Research Rotation Project

Nanothermodynamics applied to disordered materials

Ralph Chamberlin
Home Department - Physics
Areas of Study - Experimental Solid State Physics
Office - PSC 153
Phone - 4809653922
E-mail - ralph.chamberlin@asu.edu
Designation - Theoretical

Small-system thermodynamics was originally developed to describe the thermal properties of isolated molecules and individual nanoparticles, but now several experimental techniques have shown that nano-scale heterogeneity plays an important role in the dynamics of disordered materials such as glass-forming liquids and random magnetic systems. Our theoretical approach is to use a generalized ensemble, where each region in a sample is in contact with an ensemble of similar regions, not the usual thermodynamic limit of an infinite heat bath. One part of the project involves applying the laws of nanothermodynamics to a Monte-Carlo simulation of the Creutz model. Another part of the project involves further development of a mean-field cluster model, similar to the Landau-Ginzburg theory of phase transitions. The ultimate goal is to understand the thermal and dynamic properties of various disordered materials as a function of time, average temperature, and location inside the sample.