Polarity formation in molecular crystals as a symmetry breaking effect (Q2412325)

Summary: The transition of molecular crystals into a polar state is modeled by a one-dimensional Ising Hamiltonian in multipole expansion and a suitable order parameter. Two symmetry breakings are necessary for the transition: the translational and the spin flip invariance -- the former being broken by geometric constraints, the latter by the interaction of the first non-zero multipole with the next order multipole. Two different behaviors of the thermal average of the order parameter as a function of position are found. The free energy per lattice site converges to a finite value in the thermodynamic limit showing the consistency of the model in a macroscopic representation.