediev and Ankiewicz (Eds.), Springer, Berlin, 2005) of pulse solutions of the cubic--quintic Ginzburg--Landau equation (CGLE), a canonical equation governing the weakly nonlinear behavior of dissipative systems in a wide variety of disciplines, reveal various intriguing and entirely novel classes of solutions. In particular, there are five new classes of pulse or solitary waves solutions, viz. pulsating, creeping, snake, erupting, and chaotic solitons. In contrast to the regular solitary waves investigated in numerous integrable and non--integrable systems over the last three decades, these dissipative solitons are not stationary in time. Rather, they are spatially confined pulse--type structures whose envelopes exhibit complicated temporal dynamics. The numerical simulations also reveal very interesting bifurcations sequences of these pulses as the parameters of the CGLE are varied. In this dissertation, we develop a theoretical framework for these novel classes of solutions. In the first part, we use a traveling wave reduction or a so--called spatial approximation to comprehensively investigate the bifurcations of plane wave and periodic solutions of the CGLE. The primary tools used here are Singularity Theory and Hopf bifurcation theory respectively. Generalized and degenerate Hopf bifurcations have also been considered to track the emergence of global structure such as homoclinic orbits. However, these results appear difficult to correlate to the numerical bifurcation sequences of the dissipative solitons. In the second part of this dissertation, we shift gears to focus on the issues of central interest in the area, i.e., the conditions for the occurrence of the five categories of dissipative solitons, as well the dependence of both their shape and their stability on the various parameters of the CGLE, viz. the nonlinearity, dispersion, linear and nonlinear gain, loss and spectral filtering parameters. Our predictions on the variation of the soliton amplitudes, widths and periods with the CGLE parameters agree with simulation results. For this part, we develop and discuss a variational formalism within which to explore the various classes of dissipative solitons. Given the complex dynamics of the various dissipative solutions, this formulation is, of necessity, significantly generalized over all earlier approaches in several crucial ways. Firstly, the two alternative starting formulations for the Lagrangian are recent and not well explored. Also, after extensive discussions with David Kaup, the trial functions have been generalized considerably over conventional ones to keep the shape relatively simple (and the trial function integrable!) while allowing arbitrary temporal variation of the amplitude, width, position, speed and phase of the pulses. In addition, the resulting Euler--Lagrange equations are treated in a completely novel way. Rather than consider the stable fixed points which correspond to the well--known stationary solitons or plain pulses, we use dynamical systems theory to focus on more complex attractors viz. periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic ones. Periodic evolution of the trial function parameters on stable periodic attractors constructed via the method of multiple scales yield solitons whose amplitudes are non--stationary or time dependent. In particular, pulsating, snake (and, less easily, creeping) dissipative solitons may be treated in this manner. Detailed results are presented here for the pulsating solitary waves --- their regimes of occurrence, bifurcations, and the parameter dependences of the amplitudes, widths, and periods agree with simulation results. Finally, we elucidate the Hopf bifurcation mechanism responsible for the various pulsating solitary waves, as well as its absence in Hamiltonian and integrable systems where such structures are absent. Results will be presented for the pulsating and snake soliton cases. Chaotic evolution of the trial function parameters in chaotic regimes identified using dynamical systems analysis would yield chaotic solitary waves. The method also holds promise for detailed modeling of chaotic solitons as well. This overall approach fails only to address the fifth class of dissipative solitons, viz. the exploding or erupting solitons.

In this dissertation, I study a nonlinear partial differential equation, the complex Ginzburg-Landau (CGL) equation. I first employed the perturbative field-theoretic renormalization group method to investigate the critical dynamics near the continuous non-equilibrium transition limit in this equation with additive noise. Due to the fact that time translation invariance is broken following a critical quench from a random initial configuration, an independent ``initial-slip'' exponent emerges to describe the crossover temporal window between microscopic time scales and the asymptotic long-time regime. My analytic work shows that to first order in a dimensional expansion with respect to the upper critical dimension, the extracted initial-slip exponent in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation is identical to that of the equilibrium model A. Subsequently, I studied transient behavior in the CGL through numerical calculations. I developed my own code to numerically solve this partial differential equation on a two-dimensional square lattice with periodic boundary conditions, subject to random initial configurations. Aging phenomena are demonstrated in systems with either focusing and defocusing spiral waves, and the related aging exponents, as well as the auto-correlation exponents, are numerically determined. I also investigated nucleation processes when the system is transiting from a turbulent state to the ``frozen'' state. An extracted finite dimensionless barrier in the deep-quenched case and the exponentially decaying distribution of the nucleation times in the near-transition limit are both suggestive that the dynamical transition observed here is discontinuous. This research is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering under Award DE-FG02-SC0002308 / Doctor of Philosophy / The complex Ginzburg-Landau equation is one of the most studied nonlinear partial differential equation in the physics community. I study this equation using both analytical and numerical methods. First, I employed the field theory approach to extract the critical initial-slip exponent, which emerges due to the breaking of time translation symmetry and describes the intermediate temporal window between microscopic time scales and the asymptotic long-time regime. I also numerically solved this equation on a two-dimensional square lattice. I studied the scaling behavior in non-equilibrium relaxation processes in situations where defects are interactive but not subject to strong fluctuations. I observed nucleation processes when the system under goes a transition from a strongly fluctuating disordered state to the relatively stable “frozen” state where its dynamics cease. I extracted a finite dimensionless barrier for systems that are quenched deep into the frozen state regime. An exponentially decaying long tail in the nucleation time distribution is found, which suggests a discontinuous transition. This research is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering under Award DE-FG02-SC0002308.

