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arXiv:1805.12556

Renormalization of Sparse Disorder in the Ising Model

Yaneer Bar‐Yam, Subodh P. Patil

Published May 31, 2018• 0 citations
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Abstract

We consider the renormalization of quenched bond disorder in the Ising model in the limit that it is sparse -- highly localized and vanishing in the thermodynamic limit. We begin in 1D with arbitrary disorder assigned to a finite number of bonds and study how the system renormalizes, finding non-trivial fixed point structure for any given bond with a separatrix at zero bond strength, equivalent to inserting a break in the chain. Either side of this critical line, renormalization group (RG) trajectories flow towards one of two attractors on which the disordered bonds settle onto ferromagnetic or anti-ferromagnetic (AF) couplings of equal and opposite magnitude. Bonds that settle on an AF attractor are equivalent to inserting a twist in the chain at the location of the bond, implying a multi-kink ground state solution. Qualitatively different behavior emerges at the RG step when bonds start to coalesce, with the chain `untwisting' whenever two AF bonds coalesce. Our findings generalize to higher dimensions for codimension one defects that are sparse from the perspective of the orthogonal complement lattice. In 2D, the $\mathbb Z_2$ symmetry of the model has an IR manifestation where one can construct field strengths and Wilson loops (which characterize frustration) from fundamental plaquette variables. In the non-sparse limit where the disorder parameter is drawn from an arbitrary but homogeneously assigned probability distribution function, we recover previously found fixed distributions as special cases, but find only the trivial paramagnetic distribution to be an attractor. For non-homogeneously assigned disorder that is sufficiently dilute however, we find the Edwards-Anderson model with equal probability $\pm J$ bonds to also be an IR attractor.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1805.12556

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We consider the renormalization of quenched bond disorder in the Ising model in the limit that it is sparse -- highly localized and vanishing in the thermodynamic limit. We begin in 1D with arbitrary disorder assigned to a finite number of bonds and study how the system renormalizes, finding non-trivial fixed point structure for any given bond with a separatrix at zero bond strength, equivalent to inserting a break in the chain. Either side of this critical line, renormalization group (RG) trajectories flow towards one of two attractors on which the disordered bonds settle onto ferromagnetic or anti-ferromagnetic (AF) couplings of equal and opposite magnitude. Bonds that settle on an AF attractor are equivalent to inserting a twist in the chain at the location of the bond, implying a multi-kink ground state solution. Qualitatively different behavior emerges at the RG step when bonds start to coalesce, with the chain `untwisting' whenever two AF bonds coalesce. Our findings generalize to higher dimensions for codimension one defects that are sparse from the perspective of the orthogonal complement lattice. In 2D, the Z2\mathbb Z_2Z2​ symmetry of the model has an IR manifestation where one can construct field strengths and Wilson loops (which characterize frustration) from fundamental plaquette variables. In the non-sparse limit where the disorder parameter is drawn from an arbitrary but homogeneously assigned probability distribution function, we recover previously found fixed distributions as special cases, but find only the trivial paramagnetic distribution to be an attractor. For non-homogeneously assigned disorder that is sufficiently dilute however, we find the Edwards-Anderson model with equal probability ±J\pm J±J bonds to also be an IR attractor.
At low temperatures, the classical two-dimensional random bond Ising model undergoes a frustration-driven ferromagnet-to-paramagnet transition controlled by a zero-temperature fixed point separating ferromagnet and spin glass phases. We show that this critical point can be understood through a renormalization group transformation that constructs the ground state of the Ising model through a sequence of Hamiltonians that, starting with an unfrustrated model, iteratively adds in frustration until the target Hamiltonian is reached. Via a mapping of the thermodynamics of the 2d Ising model to the spectral properties of a related Hermitian matrix -- the Hamiltonian of a noninteracting quantum problem -- this RG procedure corresponds to an iterative diagonalization of the quantum Hamiltonian. The flow toward zero temperature in the Ising picture manifests as a flow toward infinite randomness in the spectrum of the quantum Hamiltonian, with the log gap of the Hamiltonian scaling as a power of the system size: log⁡εmin−1∼Lψ\log \varepsilon_{\it min}^{-1} \sim L^ψlogεmin−1​∼Lψ. The tunneling exponent ψψψ is equal to the spin stiffness exponent θcθ_cθc​ characterizing the zero-temperature fixed point.
We consider the two-dimensional randomly site diluted Ising model and the random-bond +/-J Ising model (also called the Edwards-Anderson model), and study their critical behavior at the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition. The critical behavior of thermodynamic quantities can be derived from a set of renormalization-group equations, in which disorder is a marginally irrelevant perturbation at the two-dimensional Ising fixed point. We discuss their solutions, focusing in particular on the universality of the logarithmic corrections arising from the presence of disorder. Then, we present a finite-size scaling analysis of high-statistics Monte Carlo simulations. The numerical results confirm the renormalization-group predictions, and in particular the universality of the logarithmic corrections to the Ising behavior due to quenched dilution.
The random-bond Ising model on the square lattice has several disordered critical points, depending on the probability distribution of the bonds. There are a finite-temperature multicritical point, called the Nishimori point, and a zero-temperature fixed point, for both a binary distribution where the coupling constants take the values ± J and a Gaussian disorder distribution. Inclusion of dilution in the ± J distribution ( J = 0 for some bonds) gives rise to another zero-temperature fixed point which can be identified with percolation in the non-frustrated case ( J ≥ 0). We study these fixed points using numerical (transfer matrix) methods. We determine the location, critical exponents, and central charge of the different fixed points and study the spin–spin correlation functions. Our main findings are the following. (1) We confirm that the Nishimori point is universal with respect to the type of disorder, i.e. we obtain the same central charge and critical exponents for the ± J and Gaussian distributions of disorder. (2) The Nishimori point, the zero-temperature fixed point for the ± J and Gaussian distributions of disorder, and the percolation point in the diluted case all belong to mutually distinct universality classes. (3) The paramagnetic phase is re-entrant below the Nishimori point, i.e. the zero-temperature fixed points are not located exactly below the Nishimori point, either for the ± J distribution, or for the Gaussian distribution.
The fixed-point structure of three-dimensional bond-disordered Ising models is investigated using the numerical domain-wall renormalization-group method. It is found that, in the +/-J Ising model, there exists a non-trivial fixed point along the phase boundary between the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases. The fixed-point Hamiltonian of the +/-J model numerically coincides with that of the unfrustrated random Ising models, strongly suggesting that both belong to the same universality class. Another fixed point corresponding to the multicritical point is also found in the +/-J model. Critical properties associated with the fixed point are qualitatively consistent with theoretical predictions.
The critical properties of systems with quenched bond disorder are determined from a fixed distribution, under renormalization group, of the random bonds. Full fixed distributions with all moments are obtained numerically by histograms and, to a good approximation, in terms of $\ensuremath{\Gamma}$ distributions. For such systems, the specific-heat exponent $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ does not equal the crossover exponent $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ at random criticality. We derive a new relation between $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and $\ensuremath{\varphi}$, which invokes characteristics of the fixed distribution. The difference between $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ is noted for nnn-vector models in $4\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ dimensions and for Potts models on hierarchical lattices solved exactly. In general, stable random critical behavior with positive $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ appears to be possible. We develop a general treatment of quenched disorder and illustrate it by calculating specific-heat curves. It is suggested that the critical exponents of the three- and four-state random-bond Potts models in two dimensions are $\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\simeq}1.06 \mathrm{and} 1.19$.