The anisotropic two-dimensional Ising model in the presence of a magnetic field is studied within two different approaches: the effective-field theory (EFT) with correlation and the Bethe-Peierls (BP) approximation. The model consists of ferromagnetic interaction
(Jx) in the
x direction and antiferromagnetic interaction
(Jy) in the
y direction. The phase diagram in the $T\text{\ensuremath{-}}H$ plane is obtained for the particular case
Jx=Jy. Special focus is given in the low-temperature region of the phase diagram, where a first-order phase transition is observed using the mean-field approximation, which is in disagreement with the linear chain approximation (LCA). Our results indicate a second-order phase transition for all values of
H∕J∊[0,2], with the presence of a reentrant behavior only observed in the BP approximation in accordance with the results of the LCA and exact solution. The null field critical temperature is an increasing function of
r=Jy∕Jx, and in the $r\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ limit we have found, using BP and EFT, the approximate form ${k}_{B}{T}_{N}∕{J}_{x}\ensuremath{\simeq}A∕\mathrm{ln}(1∕r)$ in accordance with the exact result of Onsager.
The two-dimensional Ising model in the rectangular lattice is generalised to include m-spin interactions in one direction and two-spin interactions in the other. This model is self-dual and the critical line is the same as in the conventional Ising model with m=2. The m=3 model is solved in a generalised mean-field approximation where the transition is first order. Using a phenomenological renormalisation group approach, approximate values of the thermal and magnetic exponents y t and y h are obtained for m=3 and m=4. The m=3 results together with symmetry arguments suggest that this model belongs to the same class of universality as the Baxter-Wu and four-state ferromagnetic Potts models. When m=4 the transition is probably first order.
Using previous results from boundary conformal field theory and integrability, a phase diagram is derived for the two-dimensional Ising model at its bulk tri-critical point as a function of boundary magnetic field and boundary spin-coupling constant. A boundary tri-critical point separates phases where the spins on the boundary are ordered or disordered. In the latter range of coupling constant, there is a non-zero critical field where the magnetization is singular. In the former range, as the temperature is lowered, the boundary undergoes a first-order transition while the bulk simultaneously undergoes a second-order transition.
For the two-dimensional ferromagnetic Ising critical point, I show that the known values of the critical exponents imply the absence of logarithms of the reduced temperature in the leading contributions to any field derivative of the free energy at zero magnetic field. For the square-lattice Ising antiferromagnet in a weak magnetic field, I compute the critical line
Tc(H)=
Tc0(1-0.038 023 259
H2) and the leading contribution to the susceptibility \ensuremath{\chi}=0.014 718 006 6
H2ln(1/\ensuremath{\Vert}t\ensuremath{\Vert}), where t is the reduced temperature.
We consider the rectangular Ising model on a half-plane of infinite extent and study some of the consequences connected with the presence of the boundary. Only the spins on the boundary row are allowed to interact with a magnetic field
H. The method of Pfaffians is employed to obtain exact expressions for the partition function. It is found that the free energy is the sum of two terms, one of which is independent of
H and proportional to the total number of lattice sites, while the other depends on
H and is proportional to the number of lattice sites on the boundary. This separation makes it possible to define various thermodynamic quantities associated with the boundary. In particular, the boundary magnetization is shown to be discontinuous, in the ferromagnetic case, at zero magnetic field for temperatures below the bulk critical temperature
Tc. This discontinuity, which is the spontaneous boundary magnetization, goes to zero as ${(1\ensuremath{-}\frac{T}{{T}_{c}})}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ as $T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{T}_{c}\ensuremath{-}$. For
T=Tc, the discontinuity is of course absent, and the boundary magnetization behaves as $\ensuremath{-}\mathfrak{H}\mathrm{ln}\mathfrak{H}$ for small
H. The boundary susceptibility at zero magnetic field in the ferromagnetic case exhibits a logarithmic singularity at
T=Tc, both above and below transition. An interesting feature is that the ferromagnetic boundary magnetization, although discontinuous for
T<Tc, may be analytically continued beyond the point
H=0. We interpret this as a hystersis phenomenon which we study in detail by computing the probability distribution function for the average boundary spin. The correlation function for two spins, both on the boundary row, is also obtained exactly and its asymptotic behavior is given. Finally, we derive an expression for the magnetization in any row and explicitly evaluate it for the second row, i.e., the row next to the boundary.
The phase diagrams of Ising antiferromagnets in a magnetic field
H are investigated for various values of the ratio
R between nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor interaction. While meanfield approximations and the existing real-space renormalization-group treatments yield phase diagrams which are sometimes even qualitatively incorrect, accurate results are obtained from Monte Carlo calculations. For
R<0 only an antiferromagnetically ordered phase exists. Its transition to the disordered phase is first order for temperatures below the tricritical point (
Tt,
Ht). For $R\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ also ${T}_{t}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$. For
R=0 we find very good agreement with the results of M\"uller-Hartmann and Zittartz. For
R>0 and
H1<H<H2 a new phase with anomalous high ground-state degeneracy is found (two sublattices have only one-dimensional order). These sublattices undergo order-disorder transitions at
T=0, such that for
T>0 one is left with a "superantiferromagnetic" phase. At low temperatures in this phase a pronounced tendency is observed to form a simpler (2 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} 2) superstructure but with many antiphase domain boundaries. For $R\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\frac{1}{2}$ and
H<H1 the regime of the antiferromagnetic phases goes to zero temperature, while for
R>21 the superantiferromagnetic phase exists also for
H<H1. The order-disorder transition associated with this phase seems to have non-Ising critical exponents which vary as a function of
R and
H. Estimates for the exponents lead us to suggest that Suzuki's "weak universality" is valid. The behavior of the model at
T=0 is related to known results on hard-core lattice gases. It is shown that it is useful to interpret the transitions at
T=0 as generalized percolation transitions. Since the model may have applications to adsorbate phases in registered structures at (100) surfaces of cubic crystals, the transcription of our results to temperature-coverage phase diagrams and adsorption isotherms is discussed in detail, and possible experimental applications are mentioned.