This thesis presents results of novel methodologies applied to oriented systems. Both pure liquid crystalline materials as well as molecules oriented in liquid crystalline matrices have been studied. In particular this thesis presents investigations related to various aspects of NMR in liquid crystalline media, such as, assignment of resonances and the study of director dynamics of spinning liquid crystals in different phases and with different symmetry. Simplified methods for structure determination of solutes dissolved in liquid crystal solvents have been proposed. Diffusion ordered spectroscopy has been used to study a mixture of liquid crystals of opposite diamagnetic susceptibility at its coexistent phase. The methods presented represent novel techniques to characterize the liquid crystalline phase. NMR spectroscopy which has become a method of choice for understanding ordering mechanisms of mesogens requires a robust method for obtaining assignments of the NMR spectra of various nuclei that are found in the mesogens [1, 2]. It turns out that the spectra in the isotropic phase and in the nematic phase of a liquid crystal molecule are very different due to the presence of chemical shift anisotropy in the mesophase spectrum. There are a host of methodologies available for assigning spectra in the isotropic phase [3]. These methods however fail, when applied to the spectrum of the molecules in the mesophase due to the dominating role of strong anisotropic interactions, such as homonuclear couplings among protons. Problems arising while assigning spectral lines of liquid crystals in their nematic phase have been dealt with in chapter 2. To circumvent these problems, a property of the liquid crystal molecules under off-magic angle sample spinning can be utilized. It has been shown by Courtieu et al. [4] that the director/symmetry axis of a Δχ + ve liquid crystal aligns along the spinning axis for θ between 0 ° and θm, where θ is the angle between the spinning axis and the magnetic field and θm = 54.7° is the magic angle. It may be noted that the spectrum of θ = 0° spinning angle corresponds to the normal static spectrum, while the spectrum of θ = θm corresponds to the isotropic spectrum. In an earlier study, Teearr et al. [5] had recorded the 13C liquid crystal spectra as a function of very closely spaced θ values from 90° all the way up to 0°. From these plots of chemical shift versus the angle of spinning, it is possible to follow the trajectory of each 13C line from its position from θ = θm to θ = 0° and then match the spectrum in the isotropic phase (equivalently the magic angle sample spinning spectrum of the nematic phase) to the spectrum of the static sample in the nematic phase. However this method requires recording spectra at closely spaced angle intervals, so that one can unambiguously follow the trajectory of each of the lines without missing out any crossover of trajectories. However, this operation is time consuming. In this thesis we propose an alternate method, where we utilize the fact that the above trajectory has a very distinct relationship to the isotropic and anisotropic chemical shift and the problem of assignment does not require a continuous variation of angles, but just a few selected experiments should enable the assignment of the spectrum in the anisotropic phase. Thus the method of assignment has been made simpler and faster. It is shown that in addition to the assigned isotropic spectrum, only one other Off-magic angle spinning spectrum whose spinning angle θ is accurately known is necessary to obtain the complete assignment of the static spectrum. This procedure is non-trivial due to possibilities of errors in assignments arising out of inaccuracies in the knowledge of chemical shifts and the spinning angle. A computational procedure is proposed to take into account deviations arising out of non-ideal experimental conditions. A discussion regarding the details of the procedure and also situations where there can be ambiguities and how they can be resolved has been elaborated. The developed method has been demonstrated on a well known thermotropic liquid crystalline system, N-(4-ethoxybenzylidene)-4-n-butlyaniline [EBBA]. Since assignment of resonances in the nematic phase is a primary requirement for any further analysis regarding the ordering and deeper understanding of the role of various substituents in the mesogens we believe our novel prescription will be of immense use and utility. The third chapter presents the study of director dynamics in a lyotropic liquid crystal composed of Potassium laurate, 1-Decanol and D2O [6] under variable angle sample spinning using 2H NMR spectrum of D2O. A very interesting interplay of the magnetic orienting torque due to interaction of the liquid crystal director with the magnetic field and viscous torque arising from the viscosity of the sample on the director comes to fore. The relative magnitude of these torques has a direct bearing on the spectral pattern and line shapes observed, providing valuable insights into magnetohydrodynamics of the spinning liquid crystals. This study leads to even more interesting behavior for liquid crystals which deviate from uniaxial symmetry. This competition between magnetic and viscous torques has been quantitatively visualized by simulation of the 2H spectrum. It has been possible to visualize the observed spread in the director distribution arising out of viscous torque in terms of the energetics of the system under fast spinning. If the magnetic torque dominates over the viscous torque, then the equilibrium corresponds to the director orientation of δ = 0° where the energy is at its minimum. However the viscous and magnetic torques can become comparable as it may happen if the spinning angle is close to the magic angle or when the Δχ of the system is small. In those circumstances additional energy from the viscous torque causes the distribution of the director orientation to spread further away from δ = 0° for a positive Δχ liquid crystal. The trigonometric factor [P2(cosθ)∗P2(cosδ)] being proportional to the total energy of the system has been plotted against the spinning angle. The spectrum of the biaxial phase [7] as a function of the spinning angle shows more interesting director distribution. Here the patterns of the director distribution are observed on either side of the magic angle due to the presence of more than one director. The patterns observed also have information about the symmetry of the phase. This work provides insights into magnetohydrodynamics of spinning liquid crystals and can also be of relevance to samples of biological interest such as bicelles with protein oriented in them [8]. The fourth chapter deals with a novel characterization method relevant for the biaxial phase [9]. As an off shoot of the previous chapter, it effectively overcomes the disadvantages of the previous experimental methods which require simulation and line shape fitting to extract useful parameters. The chapter also presents the measurement of geometrical parameters of oriented solutes in phases exhibiting biaxial symmetry. The measured parameters show the effect of the onset of biaxiality as significant deviation in the value of the measured parameter. The utility of liquid crystalline media as solvents in high resolution NMR spectroscopy has been very rewarding since the pioneering work of Saupe and Englert [6]. The intramolecular interactions within solutes are only partially averaged. As a result one obtains a liquid like spectrum while at the same time very useful anisotropic interactions such as dipolar couplings, chemical shift anisotropies, quadrupolar couplings and anisotropic part spin-spin J couplings are extracted [10]. NMR spectra of molecules dissolved in thermotropic liquid crystals have long been used to obtain structural and orientational information. As the same time the complexity of the spectrum increases with the increase in the number of spins and the reduction in symmetry of the molecule, which can make the spectral analysis forbidding. Generally proton spectra have been used to obtain the geometry of the proton skeleton of the molecule and the information that includes dilute X nuclei such as 13C and 15N are available only from satellites which are buried in the intense proton spectrum. Different inequivalent dilute spins coupled to protons form different coupled spin systems in their natural abundance and appear as satellites in the proton spectra. Identification of transitions belonging to each of the spin system is essential to determine heteronuclear dipolar couplings, which is a formidable task. The fifth chapter deals with development of the techniques to obtain the