Physical review. B, Condensed matter
Renormalization-group theory of the random-field Ising model in three dimensions
Alexis Falicov, A. Nihat Berker, Susan R. McKay
Abstract
A highly detailed renormalization-group study is applied to the equilibrium statistical mechanics of the random-field Ising model in three dimensions, with analysis of the renormalization-group flows of over 8 500 000 quantities that determine the quenched probability distribution. We determine the strong-coupling fixed distribution that controls the finite-temperature phase boundary. This boundary is second order but has a magnetization behavior that is phenomenally close to a discontinuity, with the exponent \ensuremath{\beta}=0.0200\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0005. Magnetization curves are obtained, demonstrating that, for example, the calculated M changes from 0 to 0.407, almost half saturation, as (${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$-T)/${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ is varied from 0 to 0.2947\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}16}$. However, a rigorous argument is given showing that the magnetization M cannot be truly discontinuous at phase transitions controlled by a strong-coupling random-field fixed distribution, in renormalization-group studies that employ the Migdal-Kadanoff local recursion relations.