The random transverse-field Ising ferromagnet (RTFIF) is a highly disordered quantum system which contains randomness in the coupling strengths as well as in the transverse-field strengths. In one dimension, the critical properties are governed by an infinite-randomness fixed point (IRFP), and renormalization-group studies argue that the two-dimensional (2D) model is also governed by an IRFP. However, even the location of the critical point remains unsettled among quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) studies. In this work, we perform extensive QMC simulations to locate the quantum critical point and attempt a finite-size scaling analysis to observe the critical behavior. We estimate the critical field strength of the 2D RTFIF as ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{c}=7.52(2)$, together with critical exponents such as $\ensuremath{\beta}=1.5(3), \ensuremath{\nu}=1.6(3)$, and
z=3.3(3) or $\ensuremath{\psi}=0.50(3)$. We have also considered the McCoy-Wu model, which has randomness in the ferromagnetic coupling strengths but not in the transverse-field strength. Our QMC calculation shows that the critical behavior of the 2D McCoy-Wu model is closer to that of the 2D transverse-field Ising spin glass than to that of the 2D RTFIF. These numerical findings enhance our understanding of disordered 2D quantum systems.
Abstract The critical behavior of mixed spin Ising model is investigated when the transverse fields are randomly distributed. The calculation shows that when the transverse fields are both bimodally distributed, the transition temperature decreases with increasing transverse field and eventually vanishes at a finite field. When one of the transverse fields is bimodally and the other trimodally distributed, the temperature decreases but does not vanish. When both transverse fields are trimodally distributed, the transverse field dependence of temperature breaks off and a tricritical point appears due to the interaction between quantum fluctuations and disorder.
We determine the phase diagram of the transverse Ising model with a trimodal distribution (sum of three \ensuremath{\delta} functions) for a longitudinal random field at T=0, using a mean-field approximation. The phase diagram includes tricritical points, ordered critical points, a fourth-order point, critical end points, and a double critical end point. Our T=0 phase diagram is completely equivalent to the one obtained by Kaufman, Klunzinger, and Khurana for the random-field Ising model. We show that the temperature and the magnitude of the transverse field play a similar role.