complete structure of the dissolved molecules including nuclei other than protons in their natural abundance. The use of inverse experiments has been elaborated to overcome the problems of sensitivity and complexity for solute molecules having larger number of spins. In the present study using HSQC and HMQC experiments, we have selectively detected spectra of each inequivalent rare spin coupled to protons in pyrazine, pyrimidine and pyridazine dissolved in thermotropic Phase 4 and Phase 5 liquid crystal solvents. This way we could obtain enhancement in the intensity of satellites signals without the interference from the signals connected to the major isotopomers. Besides, we could resolve a complex spectrum into its sub-spectra corresponding to individual 13C and 15N isotopomers. This separation of the spectra corresponding to individual sub-spin systems makes analysis easy and helps analyze larger systems with higher number of spins and lower symmetry. Besides 1H-1H dipolar couplings, 13C-1H and 15N-1H dipolar couplings have been determined in natural abundance, thereby giving the complete dipolar coupling network between all the spins in the molecule. In this treatment pyrazine, pyrimidine and pyridazine have been used as examples of methodology developed. It is expected that the method will be of wider use for several other similar systems. Chapter six describes the diffusion ordered spectroscopic investigation [11] of a phase arising out of mixing together two liquid crystals having opposite signs of diamagnetic susceptibility anisotropy [12]. Towards this end we have used CH3CN as a probe molecule. The spectrum of CH3CN has with it the information about the parallel or perpendicular orientation of the phase. Such a mixture of liquid crystals have shown interesting behavior at the critical temperature where the two phases seem to coexist. It has been an interesting question to understand what exactly happens for the molecular orientation when the macroscopic anisotropy Δχ vanishes. Earlier Jokisaari et al. [13] have varied the temperature very finely taking due precautions to maintain homogeneity and stability of temperature to the tune of ±0.05K across the sample volume. Their observation of a powder pattern exactly in the critical temperature was interpreted as arising out of a distribution of directors equally oriented in all directions. In our experiments we have measured the diffusion coefficient of the probe molecule i.e. acetonitrile as we change the temperature of the system through the critical temperature. At the critical temperature we have a situation of being able to measure the parallel and perpendicular orientational diffusion coefficients simultaneously. The measurements show that the parallel component of the diffusion coefficient has reduced and the perpendicular component has increased in comparison to the trend in the immediate neighboring temperatures, thereby indicating that at the exact critical condition the liquid crystal mixture consists of an isotropic distribution of molecules. As a check to rule out any exchange of molecules in different domains of parallel and perpendicular orientations an EXSY experiment was conducted with a mixing time which was same as that of the diffusion delay in the DOSY experiment. The EXSY spectrum showed no exchange cross peaks between the two orientations, this confirms that the anisotropy of the diffusion vanishes at the critical temperature. Nematic liquid crystals exhibit a rich variety of phases and properties. NMR is a very powerful tool to study the various phases at the microscopic and molecular level. It has also turned out that some of these properties can be usefully utilized for investigation of both small and large molecules by NMR. Thus this thesis has attempted to expand several of the techniques already available for various applications and extend the utility of NMR for the study of partially ordered systems.

The present thesis reports computer simulation studies of several phase transition related phenomena in a range of soft-condensed matter systems. A coherent unifying theme of the thesis is the understanding of dynamics of phase transitions through free energy calculations using recently developed efficient non-Boltzmann sampling methods. Based on the system/phenomena of interest, the thesis has been classified into four major parts: I. Isotropic-nematic (IN) phase transition in liquid crystals. II. Nucleation phenomena in gas-liquid transition with particular emphasis on the systems close to the spinodal curve. III. Collapse transition in linear hydrocarbon (n-alkane) chains for a varying range of length, solvent and temperature. IV. Crystallization of unbranched polymer chains in dilute solution, with particular emphasis on the temperature dependent crossover between the rod-like crystalline state and spherical molten globule state. The thesis has been further divided into ten chapters running through the four parts mentioned before. In the following we provide a brief chapter-wise outline of the thesis. Part I deals with the power law relaxation and glassy dynamics in thermotropic liquid crystals close to the IN transition and consists of two chapters. To start with, Chapter I.1 provides an introduction to thermotropic liquid crystals. Here we briefly introduce various liquid crystalline phases, the order parameter used to characterize the IN transition, a few well established theoretical models, and we conclude with describing the recent experimental and computer simulation studies that have motivated the work described in the next chapter. In Chapter I.2, we present our molecular dynamics simulation studies on single particle and collective orientational dynamics across the IN transition for Lebwohl Lasher model, which is a well-known lattice model for thermotropic liquid crystals. Even this simplified model without any translational degrees of freedom successfully captures the short-tointermediate time power law decay recently observed in optical heterodyne detected optical Kerr effect (OHDOKE) measurements near the IN transition. The angular velocity time correlation function also exhibits a rather pronounced power law decay near the IN boundary. In the mean squared angular displacement at comparable time scales, we observe the emergence of a sub-diffusive regime which is followed by a super-diffusive regime before the onset of the longtime diffusive behavior. We observe signature of dynamical heterogeneity through pronounced non-Gaussian behavior in the orientational motion particularly at lower temperatures. Interestingly, this behavior closely resembles what is usually observed in supercooled liquids. We obtain the free energy as a function of orientational order parameter by the use of recently developed transition matrix Monte Carlo (TMMC) method. The free energy surface is flat for the system considered here and the barrier between isotropic and nematic phases is vanishingly small for this weakly first-order transition, hence allowing for large scale, collective, and correlated orientational density fluctuations. We attribute this large scale fluctuations as the reason for the observed power law decay of the orientational time correlation functions. Part II consists of three chapters, where we focus on the age old problem of nucleation and growth, both from the perspective of thermodynamics and kinetics. We account for the rich history of the problem in the introductory Chapter II.1. In this chapter we describe various types and examples of the nucleation phenomena, and a brief account of the major theoretical approaches used so far. We begin with the most successful Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT), and then move on to more recent applications of Density Functional Theory (DFT) and other mean-field types of models. We conclude with a comparison between the experiments, theories and computational studies. In the next chapter (Chapter II.2) we attempt to elucidate the mechanism of nucleation near the gas-liquid spinodal from a microscopic point of view. Here we construct a multidimensional free energy surface of nucleation of the liquid phase from the parent supercooled and supersaturated vapor phase near the gas-liquid spinodal. In particular, we remove the Becker-Doring constraint of having only one growing cluster in the system. The free energy, as a function of the size of the largest cluster, develops a pronounced minimum at a subcritical cluster size close to the spinodal. This signifies a two step nature of the process of nucleation, where the rapid formation of subcritical nuclei is followed by further growth by slower density fluctuations on an uphill free energy surface. An