For systems with infinite-order phase transitions, in which an order parameter smoothly becomes nonzero, a new observable for finite-size scaling analysis is suggested. By construction this new observable has the favourable property of diverging at the critical point. Focussing on the example of the F-model we compare the analysis of this observable with that of another observable, which is also derived from the order parameter but does not diverge, as well as that of the associated susceptibility. We discuss the difficulties that arise in the finite-size scaling analysis of such systems. In particular we show that one may reach incorrect conclusions from large-system size extrapolations of observables that are not known to diverge at the critical point. Our work suggests that one should base finite-size scaling analyses for infinite-order phase transitions only on observables that are guaranteed to diverge.
Abstract A number of numerical calculations, like Monte Carlo or transfer matrix calculations, are performed with systems in which the size in several or all dimensions is finite. To extrapolate the results to the infinite system, it is thus necessary to understand how the infinite size limit is reached. In particular in a system in which the forces are short range, no phase transition can occur in a finite volume, or in a geometry in which the size is infinite only in one dimension. This indicates that the infinite-size extrapolation is somewhat non-trivial. In this chapter, the problem is analysed in the case of second-order phase transitions, in the framework of the N-vector model. The existence of a finite-size scaling is established, extending renormalization group (RG) arguments to this new situation. Then, finite volume geometry and cylindrical geometry, in which the size is finite in all dimensions except one, are distinguished. It is explained how to adapt the methods used in the case of infinite systems to calculate the new universal quantities appearing in finite-size effects, for example, in d = 4−ϵ or d = 2+ϵ dimensions. Special properties of the commonly used periodic boundary conditions are emphasized.
Finite-size scaling (FSS) for a critical phase transition (
t=0) states that within a window of size
∣t∣∼L−1/ν, the scaling behavior of any observable
Q in a system of linear size
L asymptotically follows a scaling form as
Q(t,L)=LYQQ~(tL1/ν), where
ν is the correlation-length exponent,
YQ is an FSS exponent and
Q~(x) is a function of the scaled distance-to-criticality
x≡tL1/ν. We systematically study the asymptotic scaling behavior of
Q~(∣x∣→∞) for a broad variety of observables by requiring that the FSS and infinite-system critical behaviors match with each other in the crossover critical regime with
t→0 and
∣x∣→∞. This crossover FSS theory predicts that when the criticality is approached at a slower speed as
∣t∣∼L−λ with
λ<1/ν, the FSS becomes
λ-dependent and the exponent can be derived. As applications, explosive percolation and high-dimensional percolation are considered. For the former, it is shown that the widely observed anomalous phenomena at the infinite-system criticality
t=0 can be attributed to the mixing effects of the standard FSS behaviors around the pseudocritical point in an event-based ensemble. For the latter, FSS exponents are found to be different at the infinite-system critical and the pseudocritical point if free boundary conditions are used, and they are related to each other by using the crossover FSS theory. From these observations, the FSS of percolation systems falls into three classifications. Extensive simulations are carried out to affirm these predictions.
First order quantum phase transitions (1QPTs) are signalled, in the thermodynamic limit, by discontinuous changes in the ground state properties. These discontinuities affect expectation values of observables, including spatial correlations. When a 1QPT is crossed in the vicinity of a second order one, due to the correlation length divergence of the latter, the corresponding ground state is modified and it becomes increasingly difficult to determine the order of the transition when the size of the system is finite. Here we show that, in such situations, it is possible to apply finite size scaling (FSS) to entanglement measures, as it has recently been done for the order parameters and the energy gap, in order to recover the correct thermodynamic limit (Campostrini et al 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 113 070402). Such a FSS can unambiguously discriminate between first and second order phase transitions in the vicinity of multicritical points even when the singularities displayed by entanglement measures lead to controversial results.
Abstract This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the anatomy of both thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, together with the relationships between their constituent parts. Based on this analysis, using the renormalization group and finite-size scaling, we give a definition of a large but finite system and argue that phase transitions are represented correctly, as incipient singularities in such systems. We describe the role of the thermodynamic limit. And we explore the implications of this picture of critical phenomena for the questions of reduction and emergence.
In this paper we investigate the universality and scaling properties of the well-known quantities in classical statistical mechanics near the quantum phase transition point. We show that transverse susceptibility and derivatives of correlation functions with respect to the parameter that drives the quantum phase transitions, exhibit logarithmic divergence and finite size scaling the same as entanglement. In other words the non-analytic and finite size scaling behaviors of entanglement is not its intrinsic properties and inherit from the non-analytic and scaling behaviors of correlation functions and surveying at least the nearest neighbor correlation functions could specify the scaling and divergence properties of entanglement. However we show that the correlation functions could capture the quantum critical point without pre-assumed order parameters even for the cases where the two-body entanglement is absent.