Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2412.20579 · Physical review. E

Crossover of critical behavior in dynamic phase transitions of multilayer Ising model systems

Erol Vatansever, Mikel Quintana, Andreas Berger

Published Sep 5, 2025• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate the crossover of critical behavior for the dynamic phase transition (DPT) in ferromagnetic thin films using Monte Carlo simulations of the kinetic Ising model, focusing on the scaling behavior of the dynamic order parameter under a time-dependent external magnetic field. Specifically, we study the transition of the critical behavior of such multilayer film systems from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) as a function of the film thickness and the distance to the critical point, which enables dimensional crossover observations. Our results indicate that the effective critical exponents exhibit a clear transition in their scaling behavior, with thinner films showing 2D-like characteristics and thicker films displaying 3D-like behavior, for both the DPT and the thermodynamic phase transitions (TPT). Quantitatively, the crossover from 2D to 3D behavior occurs at larger film thicknesses for the DPT compared to the TPT, suggesting that DPT and TPT are governed by distinctly different length scales and underlying surface effects. These findings are in agreement with experimental observations in ultrathin Co films, where dynamic and thermodynamic critical exponents were found to differ. Therefore, our study provides an in-depth explanation for critical phenomena in thin-film ferromagnets driven by a time-dependent magnetic field. By comparing the dimensional crossover properties of both TPT and DPT, we present a comprehensive understanding of how thin-film geometry and surface effects influence the scaling laws and critical behavior in nonequilibrium systems.

DOI
10.1103/8wd8-dfkj

Related papers

Magnetic properties of Ising thin films with cubic lattices

Yongyut Laosiritaworn, J. Poulter, Julie B. Staunton

We have used Monte Carlo simulations and mean-field analysis to observe the magnetic behavior of Ising thin films with cubic lattice structures as a function of temperature and thickness, especially in the critical region. Magnetization and magnetic susceptibility, including layer variation, are investigated. We find that the magnetic behavior changes from two-dimensional to three-dimensional character with increasing film thickness. Both the crossover of the critical temperature from a two-dimensional to a bulk value and the shift exponent are observed. Nevertheless, with support from a scaling function, the simulations show that the effective critical exponents for films with large enough layer extents only vary a little from their two-dimensional values. This, in particular, provides an indication of two-dimensional universality in the thin films.

arXiv:cond-mat/0307291•Physical Review B•Sep 22, 2004•53 citations

Nonuniversal surface behavior of dynamic phase transitions

Patricia Riego, Andreas Berger

We have studied the dynamic phase transition (DPT) of the kinetic Ising model in systems with surfaces within the mean-field approximation. Varying the surface exchange coupling strength J(s), the amplitude of the externally applied oscillating field h(0), and its period P, we explore the dynamic behavior of the layer-dependent magnetization and the associated DPTs. The surface phase diagram shows several features that resemble those of the equilibrium case, with an extraordinary bulk transition and a surface transition for high J(s) values, independent from the value of h(0). For low J(s), however, h(0) is found to be a crucial parameter that leads to nonuniversal surface behavior at the ordinary bulk transition point. Specifically, we observed here a bulk-supported surface DPT for high field amplitudes h(0) and correspondingly short critical periods P(c), whereas this surface transition simultaneous to the bulk one is suppressed for slow critical dynamics occurring for low values of h(0). The suppression of the DPT for low h(0) not only occurs for the topmost surface layer, but also affects a significant number of subsurface layers. We find that the key physical quantity that explains this nonuniversal behavior is the time correlation between the dynamic surface and bulk magnetizations at the bulk critical point. This time correlation has to pass a threshold value to trigger a bulk-induced DPT in the surface layers. Otherwise, dynamic phase transitions are absent at the surface in stark contrast to the equilibrium behavior of the corresponding thermodynamic Ising model. Also, we have analyzed the penetration depth of the dynamically ordered phase for the surface DPT that occurs for large J(s) values. Here we find that the penetration depth depends strongly on J(s) and behaves identically to the corresponding equilibrium Ising model.

Physical Review E•Jun 29, 2015•32 citations

Revisiting "swings" in the crossover features of Ising thin films near Tc(D)

Manuel I. Marqués, Julio A. Gonzalo, Juan D. Romero +1 more

"Swing" effects at the onset of crossover towards two dimensional behavior in thin Ising films are investigated close to Tc(D) by means of Monte Carlo calculations. We find that the effect is extremely large for the specific heat effective critical exponent, in comparison with the "swing" already noted by Capehart and Fisher for the susceptibility. These effects change considerably the system's evolution with thickness (D) from two-dimensional to three-dimensional behavior, forcing the effective exponents to pass near characteristic Tri Critical Point (TCP) values.