alternative free energy pathway involving the participation of many subcritical clusters is envisaged near the spinodal where the growth of the nucleus is found to be promoted by a coalescence mechanism in contrast to the single particle addition assumption within CNT. The growth of the stable phase becomes progressively collective and spatially diffuse, and the significance of a “critical nucleus” is lost for deeper quenches. In this chapter we present our studies both in 3dimensional Lennard-Jones (LJ) system and Ising model (both 2and 3dimensions). Our general findings seem to be independent of the model chosen. While the previous chapter focuses on relatively well-studied 3-dimensional (3D) LJ system, in Chapter II.3 we present our studies on the characteristics of the nucleation phenomena in 2dimensional (2D) Lennard-Jones fluid. To the best of our knowledge this is the first extensive computer simulation study to check the accuracy of CNT in 2D. Using various Monte Carlo methods, we calculate the free energy barrier for nucleation, line tension, and bulk densities of equilibrium liquid and vapor phases, and also investigate the size and shape of the critical nucleus. The study is carried out at an intermediate level of supersaturation (away from the spinoidal limit). In 2D, a surprisingly large cutoff (rc ≥ 7.0σ where σ is the diameter of LJ particles) in the truncation of the LJ potential is required to obtain converged results. A lower cutoff leads to a substantial error in the values of the line tension, nucleation barrier, and characteristics of the critical cluster. Note that typically 2.5σ is sufficient for 3D LJ fluids. We observe that in 2D system CNT fails to provide a reliable estimate of the free energy barrier. While it is known to slightly overestimate the nucleation barrier in 3D, it underestimates the barrier by as much as 50% at the saturation ratio S = 1.1(defined as S = P/Pc, where Pc is the coexistence pressure) and at the reduced temperature T* = 0.427(defined as T* = KBT/ ε, where ε is the depth of the potential well). The reason for the marked inadequacy of the CNT in 2D can be attributed to the non-circular nature of the critical clusters. Although the shape becomes increasingly circular and the clusters become more compact with increase in cutoff radius, an appreciable non-circular nature remains even without any cutoff to make the simple CNT inaccurate. Part III again consists of three chapters and focuses on the conformational equilibria. Collapse transition and self-organized structures of n-alkanes in solution. In Chapter III.1 we carry out a brief survey of the existing theories of polymer in solution, with particular emphasis on the collapse process in poor solvents. We also introduce the concept of “hydrophobicity” and “hydrophobic collapse”, which is now a subject enormous interest, partly because it my help in understanding the initial processes involved in protein folding. We briefly discuss the subject of formation of beautiful self-organized structures by block copolymers, and also simple homopolymers which is essentially the focus of the work embodied in the next two chapters. In Chapter III.2 we demonstrated a chain length dependent crossover in the structural properties of linear hydrocarbon (n-alkane) chains using detailed atomistic simulations in explicit water. We identify a number of exotic structures o the polymer chain through energy minimization of representative snapshots collected from molecular dynamics trajectory. While the collapsed state is ring-like(circular) for small chains(CnH2n+2; n ≤ 20) and spherical for very long ones( n = 100), we find the emergence of ordered helical structures at intermediate lengths (n ~ 40). We find different types of disordered helices and toroid-like structures at n = 60. We also report a sharp transition in the stability of the collapsed state as a function of the chain length through relevant free energy calculations. While the collapsed state is only marginally metastable for C20H42, a clear bistable free energy surface emerges only when the chain is about 30 monomers long. For n = 30, the polymer exhibits an intermittent oscillation(characterized by well-developed 1/f noise, where f is the frequency ) between the collapsed and the coil structures, characteristic of two stable states separated by a small barrier. This appears to support a weakly first order phase transition between the extended and the collapsed states. Chapter III.3 extends the study of previous chapter to much longer chains (n ≥ 100), which irreversibly collapse in water into globular forms. Even though the collapsed form has a nearly spherical shape, close inspection shows a propensity towards local ordering in the alignment of the polymer segments. This tendency to maintain alignment in order to maximize the number of contacts leads to a core-shell like structure, where the shell is often characterized by a bent rod-like shape consisting of two adjacent segments running in parallel. A key event associated with the initial stage of collapse seems to be the formation of a skewed ring (or loop) that serves as a “nucleation center” for rest of the chain to collapse into. Time evolution of the radial distribution function of water surrounding the polymer, shows that the density of neighboring water decreases by only about 15-20% from that of bulk water. Even though interior of the ting-like structures is fully devoid of water, solvent accessible surface representation shows that these regions are geometrically/spatially inaccessible to water molecules. We suggest that the role of water is to stabilize such ring-like structures once formed by natural conformational fluctuations of the polymer chain. This view is confirmed by observation of spontaneous formation and melting away of such ring-like entities in a polar aprotic solvent(DMSO). We also comment on the role of the flexibility of polymer chains in determining the collapse kinetics. The last part(Part IV) of the thesis consists of two chapters that deal with the crystallization of linear polymer chains from dilute solution. The way long chain polymers crystallize is drastically different from their small molecule counterparts due to their topological connectivity. Linear polymers often crystallize from dilute solution in the form of thin lamellae with well-defined crystallographic features. In Chapter IV.1 we briefly survey the current theoretical understanding and confusions associated with the highly debated field of polymer crystallization. While the last few decades have seen the development of many successful phenomenological theories, the molecular mechanism of formation of such self-organized lamellae is extremely complex and very poorly understood. There are clearly two distinct steps in polymer crystallization. Firstly, the individual linear polymers must self-organize into bundles of somewhat regular structures. These structures then further aggregate to lamellar form and crystallize into a lattice. In this respect , it has marked similarity to the problem of protein crystallization. In chapter IV.2 we present Brownian dynamics simulation studies of a single polythelene chain of length 500. Such systems can reasonably mimic the process of crystallization from dilute solutions. Our simulations could successfully reproduce some of the interesting phenomena observed in experiments and very recent computer simulation studies, including multi-center nucleation of rod-like structures within a single polymer chain, an inverse relation between lamellar thickness and temperature etc. But our primary focus has been to understand the nature of the phase transition as one traverses along the melting temperature and the underlying free energy surface. Near the melting temperature we observe a very intriguing fluctuation between the disordered molten globule state and the ordered rod-like crystalline, where these two forms have highly different shape and structure. These fluctuations have strong signature of 1/f noise or intermittency. This clearly indicates the existence of a weakly first order transition, where two widely different states with large difference in values of order parameter are separated by a rather small free energy barrier. This can be related to the experimentally observed density fluctuations that resemble spinodal decomposition. It is important to note that very similar fluctuations have been observed in our previous studies on liquid crystals (Chapter 1.2) and intermediate sized alkalines in water(Chapter III.2) that signifies a universal underlying energy landscape for these systems. We have discussed the scope of future work at the end of each chapter whenever appropriate.

