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Physical Review Letters

Tricritical and Critical End-Point Phenomena under Random Bonds

Alexis Falicov, A. Nihat Berker

Published Jun 3, 1996• 81 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The effect of bond randomness on tricritical and critical end-point phenomena is studied by renormalization-group theory. In three dimensions, the pure-system tricritical point is replaced by a line segment of second-order transitions dominated by randomness and bounded by a multicritical point and a random-bond tricritical point, which reaches zero temperature at threshold randomness. This topology indicates a violation of the empirical universality principle. The random-bond tricritical point renormalizes onto the fixed distribution of random-field Ising criticality.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.76.4380

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APS•Mar 1, 1997•0 citations
The effect of bond randomness on tricritical and critical end-point phenomena is studied by renormalization-group theory. In three dimensions, the pure-system tricritical point is replaced by a line segment of second-order transitions dominated by randomness and bounded by a multicritical point and a random-bond tricritical point, which reaches zero temperature at threshold randomness. This topology indicates a violation of the empirical universality principle. The random-bond tricritical point renormalizes onto the fixed distribution of random-field Ising criticality.
It is argued on general grounds that bond randomness drastically alters multicritical phase diagrams via a random-field mechanism. For example, tricritical points and critical end points are entirely eliminated (d\ensuremath{\le}2) or depressed in temperature (d>2). These predictions are confirmed by a renormalization-group calculation. Another consequence of this phenomenon is that, under bond randomness, the phase transitions of q-state Potts models are second order for all q at dimensionality d\ensuremath{\le}2.
It is argued on general grounds that bond randomness drastically alters multicritical phase diagrams via a random-field mechanism. For example, tricritical points and critical endpoints are entirely eliminated (in spatial dimension d≤2) or depressed in temperature (d>2). These predictions are confirmed by a renormalization-group calculation.1 Another consequence of this phenomenon is that, under bond randomness, the phase transitions of q-state Potts models are second order for all q at dimensionality d≤2.
Mean-field theory and renormalization-group arguments are used to show that the phase transition in a system with a random ordering field becomes first order at sufficiently low transition temperature, provided the (symmetric) random-field distribution function has a minimum at zero field. The first-order region is separated from the second-order region by a tricritical point. Both the critical and the tricritical exponents at d>4d>4d>4 dimensions are shown to be the same as for the pure system at $d\ensuremath{-}2$ dimensions. The relevance to spin glasses and other systems is discussed. The new tricritical point is very different from all previously studied tricritical points, as it deviates from mean-field theory at d=5d=5d=5, and not at d=3d=3d=3. Although quantitative results are calculated only at $d=5\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ dimensions, the qualitative results are expected to apply at d=3d=3d=3.
The form of the field distribution, in a random-field Ising model, is known to play an important role in determining the order of the phase transition and the existence of a tricritical point. We have studied a random-field Ising model with a trimodal distribution (sum of three \ensuremath{\delta} functions), which simulates a Gaussian distribution for a certain range of its parameters, within the mean-field renormalization-group scheme. We have considered clusters of one, two, and four spins, and the recursion relations for the determination of the fixed points are numerically analyzed. Using this analysis we have constructed the phase diagram of the system in the space of coupling (K), field (h), and zero-field probability (p). It is shown that the line of tricritical points ends for values of p near (2/3, very different from that obtained in the usual mean-field approximation. Mean-field renormalization-group (p\ensuremath{\simeq}(2/3) results are found to be consistent with the equivalence of the trimodal and Gaussian (absence of tricritical points) distributions until the fourth-order moments for p=(2/3.
Temperature-driven first-order phase transitions that involve symmetry breaking are converted to second order by the introduction of infinitesimal quenched bond randomness in spatial dimensions d≤2 or d≤4, respectively, for systems of n=1 or n≥ (R18)2 component microscopic degrees of freedom. Even strongly first-order transitions undergo this conversion to second order! Above these dimensions, this phenomenon still occurs, but requires a threshold amount of bond randomness. For example, under bond randomness, the phase transitions of q-state Potts models are second order for all q in d≤2. If no symmetry breaking is involved, temperature-driven first-order phase transitions are eliminated under the above conditions. Another consequence is that bond randomness drastically alters multicritical phase diagrams. Tricritical points and critical endpoints are entirely eliminated (d≤2) or depressed in temperature (d≳2). Similarly, bicritical phase diagrams are converted (d≤2) to reentrant-disorder-line or decoupled-tetracritical phase diagrams. These quenched-fluctuation-induced second-order transitions (a diametric opposite to the previously known annealed-fluctuation-induced first-order transitions) should lead to a multitude of new universality classes of criticality, including many experimentally accessible cases.
An Ising model including field randomness and $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}J$ bond randomness is studied by renormalization-group theory in spatial dimensions d=2d=2d=2 and 3. In d=3,d=3,d=3, with field randomness but no $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}J$ randomness, ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases occur with no intervening spin-glass phase. Also in d=3,d=3,d=3, at sufficient $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}J$ randomness, a spin-glass phase occurs, but is replaced by the paramagnetic phase for any nonzero random field, also implying its disappearance for any nonzero uniform field. In d=2,d=2,d=2, no ferromagnetic phase under random fields and no spin-glass phase occur. Global phase diagrams uniting the random-field and spin-glass problems are evaluated. The strong violation of critical phenomena universality, previously found adjoining random-bond tricriticality in d=3,d=3,d=3, is seen here in d=2.d=2.d=2.