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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

Logarithmic corrections to finite-size scaling in strips

John Cardy

Published Dec 1, 1986• 185 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The corrections to the finite-size scaling behaviour of the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix of a critical theory defined on an infinitely long strip of finite width, which occur when the Hamiltonian contains a marginal operator, are computed using conformal invariance. They show a calculable universal logarithmic character. For the four-state Potts model they agree with numerical data.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/19/17/008

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The corrections to the finite-size scaling behaviour of the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix of a critical theory defined on an infinitely long strip of finite width, which occur when the Hamiltonian contains a marginal operator, are computed using conformal invariance. They show a calculable universal logarithmic character. For the four-state Potts model they agree with numerical data.
We show that for conformally invariant two-dimensional systems, the amplitude of the finite-size corrections to the free energy of an infinitely long strip of width L at criticality is linearly related to the conformal anomaly number c, for various boundary conditions. The result is confirmed by renormalization-group arguments and numerical calculations. It is also related to the magnitude of the Casimir effect in an interacting one-dimensional field theory, and to the low-temperature specific heat in quantum chains.
The behavior of dimensionless quantities defined as ratios of partition functions is analyzed to investigate phase transitions and critical phenomena. At criticality, the universal values of these ratios can be predicted from conformal field theory (CFT) through the modular-invariant partition functions on a torus. We perform numerical calculations using the bond-weighted tensor renormalization group for three two-dimensional models belonging to different universality classes: the Ising model, the three-state Potts model, and the four-state Potts model. The partition-function ratios obey the same finite-size scaling form as the Binder parameter, and their critical values agree well with the universal values predicted by CFT. In the four-state Potts model, we observe logarithmic corrections in the system-size dependence of these ratios.
We investigate the finite-temperature corrections to scaling in the three-state square-lattice Potts antiferromagnet, close to the critical point at T=0. Numerical diagonalization of the transfer matrix on semi-infinite strips of width L sites, 4 < or = L < or = 14, yields finite-size estimates of the corresponding scaled gaps, which are extrapolated to L --> infinity. Owing to the characteristics of the quantities under study, we argue that the natural variable to consider is x identical with L e(-2 beta). For the extrapolated scaled gaps we show that square-root corrections, in the variable x, are present, and provide estimates for the numerical values of the amplitudes of the first- and second-order correction terms, for both the first and second scaled gaps. We also calculate the third scaled gap of the transfer matrix spectrum at T=0, and find an extrapolated value of the decay-of-correlations exponent, eta(3)=2.00(1). This is at odds with earlier predictions, to the effect that the third relevant operator in the problem would give eta(P(stagg))=3, corresponding to the staggered polarization.
We present the finite-size scaling theory of one-dimensional quantum critical systems in the presence of boundaries. While the finite-size spectrum in the conformal limit, namely of a conformal field theory with conformally invariant boundary conditions, is related to the dimensions of boundary operators by Cardy, the actual spectra of lattice models are affected by both bulk and boundary perturbations and contain non-universal boundary energies. We obtain a general expression of the finite-size energy levels in the presence of bulk and boundary perturbations. In particular, a generic boundary perturbation related to the energy-momentum tensor gives rise to a renormalization of the effective system size. We verify our field-theory formulation by comparing the results with the exact solution of the critical transverse-field Ising chain and with accurate numerical results on the critical three-state Potts chain obtained by Density-Matrix Renormalization Group.