arXiv:cond-mat/0002268•Feb 17, 2000•0 citations

Spin Systems far from Equilibrium: Aging and Dynamic Phase Transition

Hyunhang Park

Among the many non-equilibrium processes encountered in nature we deal with two different but related aspects. One is the non-equilibrium relaxation process that is at the origin of \'aging phenomena••, and the other one is a non-equilibrium phase transition, called ••dynamic phase transition••. One of the main purposes of our research is to explore more realistic situations than studied previously. Indeed, in the study of aging phenomena certain kinds of disorder effects are considered, and we introduce the ••surface•• as a spatial boundary to the system undergoing the dynamic phase transition. In order to observe these processes as clearly as possible, we study in both cases simple spin systems. Using Monte Carlo simulations we first investigate aging in three-dimensional Ising spin glasses as well as in two-dimensional Ising models with disorder quenched to low temperatures. The time-dependent dynamical correlation length L(t) is determined numerically and the scaling behavior of various two-time quantities as a function of L(t)/L(s) is discussed where t and s are two different times. For disordered Ising models deviations of L(t) from algebraic growth law show up. The generalized scaling forms as a function of L(t)/L(s) reveal a generic simple aging scenario for Ising spin glasses as well as for disordered Ising ferromagnets. We also study the local critical phenomena at a dynamic phase transition by means of numerical simulations of kinetic Ising models with surfaces subjected to a periodic oscillating field. We examine layer-dependent quantities, such as the period-averaged magnetization per layer Q(z) and the layer susceptibility ¥ö(z), and determine local critical exponents through finite size scaling. Both for two and three dimensions, we find that the values of the surface exponents differ from those of the equilibrium critical surface. It is revealed that the surface phase diagram of the non-equilibrium system is not identical to that of the equilibrium system in three dimensions.

•Mar 22, 2013•0 citations

Monte Carlo study for the thermodynamic and dynamic phase transitions in the spin-S Ising model on Sierpiński carpet

Hoseung Jang, Mouhcine Azhari, Unjong Yu

Abstract We study the thermodynamic and dynamic phase transitions (TPT and DPT) of the spin- 1 / 2 and spin-1 Ising models on three graphs constructed on the Sierpiński carpet. This study employs Monte Carlo methods, specifically the Wolff and Metropolis algorithms, in conjunction with finite-size scaling analysis. By calculating the critical temperature and critical exponent ratio γ / ν associated with the TPT, we demonstrate that the three graphs exhibit an identical critical exponent ratio for both the spin- 1 / 2 and spin-1 Ising models within statistical error. Furthermore, we explore the kinetic Ising model by varying the period of the oscillating external magnetic field and verify the existence of the DPT. We find that the critical exponent ratio γ / ν for the DPT matches that of the TPT. Our results suggest that the critical exponents or their ratios for continuous phase transitions in equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems with short-range interactions are independent of the graph structure and interaction type, as long as the background space is the same.

Journal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment•Jan 1, 2024•4 citations

Non-equilibrium critical behavior of Heisenberg thin films

Maria Shlyakhtich, Pavel Vladimirovich Prudnikov

In this work we study the non-equilibrium properties of Heisenberg ferromagnetic films using Monte Carlo simulations by short-time dynamic method. By exploring the short-time scaling dynamics, we have found thickness dependency of critical exponents z, θ′ and β/v for ferromagnetic thin film. For calculating the critical exponents of ferromagnetic films we considered systems with linear size L = 128 and layers number N = 2; 4; 6; 10. Starting from initial configurations, the system was updated with Metropolis algorithm at the critical temperatures

