arXiv subjects

Richard D. James

Publications and source records attributed to Richard D. James.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Theoretical framework of passive ME antenna arrays enabling in-vivo monitoring: A pathway to smart implants

A new brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, deployed through minimally invasive surgery, is changing the way we think about treating severe neurological conditions. The central idea is to place a device called Stentrode in the brain's vasculature, which enables neuromodulation and helps patients regain the ability to communicate. However, in such devices, the battery and electronics are wired and could introduce damage or implant malfunction. In these cases, a Stentrode integrated with magnetoelectric (ME) antennas could be of great interest. ME antennas offer significant advantages over traditional antennas, leveraging acoustic resonance rather than electromagnetic resonance to achieve a size reduction of up to five orders of magnitude. In addition to their compactness and immunity to ground-plane interference, ME antennas could be adopted for use in vascular implants, such as coronary stents, potentially enabling minimally invasive monitoring and communication. Despite these advantages, a single antenna embedded in the implant may be constrained by the limited volume of magnetostrictive material, which could result in low output gain. To address this gain limitation, we propose using antenna arrays designed to produce constructive interference at a designated far-field point, ideally located outside the patient, to enhance signal transmission and receiving capabilities. We develop a mathematical model to represent the antennas and optimize their spatial arrangement and phase synchronization. Simulations based on this model demonstrate promising high-gain performance at the prescribed far-field location through phase manipulation.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2026

Integral representation of time-harmonic solutions to Maxwell's equations with fast numerical convergence

The robustness of XRD methods for the determination of the lattice parameters of crystals is well established. These methods have been extended to helical atomic structures using twisted x-rays \cite{friesecke_twisted_2016}. Building on an integral form used in \cite{friesecke_twisted_2016}, we construct integral representations of a broad class of time-harmonic solutions to Maxwell's equations in a vacuum or, more generally, in a homogeneous medium without source terms. The representation includes assignable generalized functions (distributions) that can be tailored to specific boundary or far-field conditions. When the assignable functions satisfy mild periodicity and smoothness conditions, the solutions can be approximated using multi-dimensional trapezoidal rules with exponentially fast convergence. This approximation can be physically interpreted as utilizing finite sources of plane waves to approximate the broad class of time-harmonic solutions to Maxwell's equations. Using these solutions, we show that radiation from suitably placed and oriented sources can serve as incoming radiation for structures with icosahedral symmetry to achieve constructive interference after interacting with the icosahedral structure. The finite source approximations are sufficiently general to satisfy the general Dirichlet conditions at an arbitrarily large number of assigned locations in a source-free domain. The integral representation also extends to a broad class of physical phenomena governed by Helmholtz-type equations. Examples include the scalar wave equation for acoustic waves and elastic wave propagation in linear isotropic solids, which involve both scalar and vector wave equations.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Composition Design of Shape Memory Ceramics based on Gaussian Processes

We present a Gaussian process machine learning model to predict the transformation temperature and lattice parameters of ZrO$_2$-based ceramics. Our overall goal is to search for a shape memory ceramic with a reversible transformation and low hysteresis. The identification of a new low hysteresis composition is based on design criteria that have been successful in metal alloys: (1) $λ_2 = 1$, where $λ_2$ is the middle eigenvalue of the transformation stretch tensor, (2) minimizing the max$|q(f)|$, which measures the deviation from satisfying the cofactor conditions, (3) high transformation temperature, (4) low transformational volume change, and (5) solid solubility. We generate many synthetic compositions, and identify a promising composition, 31.75Zr-37.75Hf-14.5Y-14.5Ta-1.5Er, which closely satisfies all the design criteria based on predictions from machine learning. However, differential thermal analysis reveals a relatively high thermal hysteresis of 137°C for this composition, indicating that the proposed design criteria are not universally applicable to all ZrO$_2$-based ceramics. We also explore reducing tetragonality of the austenite phase by addition of Er$_2$O$_3$. The idea is to tune the lattice parameters of austenite phase towards a cubic structure will increase the number of martensite variants, thus, allowing more flexibility for them to accommodate high strain during transformation. We find the effect of Er$_2$O$_3$ on tetragonality is weak due to limited solubility. We conclude that a more effective dopant is needed to achieve significant tetragonality reduction. Overall, Gaussian process machine learning models are shown to be highly useful for prediction of compositions and lattice parameters, but the discovery of low hysteresis ceramic materials apparently involves other factors not relevant to phase transformations in metals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Designing dislocation-driven polar vortex networks in twisted perovskites

