Particle dynamics in the vicinity of a ferroelectric phase transition

Abstract

The dynamics of ions in the neighborhood of a ferroelectric phase transition is studied by means of a molecular dynamics simulation in the framework of the non-linear polarizability model. In the high temperature phase, the instantaneous displacement patterns show clusters of particles with coherent polarization. Consenquently, a low frequency peak in the dynamic response appears due to the slow dynamics of these precursor regions. The local particle dynamics is characterized by the coexistence of oscillatory and relaxational motions on different time scales.