Condensed matter physics provides us with an opportunity to explore a large variety of systems with diverse properties. Central to the understanding of these systems is a characterization of the nature of their ground states and low energy excitation. Often, such systems show various forms of emergent properties that are absent in the microscopic level. Identification of such emergent phases of condensed matter form an important avenue of research in the field. In this thesis example of such phases and their associated phase transitions have been studied. The work presented here may be broadly divided into two themes: construction of the theoretical framework for understanding materials already studied experimentally, and, trying to provide new theoretical avenues which may be relevant for understanding future experiments. In these studies we shall explore some unconventional phases and phase transitions that may occur in condensed matter systems. A comprehensive understanding of the properties of such unconventional phases and phase transitions is important in the context of the large array of experimentally studied materials that regularly defy conventional wisdom in more than one way. The thesis consists of two distinct parts. In the first part we study three problems in frustrated magnets. The second part consists of studies of the tunnelling spectroscopy of metal-insulator-superconductor junctions in graphene. Studies in frustrated magnets have opened up the possibility of existence of a whole range of phases beyond the already known magnetically ordered ones. Some of these new phases, like the spin nematic or the valence bond solid, display some other conventional order themselves. Others, like the much sort after spin liquid phases displays a whole new kind of order that cannot be captured through the celebrated Landau’s classification of phases on the basis of symmetry breaking and associated order parameters. The phase transitions in these systems are also equally interesting and lead to intriguing possibilities that demand new modes of analysis. In this part of the thesis we shall study the different properties of three magnets with spin-1/2, 1 and 3/2 respectively. We start by providing an introduction to frustrated spin systems in Chapter [1]. The origin of antiferromagnetic interactions in Mott insulators is discussed and the concept of frustration of magnetic interaction is explained. We also point out the causes that may destroy magnetic order in spin systems, particularly the role of quantum fluctuations in presence or absence of magnetic frustration. This is followed with a brief outline of various magnetically ordered and disordered ground states with particular emphasis on the description of the later. We also give a brief outline of various properties of such phases and associated quantum phase transitions particularly noting the influences of quantum interferences encoded in the Berry phase terms. A brief description of the finite temperature properties is also provided. We end an outline of various experimentally relevant compounds that requires comprehensive understanding, some of which have been addressed in this thesis. In Chapter [2] we study the properties of a spin-nematic state in context of the recently discovered spin-1 Mott insulator Nickel Gallium Sulphide (NiGa2S4). This isotropic triangular lattice compound shows no spin ordering till low temperatures. We propose that it may have a particular type of spin-nematic ground state and explain the experimentally observed properties of the compound on the basis of our proposal. Starting from a two band Hubbard model description, relevant for the compound, we derive the Bilinear Biquadratic spin Hamiltonian. We then show, within mean field theory, that this Hamiltonian describes a transition from the spiral state to a ferro-nematic state as a function of the ratio of bilinear and biquadratic couplings. We also study the possible effects of small pinning disorder andmagnetic field and suggest experiments that can possibly distinguish the proposed nematic state from others. In Chapter [3] we explore the effects of the magneto-elastic coupling in the spin-3/2 B-site chromite spinel Cadmium Chromite (CdCr2O4). In this compound the spins form a pyrochlore lattice. Nearest neighbour spins interact antiferromagnetically. Due to frustration the system does not order at low temperatures and instead goes into a classical spin liquid state. Such a cooperative paramagnet is very susceptible to external perturbations which may relieve their frustration. In CdCr2O4, at lower temperatures the magnetic frustration is relieved by distorting the lattice through a first order magnetoelastic transition. Thus the compound presents a case where the relevant perturbation to the frustrated spin interactions is provided by spin-phonon coupling. An effect of such perturbations on a cooperative paramagnet is of general interest and all aspects of this are not understood presently. We take the initial step of characterizing the spin-phonon interaction in detail. Based on recent sound velocity experiments, we construct a microscopic theory for the sound velocity renormalization due to the spin-phonon coupling and explain the recent experimental data obtained by S. Zherlitsyn et al. using our theory we can explain the dependence of the sound velocity on temperature as well as magnetic field. We also construct a Landau theory to explain (qualitatively) the behaviour of sound velocity across the magneto-structural transition. Further, we discuss the effects due to the small Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction that may be present in these compounds. In Chapter [4] we study the possibility of a direct second order quantum phase transition from spiral to dimer phase in two dimensional antiferromagnets. Such transitions between phases with incompatible symmetries are forbidden within conventional Landau Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm of critical phenomena. Early works showed that when the spiral is destroyed by long wavelength fluctuations a fractionalized Z2 spin liquid is obtained. In this work we show an alternative way–the quantum destruction of the spiral magnet. We argue that, when the defects of the spiral phase proliferate and condense, their associated Berry phase automatically leads to dimerization. We apply our theory to study concrete lattice models where such transitions may be observed. This transition is an example of a Landau forbidden deconfined quantum phase transition. The proposed critical theory is naturally written in terms of fractional degrees of freedom which emerge right at the critical point. These fractional particles interact with each other through emergent gauge fields and are deconfined right at the critical point (but are confined in either of the two adjoining phases). We argue, based on existing results, that the monopoles of the gauge field are dangerously irrelevant right at the critical point rendering the later noncompact. The critical point is characterized by an emergent global U (1) conservation law that is absent in the microscopic model, a typical feature of a deconfined quantum critical point. The resultant field theory belongs to the class of anisotropic NCCP3 class which may be studied numerically in future to understand its critical properties. In modern condensed matter physics the emergence of new and novel phases of matter have often been associated with the presence of strong correlations. Indeed, strongly correlated systems seem to harbour in them the potential to realize some of the most unconventional and exotic emergent phases of matter. However in graphene, which is a single layer of graphite, the emergence of novel properties, as present experiments suggest, is due to its unique band structure and not a fallout of intricate correlation effects. Band structure studies of graphene suggest that the material is a zero gap semiconductor with the low energy excitations resembling massless Dirac quasi-particles. The consequence of this is immediate and interesting. It has lead to the possibility of exploring the physics of relativistic fermions in two spatial dimensions and much of this has been studied with great vigour in the last five years. In our studies, presented in Chapter [5], we explore one of the many consequence of this emergent Dirac structure of the low energy quasi-particles, namely the properties of metal-insulator-superconductor junctions of graphene. The twin effect of Klein tunneling of Dirac fermions (and associated transmission resonances) and Andreev reflection (both specular and retro) sets them aside from their conventional counterparts. The graphene normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) junctions show strikingly different properties like oscillations in the sub-gap tunneling conductance as a function of both barrier strength and width. We make a detailed study of this for arbitrary barrier strengths and widths with and without Fermi-surface mismatch between the normal and the superconducting sides. The amplitude of these oscillations are maximum for aligned Fermi surface and vanishes for large Fermi surface mismatch. We provide an understanding for this unconventional behaviour of graphene NIS junctions. We also suggest experimental tests for our theory. Such experimental verification will reveal one more remarkable emergent property in a condensed matter system.