In this thesis, we study six Ginzburg-Landau minimization problems in the context of two-dimensional nematic liquid crystals with the intention of finding conditions for the existence of boundary vortices. The first minimization problem consists of the standard Ginzburg-Landau energy on bounded, simply connected domains Ω ⊂ R2 with boundary energy penalizing minimizers who stray from being parallel to some smooth S1-valued boundary function g of degree D ≥ 1. The second and third minimization problems consider the same Ginzburg-Landau energy but now with divergence and curl penalization in the interior and boundary function taken to be g = τ, the positively oriented unit tangent vector to the boundary. The remaining three problems involve minimizing the same energies, but now over the set for which all functions are precisely parallel to the given boundary data (up to a set for which their norms can be zero). These six problems are classified under two categories called the weak and strong orthogonal problems. In each of the six problems, we show that conditions exist for which sequences of minimizers converge to a limiting S1-valued vector field describing an equilibrium configuration for nematic material with defects. In some cases, energy estimates are obtained that show vortices belong to the boundary exclusively and the exact number of these vortices are known. A special case is also studied in the strong orthogonality setting. The analysis here suggests that geometries exist for which boundary vortices may be energetically preferable to interior vortices in the case where interior and boundary vortices have similar energy contributions. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

No description available.

La thèse de doctorat comporte trois parties rédigées en anglais. Les deux premières parties correspondent principalement à l'étude de l'énergie de l'état fondamental. La dernière partie est consacrée à l'analyse de l'effet de pinning dans la supraconductivité.Dans une première partie de cette thèse, nous considérons la fonctionnelle de Ginzburg -Landau avec un champ magnétique variable appliqué dans un domaine borné et régulier de dimension 2. Nous déterminons le comportement asymptotique du paramètre d'ordre dans le régime o\`u le paramètre de Ginzburg-Landau et le champ magnétique sont grands et de même ordre. Comme conséquence, nous montrons que le paramètre d'ordre est localisé asymptotiquement dans la région où le profil du champ magnétique appliqué est petit.Dans une autre partie, nous considérons la fonctionnelle de Ginzburg -Landau avec un champ magnétique variable appliqué dans un domaine borné et régulier de dimension 2. Le profil du champ magnétique appliqué varie régulièrement et peut s'annuler exactement à l'ordre 1 le long d'une courbe. En supposant que la l'intensité du champ magnétique appliqué varie entre deux échelles caractéristiques, et que le paramètre de Ginzburg- Landau tend vers l'infini, nous déterminons une formule asymptotique précise pour minimiser l'énergie et montrer que les minimiseurs de l'énergie ont des vortex. Nous mettons en évidence que la présence d'un champ magnétique variable implique que la distribution de la vorticité dans l'échantillon n'est pas uniforme.Dans la dernière partie, nous étudions l'énergie de Ginzburg-Landau d'un supraconducteur avec un champ magnétique variable et un terme de pinning dans un domaine borné et régulier de dimension 2. En supposant que le paramètre de Ginzburg-Landau et l'intensité du champ magnétique sont grands et de même ordre, nous déterminons une formule asymptotique précise pour l'énergie. De plus, nous discutons l'existence des solutions non-triviales et déterminons le comportement asymptotique du troisième champ critique de la supraconductivité. / The PHD thesis has three parts, the first and the second part correpond mainly to study the groundstate energy, the last one being devoted to the analysis of the pinning effect in superconductivity.In a first part of this thesis, we consider the Ginzburg-Landau functional with a variable applied magnetic field in a bounded and smooth two-dimensional domain. We determine an accurate asymptotic formula for the minimizing energy when the Ginzburg-Landau parameter and the magnetic field are large and of the same order. As a consequence, it is shown how bulk superconductivity decreases in average as the applied magnetic field increases.In another part, we consider the Ginzburg-Landau functional with a variable applied magnetic field in a bounded and smooth two-dimensional domain. The profile of the applied magnetic field varies smoothly and is allowed to vanish non-degenerately along a curve. Assuming that the strength of the applied magnetic field varies between two characteristic scales, and that the Ginzburg-Landau parameter tends to , we determine an accurate asymptotic formula for the minimizing energy and show that the energy minimizers have vortices. The new aspect in the presence of variable magnetic field is that the distribution of vortices in the sample is not uniform.In the final part, we study the Ginzburg-Landau energy of a superconductor with a variable magnetic field and a pinning term in a bounded and smooth two-dimensional domain . Supposing that the Ginzburg-Landau parameter and the intensity of magnetic field are large and of the same order, we determine an accurate asymptotic formula for the minimizing energy. Also, we discuss the existence of non-trivial solutions and prove an asymptotics of the third critical field.