Twisting two atomic layers produces a geometric moire pattern, but bonding-induced interfacial reconstruction fundamentally transforms this into an ordered dislocation network - a distinction obscured in weakly-bonded van der Waals systems. Although in-plane topological vortex nanostructures arising from twisting-induced lateral strain modulation have been linked to periodic moire patterns in freestanding perovskite layers and 2D bilayers, their coupling to the interfacial dislocation network in twisted layers remains unresolved. Here we demonstrate that twisting freestanding SrTiO3 layers undergo interfacial reconstruction into a network of screw dislocations, accompanied by the emergence of in-plane topological vortices. Unlike in previous reports, these vortices are associated with the periodicity of the dislocation network rather than with geometric moire patterns. Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) reveals long-range ordered vortex-antivortex arrays with nearly continuous polarisation rotation. A machine-learning interatomic potential, trained on first-principles calculations, together with phase-field modelling, confirms that competing strains within the dislocation network stabilize polar vortex-antivortex pairs and drive the emergence of an electronic superlattice with a well-defined periodicity. Our results establish twist-controlled dislocation networks as a new and versatile route to designing local polar and electronic structures in oxide materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Ferroelectric Switching in Hybrid Molecular Beam Epitaxy-Grown BaTiO3 Films

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is a promising synthesis technique for both heterostructure growth and epitaxial integration of ferroelectric BaTiO3. However, a direct measurement of the remnant polarization (P_r) has not been previously reported in MBE-grown BaTiO3 films. We report the in-situ growth of an all-epitaxial SrRuO3/BaTiO3/SrRuO3 heterostructure on Nb-doped SrTiO3 (001) substrates by hybrid MBE using metal-organic precursors. This capacitor structure consisting of 16 nm SrRuO3/40 nm BaTiO3/16 nm SrRuO3 shows hysteretic polarization-electric field (P-E) curves with P_r = 15 μC cm-2 at frequencies ranging from 500 Hz to 20 kHz, after isolating the intrinsic ferroelectric response from non-ferroelectric contributions using the Positive-Up-Negative-Down (PUND) method. We hypothesize that the asymmetry in switching behavior and current leakage has origins in structural defects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Theory of Intermediate Twinning and Spontaneous Polarization in Ferroelectric Potassium Sodium Niobate

Potassium sodium niobate is considered a prominent material system as a substitute for lead-containing ferroelectric materials. It exhibits first-order phase transformations and ferroelectricity with potential applications ranging from energy conversion to innovative cooling technologies, thereby addressing important societal challenges. However, a major obstacle in the application of potassium sodium niobate is its multi-scale heterogeneity and the lack of understanding of its phase transition pathway and microstructure. This can be seen from the findings of Pop-Ghe et al. (Ceram Int 47(14):20579-20585, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.04.067) which also reveal the occurrence of a phenomenon they term intermediate twinning during the phase transition. Here, we show that intermediate twinning is a consequence of energy minimization. We develop a geometrically nonlinear electroelastic energy function for potassium sodium niobate, including the cubic-tetragonal-orthorhombic transformations and ferroelectricity. The construction of the minimizers is based on compatibility conditions which ensure continuous deformations and pole-free interfaces. These minimizers agree with the experimental observations, including laminates between tetragonal variants under the cubic to tetragonal transformation, crossing twins under the tetragonal to orthorhombic transformation, intermediate twinning and spontaneous polarization. This shows how the full nonlinear electroelastic model provides a powerful tool in understanding, exploring, and tailoring the electromechanical properties of complex ferroelectric ceramics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Comprehensive scaling laws across animals, microorganisms and plants

Scaling laws illuminate Nature's fundamental biological principles and guide bioinspired materials and structural designs. In simple cases they are based on the fundamental principle that all laws of nature remain unchanged (i.e., invariant) under a change of units. A more general framework is a change of variables for the governing laws that takes all equations, boundary, and interaction conditions into themselves. We consider an accepted macroscale system of partial differential equations including coupled fluid dynamics, nonlinear elasticity, and rigid body mechanics for a complex organism. We show that there is a set of scaling laws where length, time, density, elastic modulus, viscosity, and gravitational constant undergo nontrivial scaling (Table 1). We compare these results to extensive data sets mined from the literature on beating frequency of flying, swimming, and running animals, speed of bacteria, insects, fish, mammals and reptiles, leg stiffness of mammals, and modulus of elasticity of plants. The uniform agreement of the scaling laws with the dynamics of fauna, flora, and microorganisms supports the dominating role of coupled nonlinear elasticity and fluid dynamics in evolutionary development. We conclude with predictions for some prehistoric cases for which observations are unavailable.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2025

