title: Properties of ferroelectric nanodots embedded in a polarizable medium: atomistic simulations.
abstract: An atomistic approach is used to investigate finite-temperature properties of ferroelectric nanodots that are embedded in a polarizable medium. Different phases are predicted, depending on the ferroelectric strengths of the material constituting the dot and of the system forming the medium. In particular, novel states, exhibiting a coexistence between two kinds of order parameters or possessing a peculiar order between dipole vortices of adjacent dots, are discovered. We also discuss the origins of these phases, e.g., depolarizing fields and medium-driven interactions between dots.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prosandeev
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellaiche