Abstract
Mesoscopic ferroic glasses such as martensitic strain glass Ti50−x Ni50+x, magnetic cluster glass La0.7Ca0.3Mn0.7Cd0.3O3, and superdipolar relaxor PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3 (PMN) undergo glass transitions preceded by mesoscopic precursor patterns – elastic or magnetic tweed or polar nanoregions (PNR), respectively. In PMN the PNR glass transition at Tg ≈ 240 K reveals glassy dynamic criticality and non-ergodicity of the field-induced low-T phase similar to that of a superspin glass of fixed magnetic nanoparticles in a diamagnetic environment. A final ferroelectric domain state is reached at Tp ≈ 213 K via PNR percolation, which is absent in weak relaxors like BaTi0.65 Zr0.35O3 (BTZ35).
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