Nous présentons une étude de la dynamique de la lumière et des mesures des caractéristiques non-linéaires optiques dans le disulfure de carbone.Dans la première partie, nous calculons dans le cadre d’un modèle classique des expressions des susceptibilités non-linéaires jusqu’au cinquième ordre, en tenant compte des corrections de champ local. Nous formulons différentes hypothèses que nous confirmons ou infirmons par la mesure des indices d’absorption et de réfraction non-linéaires. Celles-ci sont obtenues en combinant deux méthodes de caractérisation des non-linéarités au sein d’un système 4fd’imagerie. L’analyse des données expérimentales utilise une méthode nouvellement développée, qui consiste à inverser numériquement, par la méthode de Newton, les solutions analytiques des équations différentielles qui décrivent l’évolution du faisceau.Dans la deuxième partie, nous observons la filamentation d’un faisceau laser à la longueur d’onde de 532 nm et en régime picoseconde. Puis nous procédons à la mesure de l’indice de réfraction non-linéaire effectif du troisième ordre n2,eff en fonction de l’intensité incidente. Par un ajustement de la courbe de saturation de l’effet Kerr,nous développons un nouveau modèle. La résolution numérique de celui-ci reproduit la filamentation observée.La dernière partie est consacrée à l’étude de la dynamique des solitons dissipatifs au sein de milieux à gains et pertes non-linéaires. La résolution numérique de l’équation complexe de Ginzburg-Landau cubique-quintique est réalisée suivant différentes configurations :soliton fondamental, dipôle, quadrupôle,vortex carré et rhombique. / We present a study of light dynamics and measurements of the nonlinear optical characteristics of carbon disulphide. In the first part, we calculate using the classical model, the nonlinear susceptibilities up to the fifth order taking into account local field corrections. We express different assumptions that we confirm or refute by measuring the nonlinear absorption coefficient and the nonlinear refractive index. The measurements are performed by means of two nonlinear characterization methods combined with an imaging 4f system. We analyse the experimental data using a newly developed method which numerically inverts the analytical solutions of the differential equations which describe the evolution of the beam, using Newton’s method. In the second part, we observe light filamentation at wavelength 532 nm, in the picoseconds regime. Then we measure the effective third order nonlinear refractive index n2,eff versus the incident intensity. By fitting the curve of the Kerr effect saturation, we develop a new model. Numerically solving this model, allows us to reproducethe experimentally observed filamentation. The last part is dedicated to the study of dissipative solitons dynamics. The complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with cubic-quintic nonlineraties is numerically solved in various configurations : soliton fundamental dipole, quadrupole, vortex and square rhombic.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:37:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Guilherme Komninos.pdf: 1970255 bytes, checksum: df0cedf278c145259aed73c5d3775f90 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-21 / This work presents a study based on the numerical analysis of Erbium-doped fiber lasers using the technique of passive mode-locking for the laser working in pulsed regime. The equation describing the dynamics of a laser cavity is known as Ginzburg-Landau Equation, that in this work is solved numerically by the Split-Step Fourier Method. By this method, an algorithm was developed which was incorporated into the MATLAB environment so taht numerical calculations were made. The method was validated by comparing the results generated by the program (temporal pulse width due to the gain of the cavity with and without dispersion and nonlinearity) with the results published in literature. After validation of the method an experimental results were reproduced of an Erbium-doped fiber laser using thin films of carbon nanotubes as saturable absorbers. The laser generates a bandwidth of 5.7 nm for a cavity with a total length of 9 m. This experimental result was used as a calibration parameter in the initial simulations. Just by varying the length of the cavity in the simulation, results very close to the experiment were obtained. These results have helped in understanding some of the experimental variables. / Neste trabalho é apresentado um estudo baseado em análise numérica de lasers à fibra dopada com Érbio utilizando a técnica de acoplamento passivo de modos para que o mesmo opere em regime pulsado. A equação que descreve a dinâmica de uma cavidade laser é conhecida como Equação de Ginzburg-Landau, que neste trabalho é resolvida numericamente pelo Método Split-Step Fourier. Por este método, foi desenvolvido um algoritmo que foi incorporado ao ambiente MATLAB para serem feitos os cálculos numéricos. O método foi validado comparando os resultados gerados pelo programa (largura temporal do pulso devido ao ganho da cavidade com e sem dispersão e não-linearidade) com os resultados publicados na literatura. Após a validação do método, foram reproduzidos resultados experimentais de um laser a fibra dopada com Érbio usando como absorvedor saturável filmes finos de nanotubos de carbono. O laser gera uma largura de banda de 5,7 nm para uma cavidade de comprimento total de 9 m. Este resultado experimental foi utilizado como parâmetro de calibração inicial nas simulações. Apenas variando o comprimento da cavidade na simulação, foram obtidos resultados bem próximos ao do experimento. Esses resultados ajudaram na compreensão de algumas variáveis do experimento.