Paraelectric and ferroelectric states in a model for relaxor ferroelectrics

We study the free-energy landscape of a minimal model for relaxor ferroelectrics. Using a variational method which includes leading correlations beyond the mean-field approximation as well as disorder averaging at the level of a simple replica theory, we find metastable paraelectric states with a stability region that extends to zero temperature. The free energy of such states exhibits an essential singularity for weak compositional disorder pointing to their necessary occurrence. Ferroelectric states appear as local minima in the free energy at high temperatures and become stable below a coexistence temperature T-c. We calculate the phase diagram in the electric-field-temperature plane and find a coexistence line of the polar and nonpolar phases which ends at a critical point. First-order phase transitions are induced for fields sufficiently large to cross the region of stability of the metastable paraelectric phase. These polar and nonpolar states have distinct structure factors from those of conventional ferroelectrics. We use this theoretical framework to compare and gain physical understanding of various experimental results in typical relaxors.