EPJ Web of Conferences•Jan 1, 2018•0 citations
We investigate the crossover of critical behavior for the dynamic phase transition (DPT) in ferromagnetic thin films using Monte Carlo simulations of the kinetic Ising model, focusing on the scaling behavior of the dynamic order parameter under a time-dependent external magnetic field. Specifically, we study the transition of the critical behavior of such multilayer film systems from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) as a function of the film thickness and the distance to the critical point, which enables dimensional crossover observations. Our results indicate that the effective critical exponents exhibit a clear transition in their scaling behavior, with thinner films showing 2D-like characteristics and thicker films displaying 3D-like behavior, for both the DPT and the thermodynamic phase transitions (TPT). Quantitatively, the crossover from 2D to 3D behavior occurs at larger film thicknesses for the DPT compared to the TPT, suggesting that DPT and TPT are governed by distinctly different length scales and underlying surface effects. These findings are in agreement with experimental observations in ultrathin Co films, where dynamic and thermodynamic critical exponents were found to differ. Therefore, our study provides an in-depth explanation for critical phenomena in thin-film ferromagnets driven by a time-dependent magnetic field. By comparing the dimensional crossover properties of both TPT and DPT, we present a comprehensive understanding of how thin-film geometry and surface effects influence the scaling laws and critical behavior in nonequilibrium systems.
We have used Monte Carlo simulations and mean-field analysis to observe the magnetic behavior of Ising thin films with cubic lattice structures as a function of temperature and thickness, especially in the critical region. Magnetization and magnetic susceptibility, including layer variation, are investigated. We find that the magnetic behavior changes from two-dimensional to three-dimensional character with increasing film thickness. Both the crossover of the critical temperature from a two-dimensional to a bulk value and the shift exponent are observed. Nevertheless, with support from a scaling function, the simulations show that the effective critical exponents for films with large enough layer extents only vary a little from their two-dimensional values. This, in particular, provides an indication of two-dimensional universality in the thin films.
We have studied the dynamic phase transition (DPT) of the kinetic Ising model in systems with surfaces within the mean-field approximation. Varying the surface exchange coupling strength J(s), the amplitude of the externally applied oscillating field h(0), and its period P, we explore the dynamic behavior of the layer-dependent magnetization and the associated DPTs. The surface phase diagram shows several features that resemble those of the equilibrium case, with an extraordinary bulk transition and a surface transition for high J(s) values, independent from the value of h(0). For low J(s), however, h(0) is found to be a crucial parameter that leads to nonuniversal surface behavior at the ordinary bulk transition point. Specifically, we observed here a bulk-supported surface DPT for high field amplitudes h(0) and correspondingly short critical periods P(c), whereas this surface transition simultaneous to the bulk one is suppressed for slow critical dynamics occurring for low values of h(0). The suppression of the DPT for low h(0) not only occurs for the topmost surface layer, but also affects a significant number of subsurface layers. We find that the key physical quantity that explains this nonuniversal behavior is the time correlation between the dynamic surface and bulk magnetizations at the bulk critical point. This time correlation has to pass a threshold value to trigger a bulk-induced DPT in the surface layers. Otherwise, dynamic phase transitions are absent at the surface in stark contrast to the equilibrium behavior of the corresponding thermodynamic Ising model. Also, we have analyzed the penetration depth of the dynamically ordered phase for the surface DPT that occurs for large J(s) values. Here we find that the penetration depth depends strongly on J(s) and behaves identically to the corresponding equilibrium Ising model.
"Swing" effects at the onset of crossover towards two dimensional behavior in thin Ising films are investigated close to Tc(D) by means of Monte Carlo calculations. We find that the effect is extremely large for the specific heat effective critical exponent, in comparison with the "swing" already noted by Capehart and Fisher for the susceptibility. These effects change considerably the system's evolution with thickness (D) from two-dimensional to three-dimensional behavior, forcing the effective exponents to pass near characteristic Tri Critical Point (TCP) values.
Among the many non-equilibrium processes encountered in nature we deal with two different but related aspects. One is the non-equilibrium relaxation process that is at the origin of \'aging phenomena••, and the other one is a non-equilibrium phase transition, called ••dynamic phase transition••. One of the main purposes of our research is to explore more realistic situations than studied previously. Indeed, in the study of aging phenomena certain kinds of disorder effects are considered, and we introduce the ••surface•• as a spatial boundary to the system undergoing the dynamic phase transition. In order to observe these processes as clearly as possible, we study in both cases simple spin systems. Using Monte Carlo simulations we first investigate aging in three-dimensional Ising spin glasses as well as in two-dimensional Ising models with disorder quenched to low temperatures. The time-dependent dynamical correlation length L(t) is determined numerically and the scaling behavior of various two-time quantities as a function of L(t)/L(s) is discussed where t and s are two different times. For disordered Ising models deviations of L(t) from algebraic growth law show up. The generalized scaling forms as a function of L(t)/L(s) reveal a generic simple aging scenario for Ising spin glasses as well as for disordered Ising ferromagnets. We also study the local critical phenomena at a dynamic phase transition by means of numerical simulations of kinetic Ising models with surfaces subjected to a periodic oscillating field. We examine layer-dependent quantities, such as the period-averaged magnetization per layer Q(z) and the layer susceptibility ¥ö(z), and determine local critical exponents through finite size scaling. Both for two and three dimensions, we find that the values of the surface exponents differ from those of the equilibrium critical surface. It is revealed that the surface phase diagram of the non-equilibrium system is not identical to that of the equilibrium system in three dimensions.
Abstract We study the thermodynamic and dynamic phase transitions (TPT and DPT) of the spin- 1 / 2 and spin-1 Ising models on three graphs constructed on the Sierpiński carpet. This study employs Monte Carlo methods, specifically the Wolff and Metropolis algorithms, in conjunction with finite-size scaling analysis. By calculating the critical temperature and critical exponent ratio γ / ν associated with the TPT, we demonstrate that the three graphs exhibit an identical critical exponent ratio for both the spin- 1 / 2 and spin-1 Ising models within statistical error. Furthermore, we explore the kinetic Ising model by varying the period of the oscillating external magnetic field and verify the existence of the DPT. We find that the critical exponent ratio γ / ν for the DPT matches that of the TPT. Our results suggest that the critical exponents or their ratios for continuous phase transitions in equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems with short-range interactions are independent of the graph structure and interaction type, as long as the background space is the same.
In this work we study the non-equilibrium properties of Heisenberg ferromagnetic films using Monte Carlo simulations by short-time dynamic method. By exploring the short-time scaling dynamics, we have found thickness dependency of critical exponents z, θ′ and β/v for ferromagnetic thin film. For calculating the critical exponents of ferromagnetic films we considered systems with linear size L = 128 and layers number N = 2; 4; 6; 10. Starting from initial configurations, the system was updated with Metropolis algorithm at the critical temperatures