The aim of this contribution is to draw attention to some recent developments in the theory of critical phenomena and phase transitions that may be of interest to the magnetism community in that magnetic systems have provided a fertile testing ground for modern theoretical ideas concerning ordering and phase transitions while, on the other hand, many aspects of observed magnetic phase behavior have required sophisticated theory for their proper elucidation. The new works in question have been published or will appear shortly: accordingly, only an outline is presented here together with references to the main literature sources which, in turn, include fuller references to earlier work not explicitly mentioned. Four linked topics are addressed: (i) finite-size effects at first-order transitions; (ii) asymptotic degeneracy in transfer matrices, which is intimately related to long-range order; (iii) some consequences of the conformal covariance of fluctuations at a critical point in bulk and in finite systems, especially in two spatial dimensions; (iv) the discovery of ‘‘exactly soluble’’ two-dimensional models exhibiting two infinite classes of distinct critical and multicritical points.
The aim of this contribution is to draw attention to some recent developments in the theory of critical phenomena and phase transitions that may be of interest to the magnetism community in that magnetic systems have provided a fertile testing ground for modern theoretical ideas concerning ordering and phase transitions while, on the other hand, many aspects of observed magnetic phase behavior have required sophisticated theory for their proper elucidation. The new works in question have been published or will appear shortly: accordingly, only an outline is presented here together with references to the main literature sources which, in turn, include fuller references to earlier work not explicitly mentioned. Four linked topics are addressed: (i) finite-size effects at first-order transitions; (ii) asymptotic degeneracy in transfer matrices, which is intimately related to long-range order; (iii) some consequences of the conformal covariance of fluctuations at a critical point in bulk and in finite systems, especially in two spatial dimensions; (iv) the discovery of ‘‘exactly soluble’’ two-dimensional models exhibiting two infinite classes of distinct critical and multicritical points.
This article outlines a tutorial review of some recent progress in the theory of phase transitions and criticality. Topics mentioned are: |φ|6 field theories in (d=3)-dimensional space which correspond to the limits of tricriticality in spherical models; the desirability of finding real systems displaying critical endpoints, etc., in a magnetic field; scaling theories for first-order magnetic transitions in block and cylinder geometries, including spin-wave contributions, ϵ=4 - d expansions for finite-size effects at and near criticality; the universal correlation length amplitude for critical-point correlations in a finite cylinder and its evaluation in d = 2 dimensions on the basis of conformal covariance; the predictions of conformal covariance for other finite-size and surface critical-point properties; the implications, stemming from field theory, of conformal covariance and unitarity for general criticality in two dimensions, including infinitely many sets of exact critical exponents for Ising-like, three-state Potts-like, … systems; the discovery of new, exactly soluble two-dimensional, “restricted solid-on-solid” models which display all the predicted conformally covariant multicritical points and a second infinite set as well!
An introduction into the theory of boundary critical phenomena and the application of the field-theoretical renormalization group method to these is given. The emphasis is on a discussion of surface critical behavior at bulk critical points of magnets, binary alloys, and fluids. Yet a multitude of related phenomena are mentioned. The most important distinct surface universality classes that may occur for a given universality class of bulk critical behavior are described, and the respective boundary conditions of the associated field theories are discussed. The short-distance singularities of the order-parameter profile in the diverse asymptotic regimes are surveyed.
The sophistication of modern tools used in the study of statistical mechanics and field theory is often an obstacle to the easy understanding of new important current results reported in journals. The main purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to the methods of the fluctuation (field) theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena so as to provide a good source for research. The introductory contents are concerned with ideas of description, thermodynamic stability theory related to phase transitions, major experimental facts, basic models and their relationships. Special attention is paid to the mean field approximation and to the Landau expansion for simple and complex models of critical and multicritical phenomena. An instructive representation of the modern perturbation theory and the method of the renormalization group is developed for field models of phase transitions. The essential influence of the fluctuations on the critical behaviour is established together with the theory of correlation functions, Gaussian approximation, the Ginzburg criterion, [symbol]- and 1/n- expansions as practical realizations of the renormalization group ideas. Applications of the theory to concrete aspects of condensed matter physics are considered: quantum effects, Bose condensation, crystal anisotropy, superconductors and liquid crystals, effects of disorder of type randomly distributed quenched impurities and random fields. This volume can be used as an advanced University course book for students with a basic knowledge of statistical physics and quantum mechanics. It could be considered as a complementary text to a standard University course on statistical physics
Overview As discussed in Chapter 16 , when we approach the critical temperature of a phase coexistence line, several fascinating things start to happen which together have come to be known as “critical phenomena.” It is observed that the spatial correlation between relevant order parameters like density, magnetization, etc. becomes infinitely large. This is reflected in the divergence of inverse susceptibility of the respective order parameters. Landau’s theory explains this in terms of the flattening of the free energy surface but fails to unravel many of the other mysteries of critical phenomena that have kept scientists engaged now for about a century. Critical phenomena are characterized by certain singular properties, like the universality of the critical exponents. Several aspects of the critical phenomena are discussed in this chapter with an aim to maintain continuity with earlier chapters. A simple theory (like that of Landau) cannot explain many of the observed features and this problem remained unsolved for a long time until K. G. Wilson could develop a sophisticated theory that explained almost everything. At the core of Wilson’s method is the renormalization group technique. Physically, this technique employs the expected invariance of the Hamiltonian due to a transformation that removes local interactions and replaces them by effective longer range interactions. Because of the existence of long range correlations, the transformation is expected to converge to a fixed point. The procedure is quite mathematical and is the only robust method to obtain the critical exponents. Here we discuss the method briefly, as an introduction to the subject.
Scaling, universality, and renormalization are three pillars of modern critical phenomena. According to the hypothesis of universality, continuous phase transitions fall into classes mainly determined by spatial dimensionality and symmetry of the order parameter. The latter is usually reflected by the degeneracy of the ground state of the Hamiltonian. However, for certain systems at criticality, a higher symmetry emerges in the order parameter, and the associated critical behavior may become very rich. Such emergent symmetry has been found in spin ice systems, deconfined quantum critical points, high-Tc superconductors, and so forth, and are often accompanied by very interesting critical phenomena. New results presented here are based on Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling of a series of q-state Potts models on the simple cubic lattice with ferromagnetic interactions in one lattice direction and antiferromagnetic interactions in the other two directions. The staggered magnetization appears to display an emergent continuous O(n) symmetry with n=q-1, as illustrated by two-dimensional intersections of the distribution functions. Also the estimated critical exponents are consistent with the O(n=q-1) universality classes.
During the last decade considerable effort has been expended in the study of critical phenomena. These investigations are especially rewarding because they provide important links between several diverse branches of physics. For example, antiferromagnets, pure fluids, binary solutions and alloys all exhibit analogous critical behaviour. It is now firmly established that the classical phenomenological theories that have been proposed to describe these systems fail in the critical region: mainly because they do not account for the fluctuation phenomena which occur close to critical points, and are a poor approximation for systems with shortrange forces. Considerable progress has been made in formulating more realistic models, for example the king and Heisenberg ferromegnets, and some success has been achieved in obtaining solutions for these models. Similar theories may be postulated to describe the critical behaviour of other systems. Recent progress in theoretical understanding and refinement of experimental techniques have helped to stimulate interest in the subject, and today the study of critical phenomena is one of the most promising and rapidly advancing areas of physics.