In dieser Arbeit werden Messungen der elektrischen und thermischen Transportkoeffizienten an einem antiferromagnetisch ordnenden Iridat und FeAs-basierten Hochtemperatursupraleitern vorgestellt und analysiert. Iridate sind Materialien mit starker Spin-Bahn-Kopplung. In dem zweidimensionalen Vertreter Sr_2IrO_4 führt diese Kopplung zu isolierendem Mott-Verhalten mit gleichzeitiger antiferromagnetischer Ordnung der gekoppelten Spin-Bahn-Momente. Somit stellt Sr2IrO4 ein Modellsystem für die Untersuchung magnetischer Anregungen dieser Momente in Iridaten dar. Die Analyse der Wärmeleitfähigkeit von Sr_2IrO_4 liefert erstmals klare Hinweise auf magnetische Wärmeleitung in den Iridaten. Die extrahierte magnetische freie Weglänge gibt Aufschluss über die Streuprozesse der zum Wärmetransport beitragenden Magnonen und lässt Schlüsse über die Anregungen des gekoppelten Spin-Bahnsystems zu. Die FeAs-Hochtemperatursupraleiter haben aufgrund ihrer geschichteten Kristallstruktur einen hauptsächlich zweidimensionalen Ladungstransport. Die Phasendiagramme dieser Materialien setzen sich aus Ordnungsphänomenen zusammen, die Magnetismus, Supraleitung und eine Strukturverzerrung umfassen. Das Hauptaugenmerk richtet sich auf die Reaktion der Transportkoeffizienten mit den sich ausbildenden Phasen in Vertretern der 111- und 122-Familien unter chemischer Dotierung innerhalb und außerhalb der Schichtstruktur. Mithilfe von Widerstand und magnetischer Suszeptibilität lassen sich Phasendiagramme der verschiedenen Supraleiterfamilien konstruieren. In ausgewählten Fällen werden der Hall-Koeffizient und elektrothermische Transporteffekte genutzt, um das Phasendiagramm näher zu erforschen. Der Großteil der Untersuchungen zeigt omnipräsente elektrische Ordnungsphänomene, die als nematische Phase bezeichnet werden. Die Messdaten zeigen, dass die Wärmeleitfähigkeit und der Nernst-Koeffizient dominant von Fluktuationen, die der nematischen Phase vorausgehen, beeinflusst werden. Aus den Ergebnissen der Nernst-Daten an dotiertem BaFe_2As_2 werden Schlüsse über die der nematischen Phase zugrunde liegenden Mechanismen des korrelierten Elektronensystems gezogen.

Nesta tese estudamos um modelo de spins do tipo Ising, modelo J1 J2, com interações competitivas J1 ferromagnéticas entre primeiros vizinhos na rede quadrada e J2 antiferromagnética entre segundos vizinhos. O diagrama de fases do modelo e as correlações de pares foram analisadas com o Método do Aglomerado Variacional nos casos sem e com um campo magnético externo. A campo nulo, construímos o diagrama de fases no plano T=J1 onde = jJ2j=J1. A transição ferromagnética-paramagnética é de segunda ordem quando < 1=2 e a transição stripes-paramagnética de primeira ordem para 1=2 < < 1 e de segunda ordem para valores de 1. Nossos resultados concordam com prévios estudos. Ao aplicarmos um campo magnético externo ao sistema, em regiões onde a campo nulo se observa a fase de stripes ( = 0:6 e = 1), as filas (ou colunas) de spins paralelos ao campo externo ganham estabilidade dando lugar a uma fase de stripes mista com magnetizações nas filas e colunas com magnitudes diferentes. A campos maiores, o sistema se encontra numa fase homogênea com uma magnetização remanente, a fase paramagnética saturada. Na interfase entre a fase de stripes e a paramagnética saturada, encontramos uma fase intermediária nemática do tipo Ising. Esta fase possui uma magnetização homogênea e correlações de pares anisotrópicas nas direções x e y quantificadas por um parâmetro de ordem orientacional. A fase nemática tem sido observada principalmente em sistemas com interações competitivas de longo alcance. O uso do Método do Aglomerado Variacional na aproximação de quatro pontos permitiu detectá-la no modelo J1 J2 clássico. A presença da fase nemática intermediária foi confirmada em simulações de Monte Carlo. As transições stripes-paramagnética saturada e stripes-nemática são de primeira ordem e a transição nemática-paramagnética saturada é uma transição de segunda ordem de acordo com a análise da energia livre. Na segunda parte do nosso estudo, calculamos o fator de estrutura na aproximação de quatro pontos do Método do Aglomerado Variacional válido tanto nas fases desordenada como ordenadas no modelo sem e com campo magnético. A partir desta análise, determinamos as linhas de estabilidade para a fase paramagnética no modelo sem campo e também mostramos a existência destas linhas na solução de stripes. No modelo com campo, estudamos o fator de estrutura e a susceptibilidade reduzida para = 0:6 e diferentes temperaturas. A susceptibilidade é descontínua nas transições stripes-paramagnética saturada e stripes-nemática compatível com uma transição de primeira ordem. Por sua vez, na transição nemática-paramagnética saturada de segunda ordem se observa um máximo em uma das componentes da susceptibilidade no espaço recíproco e um câmbio da simetria Z2 para a Z4 no fator de estrutura. / In this thesis, we studied a Ising model, the J1 J2 model, with nearest neighbors ferromagnetic interactions J1 and next-nearest antiferromagnetic neighbors interactions J2. The phase diagram and the pair correlations were analyzed with the Cluster Variation Method, with and without an external magnetic field. At zero field, we build the phase diagram in the plane T=J1 where = jJ2j=J1. The ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition is a second order one at < 1=2. The stripes-paramagnetic is a first order transition when 1=2 < < 1 and second order for values bigger than one. Our results are in agreement with previous works. Applying an external magnetic field to the system, in regions where the ground state is stripes ( = 0:6 e = 1), the columns (or rows) of parallel spins to the field gain stability given place to a mixed phase with columns (or rows) magnetization with different magnitudes. At higher fields, the systems enters in a homogeneous phase with a remanent magnetization, the saturated paramagnetic phase. In the interface between the stripes and saturated paramagnetic phase we found a intermediate phase, the Ising-nematic. This phase has a homogeneous magnetization and anisotropic nearest-neighbor correlations in the directions x and y quantified by a orientacional order parameter. The nematic phase has been observed in systems with long range interactions. The Cluster Variation Method (CVM) in the four site approximation detected the nematic phase in the classical J1 J2 model. These results were confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations. The stripes-saturated paramagnetic and stripes-nematic transitions are found to be first order transitions. The nematic-saturated paramagnetic is of second order according to free energy analysis. In the second part, we computed the structure factor in the four-site approximation of the CVM. This expression is valid for order and disorder phases, with or without a magnetic field. Through this analysis we found the paramagnetic stability lines in the model at zero magnetic field, we also showed the existence of spinodal temperature for stripes solutions. In the model with a magnetic field, we studied the structure factor and susceptibility for = 0:6 and different temperatures. A discontinuity in susceptibility was observed in the stripes-saturated paramagnetic and stripes-nematic transitions compatible with a first order transition. In the nematic-saturated paramagnetic second order transition we found a maximum in one of the susceptibility components and a change of the Z2 symmetry to the Z4 in the structure factor.

