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arXiv:1304.4146 · Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Critical scaling in random-field systems: 2 or 3 independent exponents?

Gilles Tarjus, Ivan Balog, Matthieu Tissier

Published Sep 1, 2013• 22 citations
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Abstract

We show that the critical scaling behavior of random-field systems with short-range interactions and disorder correlations cannot be described in general by only two independent exponents, contrary to previous claims. This conclusion is based on a theoretical description of the whole (d,N) domain of the d-dimensional random-field O(N) model and points to the role of rare events that are overlooked by the proposed derivations of two-exponent scaling. Quite strikingly, however, the numerical estimates of the critical exponents of the random field Ising model are extremely close to the predictions of the two-exponent scaling, so that the issue cannot be decided on the basis of numerical simulations.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/103/61001

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We show that the critical scaling behavior of random-field systems with short-range interactions and disorder correlations cannot be described in general by only two independent exponents, contrary to previous claims. This conclusion is based on a theoretical description of the whole (d,N) domain of the d-dimensional random-field O(N) model and points to the role of rare events that are overlooked by the proposed derivations of two-exponent scaling. Quite strikingly, however, the numerical estimates of the critical exponents of the random field Ising model are extremely close to the predictions of the two-exponent scaling, so that the issue cannot be decided on the basis of numerical simulations.
We solve a long-standing puzzle in statistical mechanics of disordered systems. By performing a high-statistics simulation of the D=3 random-field Ising model at zero temperature for different shapes of the random-field distribution, we show that the model is ruled by a single universality class. We compute the complete set of critical exponents for this class, including the correction-to-scaling exponent, and we show, to high numerical accuracy, that scaling is described by two independent exponents. Discrepancies with previous works are explained in terms of strong scaling corrections.
We solve a long-standing puzzle in statistical mechanics of disordered systems. By performing a high-statistics simulation of the D = 3 random-field Ising model at zero temperature for different shapes of the random-field distribution, we show that the model is ruled by a single universality class. We compute the complete set of critical exponents for this class, including the correction-to-scaling exponent, and we show, to high numerical accuracy, that scaling is described by two independent exponents. Discrepancies with previous works are explained in terms of strong scaling corrections.
We investigate the critical properties of the d=3d=3d=3 random-field Ising model with a Gaussian field distribution at zero temperature. By implementing suitable graph-theoretical algorithms, we perform a large-scale numerical simulation of the model for a vast range of values of the disorder strength hhh and system sizes $\mathcal{V}=L\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}L\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}L$, with $L\ensuremath{\le}156$. Using the sample-to-sample fluctuations of various quantities and proper finite-size scaling techniques we estimate with high accuracy the critical disorder strength hc{h}_{\mathrm{c}}hc​ and the correlation length exponent $\ensuremath{\nu}$. Additional simulations in the area of the estimated critical-field strength and relevant scaling analysis of the bond energy suggest bounds for the specific heat critical exponent $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and the violation of the hyperscaling exponent $\ensuremath{\theta}$. Finally, a data collapse analysis of the order parameter and disconnected susceptibility provides accurate estimates for the critical exponent ratios $\ensuremath{\beta}/\ensuremath{\nu}$ and $\overline{\ensuremath{\gamma}}/\ensuremath{\nu}$, respectively.
The critical behavior of the random-field Ising model has long been a puzzle. Different methods predict that its critical exponents in D dimensions are the same as in the pure (D-2)-dimensional ferromagnet with the same number of the magnetization components contrary to the experiments and simulations. We calculate the exponents of the random-field O(N) model with the (4+epsilon)-expansion and obtain values different from the exponents of the pure ferromagnet in 2+epsilon dimensions. An infinite set of relevant operators missed in previous studies leads to a breakdown of the (6-epsilon)-expansion.
In systems belonging to the universality class of the random field Ising model, the standard hyperscaling relation between critical exponents does not hold, but is replaced with a modified hyperscaling relation. As a result, standard formulations of finite-size scaling near critical points break down. In this work, the consequences of modified hyperscaling are analyzed in detail. The most striking outcome is that the free-energy cost ΔF of interface formation at the critical point is no longer a universal constant, but instead increases as a power law with system size, ΔF∝L(θ), with θ as the violation of hyperscaling critical exponent and L as the linear extension of the system. This modified behavior facilitates a number of numerical approaches that can be used to locate critical points in random field systems from finite-size simulation data. We test and confirm the approaches on two random field systems in three dimensions, namely, the random field Ising model and the demixing transition in the Widom-Rowlinson fluid with quenched obstacles.
We investigate dimensional reduction, the property that the critical behavior of a system in the presence of quenched disorder in dimension ddd is the same as that of its pure counterpart in $d\ensuremath{-}2$, and its breakdown in the case of the random-field Ising model in which both the interactions and the correlations of the disorder are long ranged, i.e., power-law decaying. To some extent the power-law exponents play the role of spatial dimension in a short-range model, which allows us to probe the theoretically predicted existence of a nontrivial critical value separating a region where dimensional reduction holds from one where it is broken, while still considering the physical dimension d=3d=3d=3. By extending our recently developed approach based on a nonperturbative functional renormalization group combined with a supersymmetric formalism, we find that such a critical value indeed exists, provided one chooses a specific relation between the decay exponents of the interactions and of the disorder correlations. This transition from dimensional reduction to its breakdown should therefore be observable in simulations and numerical analyses, if not experimentally.