A machine-learning optimized vertical-axis wind turbine

Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have garnered increasing attention in the field of renewable energy due to their unique advantages over traditional horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs). However, traditional VAWTs including Darrieus and Savonius types suffer from significant drawbacks -- negative torque regions exist during rotation. In this work, we propose a new design of VAWT, which combines design principles from both Darrieus and Savonius but addresses their inherent defects. The performance of the proposed VAWT is evaluated through numerical simulations and validated by experimental testing. The results demonstrate that its power output is approximately three times greater than that of traditional Savonius VAWTs of comparable size. The performance of the proposed VAWT is further optimized using machine learning techniques, including Gaussian process regression and neural networks, based on extensive supercomputer simulations. This optimization leads to a 30% increase in power output.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2024

On the kinetic description of the objective molecular dynamics

In this paper, we develop a multiscale hierarchy framework for objective molecular dynamics (OMD), a reduced order molecular dynamics with a certain symmetry, that connects it to the statistical kinetic equation, and the macroscopic hydrodynamic model. In the mesoscopic regime, we exploit two interaction scalings that lead, respectively, to either a mean-field type or to a Boltzmann type equation. It turns out that, under the special symmetry of OMD, the mean-field scaling results in vastly simplified dynamics that extinguishes the underlying molecular interaction rule, whereas the Boltzmann scaling yields a meaningful reduced model called the homo-energetic Boltzmann equation. At the macroscopic level, we derive the corresponding Euler and Navier-Stokes systems by conducting a detailed asymptotic analysis. The symmetry again significantly reduces the complexity of the resulting hydrodynamic systems.

math.AP↗

arXiv2023

Design of origami structures with curved tiles between the creases

An efficient way to introduce elastic energy that can bias an origami structure toward desired shapes is to allow curved tiles between the creases. The bending of the tiles supplies the energy and the tiles themselves may have additional functionality. In this paper, we present the theorem and systematic design methods for quite general curved origami structures that can be folded from a flat sheet, and we present methods to accurately find the stored elastic energy. Here the tiles are allowed to undergo curved isometric mappings, and the associated creases necessarily undergo isometric mappings as curves. These assumptions are consistent with a variety of practical methods for crease design. The h^3 scaling of the energy of thin sheets (h = thickness) spans a broad energy range. Different tiles in an origami design can have different values of h, and individual tiles can also have varying h. Following developments for piecewise rigid origami, we develop further the Lagrangian approach and the group orbit procedure in this context. We notice that some of the simplest designs that arise from the group orbit procedure for certain helical and conformal groups provide better matches to the buckling patterns observed in compressed cylinders and cones than known patterns.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Design of soft magnetic materials

We present a strategy for the design of ferromagnetic materials with exceptionally low magnetic hysteresis, quantified by coercivity. In this strategy, we use a micromagnetic algorithm that we have developed in previous research and which has been validated by its success in solving the "Permalloy Problem" -- the well-known difficulty of predicting the composition 78.5% Ni of lowest coercivity in the Fe-Ni system -- and by the insight, it provides into the "Coercivity Paradox" of W. F. Brown. Unexpectedly, the design strategy predicts that cubic materials with large saturation magnetization $m_s$ and large magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant $κ_1$ will have low coercivity on the order of that of Permalloy, as long as the magnetostriction constants $λ_{100}, λ_{111}$ are tuned to special values. The explicit prediction for a cubic material with low coercivity is the dimensionless number $(c_{11}-c_{12}) λ_{100}^2/κ_1 = 81$ for $\langle 100 \rangle$ easy axes. The results would seem to have a broad potential application, especially to magnetic materials of interest in energy research.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Inverse design of deployable origami structures that approximate a general surface

Shape-morphing finds widespread utility, from the deployment of small stents and large solar sails to actuation and propulsion in soft robotics. Origami structures provide a template for shape-morphing, but rules for designing and folding the structures are challenging to integrate into broad and versatile design tools. Here, we develop a sequential two-stage optimization framework to approximate a general surface by a deployable origami structure. The optimization is performed over the space of all possible rigidly and flat-foldable quadrilateral mesh origami. So, the origami structures produced by our framework come with desirable engineering properties: they can be easily manufactured on a flat reference sheet, deployed to their target state by a controlled folding motion, then to a compact folded state in applications involving storage and portability. The attainable surfaces demonstrated include those with modest but diverse curvatures and unprecedented ones with sharp ridges. The framework provides not only a tool to design various deployable and retractable surfaces in engineering and architecture, but also a route to optimizing other properties and functionality.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

A solution to the permalloy problem

We propose a solution to the longstanding permalloy problem$-$why the particular composition of permalloy, Fe$_{21.5}$Ni$_{78.5}$, achieves a dramatic drop in hysteresis, while its material constants show no obvious signal of this behavior. We use our recently developed coercivity tool to show that a delicate balance between local instabilities and magnetic material constants are necessary to explain the dramatic drop of hysteresis at 78.5% Ni. Our findings are in agreement with the permalloy experiments and, more broadly, provide theoretical guidance for the discovery of novel low hysteresis magnetic alloys.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