Les nanocristaux de cellulose (NCC), obtenus par hydrolyse acide des microfibrilles de cellulose native sous forme de suspensions colloïdales aqueuses, sont des nanoparticules biosourcées ayant des propriétés mécaniques et optiques particulièrement séduisantes pour la conception de nanomatériaux à haute performance. Pour éliminer certaines de leurs limitations comme la sensibilité au sel et l'absence de contrôle de leurs interactions, nous nous sommes attachés au cours de ce travail à modifier chimiquement ces NCC par greffage de chaînes de polymère thermosensible de la famille de polyétheramines Jeffamine® sur leur surface. La première méthode de greffage utilisée faisait appel à une oxydation TEMPO suivie d'un couplage peptidique. Après l'optimisation de la réaction de greffage, les nouveaux systèmes (NCC-g-Jeffamine) ont été caractérisés et de nouvelles propriétés ont été identifiées notamment leur insensibilité au sel, leur capacité de redispersion dans des solvants organiques, leur caractère tensioactif, leur stabilité thermique améliorée ainsi que leur thermoagrégation réversible. L'étude structurale par diffusion des neutrons aux petits angles a permis d'avoir des informations sur les épaisseurs des couches de polymère greffé ainsi que sur la conformation des chaînes. De nouvelles caractéristiques de l'auto-organisation en phase chirale-nématique de ces nouveaux systèmes ont été notées concernant leur diagramme de phase et leur pas cholestériques. La deuxième méthode de greffage explorée consistait en une oxydation aux ions métapériodate suivie d'une amination réductrice. Les résultats ont montré un détachement partiel des chaînes de cellulose suite à l'oxydation puis leur détachement complet après le greffage du polymère pour obtenir des copolymères cellulose-Jeffamine ayant éventuellement des propriétés intéressantes à étudier. / Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), obtained by acid hydrolysis of native cellulose microfibrils as colloidal aquous suspensions, are bioresourced nanoparticles that have great mechanical and optical properties well adapted for the conception of new nanomaterials with high performance. In order to eliminate some of their limitations like sensitivity to salt and absence of interactions control, we studied in this work the chemical modification of these CNC by grafting thermoresponsive polymer chains (polyetheramines Jeffamine®) on the their surface. A first grafting strategy used was a TEMPO oxidation followed by peptidic coupling. After the optimization of the grafting reaction, the new systems (CNC-g-Jeffamine) were characterized and new properties were identified particularly their insensitivity to salts, their ability to be redispersed in organic solvents, their surfactant character, their enhanced thermal stability and their reversible thermoagregation. The structural study using small angles neutrons scattering gave us information about thicknesses of the polymer corona and the chains conformation. New characteristics of their self-assembly into chiral-nematic phases were noticed more particularly concerning phase diagrams and cholesteric pitches. The second grafting strategy consisted in an oxidation using periodate ion followed by reductive amination. Results showed a partial detachment of cellulose chains after oxidation. A complete detachment was observed after grafting the polymer chains to finally obtain cellulose-Jeffamine copolymers which could have interesting properties to study.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:14:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 parte1.pdf: 6372308 bytes, checksum: db3e915edd1663a97d16d8935fc5becf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-02 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this work we study numerically the generation and dynamics of topological defects in nematic liquid crystals. Our study is based on a Ginzburg-Landau model describing the evolution of the orientational order of a liquid crystal in terms of a symmetric, traceless, second-rank tensor. This phenomenological model allows studies of nematic phases at scales ranging from few nanometers to few micrometers (mesoscopic scale). Within this framework we developed a software named LICRA (Liquid CRystal Algorithm) that combines standard finite difference algorithm for the spatial derivatives with a Runge-Kutta temporal integration to solve the relaxational equations of nematodynamics without thermal fluctuations and hydrodynamic flow. Using this software we investigate the coarsening dynamics of defects of two- and three-dimensional uniaxial nematic liquid crystals. The time dependences of the structure factor and characteristic length scale were computed. The characteristic length scale is expected to grow as a power law in time, L ∝ tα. From dimensional analysis α = 1/2 and we found α = 0, 45±0, 01 in two-dimensions and α = 0, 350±0, 003 in three-dimensions. Furthermore, in all cases Porod s law is satisfied for large values of wave number k. We also investigate, using LICRA, the coarsening dynamics of liquid crystal textures in a two-dimensional nematic under applied electric fields. We consider both positive and negative dielectric anisotropies and two different possibilities for the orientation of the electric field parallel and perpendicular to the two-dimensional lattice. We determine the effect of an applied electric field pulse on the evolution of the characteristic length scale and other properties of the liquid crystal texture network. In particular, we show that different types of defects are produced after the electric field is switched on, depending on the orientation of the electric field and the sign of the dielectric anisotropy. Finally, we present the effect of the rotation of an external electric field on the dynamics of half-integer disclination networks in two and three dimensional nematic liquid crystals with a negative dielectric anisotropy. We show that a rotation of π of the electric field around an axis of the liquid crystal plane continuously transforms all half-integer disclinations of the network into disclinations of opposite sign via twist disclinations. We also determine the evolution of the characteristic length scale, thus quantifying the impact of the external electric field on the coarsening of the defect network. / Neste trabalho estudamos numericamente a formação e dinâmica de defeitos topológicos em cristais líquidos nemáticos. Nosso estudo é baseado no modelo de Ginzburg- Landau, o qual descreve a evolução da ordem orientacional de um cristal líquido em termos de um tensor de segunda ordem simétrico e com traço nulo. Este modelo fenomenológico permite estudar a fase nemática em escalas que vão de poucos nanômetros até poucos micrômetros (escala mesoscópica). Para tal estudo numérico, desenvolvemos um programa de computador que denominamos de LICRA (Liquid CRystal Algotithm). Este programa combina o algoritmo de diferença finita para calcular derivadas espaciais com a integração temporal de Runge-Kutta para resolver a equação de relaxação da nematodinâmica, sem a presença de flutuações térmicas e fluxos hidrodinâmicos. Usando este programa de computador investigamos a dinâmica de coalescência em duas e três dimensões em um cristal líquido nemático uniaxial. Tanto o fator de estrutura quando a escala de comprimento característico foram calculadas no tempo. Espera-se que esta escala cresça como uma lei de potências do tempo, L ∝ tα, onde, a partir de uma análise dimensional, α = 1/2. Encontramos os valores de α = 0, 45 ± 0, 01 em duas dimensões e α = 0, 350 ± 0, 003 em três dimensões. Além disso, em todos os casos verificamos que a lei de Porod é satisfeita para número de ondas k de grandes valores. Utilizando LICRA, investigamos também a dinâmica de coalescência de cristais líquidos nemáticos em duas dimensões submetidos a um campo elétrico externo. Consideramos a anisotropia dielétrica positiva e negativa e duas diferentes possibilidades de orientação do campo elétrico: paralelo e perpendicular ao plano da rede bidimensional. Determinamos os efeitos de um pulso de campo elétrico na evolução da escala do comprimento característico e as alterações nas texturas dos cristais líquidos. Em particular, mostramos que os diferentes tipos de defeitos que são produzidos após o campo elétrico ser aplicado dependem da orientação do campo elétrico e do sinal da anisotropia dielétrica. Finalmente, apresentamos os efeitos da rotação de um campo elétrico externo na dinâmica de uma rede de defeitos semi-inteiros em cristais líquidos nemáticos em duas e três dimensões com anisotropia dielétrica negativa. Mostramos que, girando o campo elétrico por um ângulo π ao redor de um eixo pertencente a plano da rede, ocorre uma transformação contínua de todas as desclinações semi-inteiras da rede em desclinações com sinal oposto. Esta transformação é intermediada por desclinações do tipo torção. Além disso, determinamos a evolução da escala de comprimento característico quantificando o impacto do campo elétrico externo na dinâmica de coalescimento da rede.

Nesta tese estudamos um modelo de spins do tipo Ising, modelo J1 J2, com interações competitivas J1 ferromagnéticas entre primeiros vizinhos na rede quadrada e J2 antiferromagnética entre segundos vizinhos. O diagrama de fases do modelo e as correlações de pares foram analisadas com o Método do Aglomerado Variacional nos casos sem e com um campo magnético externo. A campo nulo, construímos o diagrama de fases no plano T=J1 onde = jJ2j=J1. A transição ferromagnética-paramagnética é de segunda ordem quando < 1=2 e a transição stripes-paramagnética de primeira ordem para 1=2 < < 1 e de segunda ordem para valores de 1. Nossos resultados concordam com prévios estudos. Ao aplicarmos um campo magnético externo ao sistema, em regiões onde a campo nulo se observa a fase de stripes ( = 0:6 e = 1), as filas (ou colunas) de spins paralelos ao campo externo ganham estabilidade dando lugar a uma fase de stripes mista com magnetizações nas filas e colunas com magnitudes diferentes. A campos maiores, o sistema se encontra numa fase homogênea com uma magnetização remanente, a fase paramagnética saturada. Na interfase entre a fase de stripes e a paramagnética saturada, encontramos uma fase intermediária nemática do tipo Ising. Esta fase possui uma magnetização homogênea e correlações de pares anisotrópicas nas direções x e y quantificadas por um parâmetro de ordem orientacional. A fase nemática tem sido observada principalmente em sistemas com interações competitivas de longo alcance. O uso do Método do Aglomerado Variacional na aproximação de quatro pontos permitiu detectá-la no modelo J1 J2 clássico. A presença da fase nemática intermediária foi confirmada em simulações de Monte Carlo. As transições stripes-paramagnética saturada e stripes-nemática são de primeira ordem e a transição nemática-paramagnética saturada é uma transição de segunda ordem de acordo com a análise da energia livre. Na segunda parte do nosso estudo, calculamos o fator de estrutura na aproximação de quatro pontos do Método do Aglomerado Variacional válido tanto nas fases desordenada como ordenadas no modelo sem e com campo magnético. A partir desta análise, determinamos as linhas de estabilidade para a fase paramagnética no modelo sem campo e também mostramos a existência destas linhas na solução de stripes. No modelo com campo, estudamos o fator de estrutura e a susceptibilidade reduzida para = 0:6 e diferentes temperaturas. A susceptibilidade é descontínua nas transições stripes-paramagnética saturada e stripes-nemática compatível com uma transição de primeira ordem. Por sua vez, na transição nemática-paramagnética saturada de segunda ordem se observa um máximo em uma das componentes da susceptibilidade no espaço recíproco e um câmbio da simetria Z2 para a Z4 no fator de estrutura. / In this thesis, we studied a Ising model, the J1 J2 model, with nearest neighbors ferromagnetic interactions J1 and next-nearest antiferromagnetic neighbors interactions J2. The phase diagram and the pair correlations were analyzed with the Cluster Variation Method, with and without an external magnetic field. At zero field, we build the phase diagram in the plane T=J1 where = jJ2j=J1. The ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition is a second order one at < 1=2. The stripes-paramagnetic is a first order transition when 1=2 < < 1 and second order for values bigger than one. Our results are in agreement with previous works. Applying an external magnetic field to the system, in regions where the ground state is stripes ( = 0:6 e = 1), the columns (or rows) of parallel spins to the field gain stability given place to a mixed phase with columns (or rows) magnetization with different magnitudes. At higher fields, the systems enters in a homogeneous phase with a remanent magnetization, the saturated paramagnetic phase. In the interface between the stripes and saturated paramagnetic phase we found a intermediate phase, the Ising-nematic. This phase has a homogeneous magnetization and anisotropic nearest-neighbor correlations in the directions x and y quantified by a orientacional order parameter. The nematic phase has been observed in systems with long range interactions. The Cluster Variation Method (CVM) in the four site approximation detected the nematic phase in the classical J1 J2 model. These results were confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations. The stripes-saturated paramagnetic and stripes-nematic transitions are found to be first order transitions. The nematic-saturated paramagnetic is of second order according to free energy analysis. In the second part, we computed the structure factor in the four-site approximation of the CVM. This expression is valid for order and disorder phases, with or without a magnetic field. Through this analysis we found the paramagnetic stability lines in the model at zero magnetic field, we also showed the existence of spinodal temperature for stripes solutions. In the model with a magnetic field, we studied the structure factor and susceptibility for = 0:6 and different temperatures. A discontinuity in susceptibility was observed in the stripes-saturated paramagnetic and stripes-nematic transitions compatible with a first order transition. In the nematic-saturated paramagnetic second order transition we found a maximum in one of the susceptibility components and a change of the Z2 symmetry to the Z4 in the structure factor.