A tool to predict coercivity in magnetic materials

Magnetic coercivity is often viewed to be lower in alloys with negligible (or zero) values of the anisotropy constant. However, this explains little about the dramatic drop in coercivity in FeNi alloys at a non-zero anisotropy value. Here, we develop a theoretical and computational tool to investigate the fundamental interplay between material constants that govern coercivity in bulk magnetic alloys. The two distinguishing features of our coercivity tool are that: (a) we introduce a large localized disturbance, such as a spike-like magnetic domain, that provides a nucleation barrier for magnetization reversal; and (b) we account for magneto-elastic energy -- however small -- in addition to the anisotropy and magnetostatic energy terms. We apply this coercivity tool to show that the interactions between local instabilities and material constants, such as anisotropy and magnetostriction constants, are key factors that govern magnetic coercivity in bulk alloys. Using our model, we show that coercivity is minimum at the permalloy composition (Fe-21.5Ni-78.5) at which the alloy's anisotropy constant is not zero. We systematically vary the values of the anisotropy and magnetostriction constants, around the permalloy composition, and identify new combinations of material constants at which coercivity is small. More broadly, our coercivity tool provides a theoretical framework to potentially discover novel magnetic materials with low coercivity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Strain Relaxation via Phase Transformation in SrSnO3

SrSnO3 (SSO) is an emerging ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor with potential for highpower applications. In-plane compressive strain was recently shown to stabilize the high temperature tetragonal phase of SSO at room temperature (RT) which exists at T > 1062 K in bulk. Here, we report on the study of strain relaxation in epitaxial, tetragonal phase of Nd-doped SSO films grown on GdScO3 (110) (GSO) substrates using radical-based hybrid molecular beam epitaxy. The thinnest SSO film (thickness, t = 12 nm) yielded a fully coherent tetragonal phase at RT. At 12 nm < t < 110 nm, the tetragonal phase first transformed into orthorhombic phase and then at t > 110 nm, the orthorhombic phase began to relax by forming misfit dislocations. Remarkably, the tetragonal phase remained fully coherent until it completely transformed into the orthorhombic phase. Using thickness- and temperature-dependent electronic transport measurements, we discuss the important roles of the surface, phase coexistence, and misfit dislocations on carrier density and mobility in Nd-doped SSO. This study provides unprecedented insights into the strain relaxation behavior and its consequences for electronic transport in doped SSO with implications in the development of high-power electronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Origins of the transformability of Nickel-Titanium shape memory alloys

The near equiatomic NiTi alloy is the most successful shape memory alloy by a large margin. It is widely and increasingly used in biomedical devices. Yet, despite having a repeatable superelastic effect and excellent shape-memory, NiTi is very far from satisfying the conditions that characterize the most reversible phase transforming materials. Thus, the scientific reasons underlying its vast success present an enigma. In this work, we perform rigorous mathematical derivation and accurate DFT calculation of transformation mechanisms to seek previously unrecognized twin-like defects that we term involution domains, and we observe them in real space in NiTi by the aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. Involution domains lead to an additional 216 compatible interfaces between phases in NiTi, and we theorize that this feature contributes importantly to its reliability. They are expected to arise in other transformations and to alter the conventional interpretation of the mechanism of the martensitic transformation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Self-Assembled Periodic Nanostructures Using Martensitic Phase Transformations

We describe a novel approach for the rational design and synthesis of self-assembled periodic nanostructures using martensitic phase transformations. We demonstrate this approach in a thin film of perovskite SrSnO3 with reconfigurable periodic nanostructures consisting of regularly spaced regions of sharply contrasted dielectric properties. The films can be designed to have different periodicities and relative phase fractions via chemical doping or strain engineering. The dielectric contrast within a single film can be tuned using temperature and laser wavelength, effectively creating a variable photonic crystal. Our results show the realistic possibility of designing large-area self-assembled periodic structures using martensitic phase transformations with the potential of implementing "built-to-order" nanostructures for tailored optoelectronic functionalities.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Bounds on the energy of a soft cubic ferromagnet with large magnetostriction

We complete the analysis initiated in [5] on the micromagnetics of cubic ferromagnets in which the role of magnetostriction is significant. We prove ansatz-free lower bounds for the scaling of the total micromagnetic energy including magnetostriction contribution, for a two-dimensional sample. This corresponds to the micromagnetic energy-per-unit-length of an infinitely thick sample. A consequence of our analysis is an explanation of the multi-scale zig-zag Landau state patterns recently reported in single crystal Galfenol disks from an energetic viewpoint. Our proofs combines a number of well-developed techniques in energy-driven pattern formation with a recent regularity result for the kinetic formulation of the Eikonal equation of Ghiraldin and Lamy.

math.AP↗