Neste trabalho estudamos, no contexto de campo médio, modelos microscópicos que possam descrever o comportamento termodinâmico das fases nemáticas em sistemas líquido-cristalinos. Considerando apenas interações atrativas, investigamos modelos de interações quadrupolares para objetos intrinsecamente biaxiais. Esses modelos apresentam mesofases nemáticas uniaxiais e biaxiais, pontos triplos e multicríticos (tricríticos, pontos de Landau, etc.). Ainda no contexto de forças atrativas, introduzimos um modelo de mistura binária de objetos intrinsecamente uniaxiais e objetos intrinsecamente biaxiais, numa formulação annealed. Essa mistura apresenta diagramas de fases bastante ricos, com topologias diversas, onde identificamos estruturas uniaxiais e biaxiais, fases reentrantes e uma grande variedade de pontos multicríticos (tricríticos, pontos críticos terminais, etc.). No caso de interações estéricas, estudamos uma teoria do funcional densidade para sistemas anisotrópicos densos, construída a partir de uma aproximação de van der Waals. Para esferoides prolatos, o modelo prevê um espaço de orientações com regiões não-acessíveis para as partículas. Além disso, o sistema apresenta uma região de coexistência entre as fases nemática e isotrópica. / We study, in a mean-field approximation, microscopic models which can lead to nematic liquid-crystalline phases. Considering attractive forces, we investigate models with quadrupolar interactions for intrinsically biaxial objects. These models present uniaxial and biaxial nematic mesophases, triple and multicritical points (tricritical point, Landau point, etc.). We also introduce a model for a binary mixture of intrinsically uniaxiail and biaxial objects, in an annealed treatment. The mixture exhibits phase diagrams with very rich topologies, where we find uniaxial and biaxial structures, reentrant phases and many different multicritical behaviors (tricritical point, critical endpoint, etc.). Moreover, assuming steric interactions, we investigate a density functional theory for hard anisotropic bodies at high densities, based on a van der Waals approximation. For hard spheroids, the model leads to an orientation space with forbidden regions for the particles. Also, the system phase separates in a nematic and an isotropic phases.

Nesta tese estudamos um modelo de spins do tipo Ising, modelo J1 J2, com interações competitivas J1 ferromagnéticas entre primeiros vizinhos na rede quadrada e J2 antiferromagnética entre segundos vizinhos. O diagrama de fases do modelo e as correlações de pares foram analisadas com o Método do Aglomerado Variacional nos casos sem e com um campo magnético externo. A campo nulo, construímos o diagrama de fases no plano T=J1 onde = jJ2j=J1. A transição ferromagnética-paramagnética é de segunda ordem quando < 1=2 e a transição stripes-paramagnética de primeira ordem para 1=2 < < 1 e de segunda ordem para valores de 1. Nossos resultados concordam com prévios estudos. Ao aplicarmos um campo magnético externo ao sistema, em regiões onde a campo nulo se observa a fase de stripes ( = 0:6 e = 1), as filas (ou colunas) de spins paralelos ao campo externo ganham estabilidade dando lugar a uma fase de stripes mista com magnetizações nas filas e colunas com magnitudes diferentes. A campos maiores, o sistema se encontra numa fase homogênea com uma magnetização remanente, a fase paramagnética saturada. Na interfase entre a fase de stripes e a paramagnética saturada, encontramos uma fase intermediária nemática do tipo Ising. Esta fase possui uma magnetização homogênea e correlações de pares anisotrópicas nas direções x e y quantificadas por um parâmetro de ordem orientacional. A fase nemática tem sido observada principalmente em sistemas com interações competitivas de longo alcance. O uso do Método do Aglomerado Variacional na aproximação de quatro pontos permitiu detectá-la no modelo J1 J2 clássico. A presença da fase nemática intermediária foi confirmada em simulações de Monte Carlo. As transições stripes-paramagnética saturada e stripes-nemática são de primeira ordem e a transição nemática-paramagnética saturada é uma transição de segunda ordem de acordo com a análise da energia livre. Na segunda parte do nosso estudo, calculamos o fator de estrutura na aproximação de quatro pontos do Método do Aglomerado Variacional válido tanto nas fases desordenada como ordenadas no modelo sem e com campo magnético. A partir desta análise, determinamos as linhas de estabilidade para a fase paramagnética no modelo sem campo e também mostramos a existência destas linhas na solução de stripes. No modelo com campo, estudamos o fator de estrutura e a susceptibilidade reduzida para = 0:6 e diferentes temperaturas. A susceptibilidade é descontínua nas transições stripes-paramagnética saturada e stripes-nemática compatível com uma transição de primeira ordem. Por sua vez, na transição nemática-paramagnética saturada de segunda ordem se observa um máximo em uma das componentes da susceptibilidade no espaço recíproco e um câmbio da simetria Z2 para a Z4 no fator de estrutura. / In this thesis, we studied a Ising model, the J1 J2 model, with nearest neighbors ferromagnetic interactions J1 and next-nearest antiferromagnetic neighbors interactions J2. The phase diagram and the pair correlations were analyzed with the Cluster Variation Method, with and without an external magnetic field. At zero field, we build the phase diagram in the plane T=J1 where = jJ2j=J1. The ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition is a second order one at < 1=2. The stripes-paramagnetic is a first order transition when 1=2 < < 1 and second order for values bigger than one. Our results are in agreement with previous works. Applying an external magnetic field to the system, in regions where the ground state is stripes ( = 0:6 e = 1), the columns (or rows) of parallel spins to the field gain stability given place to a mixed phase with columns (or rows) magnetization with different magnitudes. At higher fields, the systems enters in a homogeneous phase with a remanent magnetization, the saturated paramagnetic phase. In the interface between the stripes and saturated paramagnetic phase we found a intermediate phase, the Ising-nematic. This phase has a homogeneous magnetization and anisotropic nearest-neighbor correlations in the directions x and y quantified by a orientacional order parameter. The nematic phase has been observed in systems with long range interactions. The Cluster Variation Method (CVM) in the four site approximation detected the nematic phase in the classical J1 J2 model. These results were confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations. The stripes-saturated paramagnetic and stripes-nematic transitions are found to be first order transitions. The nematic-saturated paramagnetic is of second order according to free energy analysis. In the second part, we computed the structure factor in the four-site approximation of the CVM. This expression is valid for order and disorder phases, with or without a magnetic field. Through this analysis we found the paramagnetic stability lines in the model at zero magnetic field, we also showed the existence of spinodal temperature for stripes solutions. In the model with a magnetic field, we studied the structure factor and susceptibility for = 0:6 and different temperatures. A discontinuity in susceptibility was observed in the stripes-saturated paramagnetic and stripes-nematic transitions compatible with a first order transition. In the nematic-saturated paramagnetic second order transition we found a maximum in one of the susceptibility components and a change of the Z2 symmetry to the Z4 in the structure factor.