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The Onsager Revolution

C Domb

Published Feb 20, 1996• 0 citations

Abstract

We have mentioned in §1.5 the shattering blow which Onsager's exact calculations for a two-dimensional Ising model delivered to the classical theories, and the challenge it posed in relation to critical behaviour. But Onsager's work had much wider ramifications since detailed aspects of his calculations stimulated important new areas of research and progress. His topological interpretation of the duality transformation discovered by Kramers and Wannier greatly extended its scope, and soon led, in conjunction with his formulation of the star-triangle transformation, to exact solutions for other twodimensional lattices (see e.g. Domb 1960 pp. 211-20). The star-triangle transformation itself initiated a search which revealed other useful transformations of a similar kind (see e.g. Syozi 1972). The simplification of the calculations by the use of spinors led to the discovery of other simplified methods of calculation each of which had its own specific advantages (Temperley 1972, Schultz, Mattis and Lieb 1964). More remotely the existence of exact solutions to the Ising model in two dimensions suggested that other realistic models might give rise to exact solutions. Over 20 years elapsed before a breakthrough occurred (Lieb 1967). Subsequently this area of research has generated results of great interest and importance (Baxter 1982).

DOI: 10.1201/9781482295269-8

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Introduction

M. Gaudin

From the exact solution of the Ising model by Onsager in 1944 up to that of the hard hexagon model by Baxter in 1980, the statistical mechanics of two-dimensional systems has been enriched by a number of exact results. One speaks (in quick manner) of exact models once a convenient mathematical expression has been obtained for a physical quantity such as the free energy, an order parameter or some correlation, or at the very least once their evaluation is reduced to a problem of classical analysis. Such solutions, often considered as singular curiosities upon their appearance, often have the interest of illustrating the principles and general theorems rigorously established in the framework of definitive theories, and also enabling the control of approximate or perturbative methods applicable to more realistic and complex models. In the theory of phase transitions, the Ising model and the results of Onsager and Yang have eminently played such a reference role. With the various vertex models, the methods of Lieb and Baxter have extended this role and the collection of critical exponents, providing new useful elements of comparison with extrapolation methods, and forcing a refinement of the notion of universality. Intimately linked to two-dimensional classical models (but of less interest for critical phenomena), one-dimensional quantum models such as the linear magnetic chain and Bethe's famous solution have certainly contributed to the understanding of fundamental excitations in many-body systems. One could also mention the physics of one-dimensional conductors.

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Fifty Years of the Exact Solution of the Two-Dimensional Ising Model by Onsager

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The exact solution of the two-dimensional Ising model by Onsager in 1944 represents one of the landmarks in theoretical physics. On the occassion of the fifty years of the exact solution, we give a historical review of this model. After briefly discussing the exact solution by Onsager, we point out some of the recent developments in this field. The exact solution by Onsager has inspired several developments in various other fields. Some of these are also briefly mentioned.

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Some comments on developments in exact solutions in statistical mechanics since 1944

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Onsager and Kaufman calculated the partition function of the Ising model exactly in 1944 and 1949. Since then there have been many developments in the exact solution of similar, but usually more complicated, models. Here I shall mention a few, and show how some of the latest work seems to be returning once again to the properties observed by Onsager and Kaufman.

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Abstract In this chapter we will begin our study of the Ising model on the two-dimensional lattice. In two dimensions the model has a phase transition, with critical exponents that have different values from those obtained in the mean field approximation. For this reason, it provides an important example of critical phenomena. As we will see in great detail in this chapter and in the next, among all exactly solved models of statistical mechanics, the two-dimensional Ising model is not only the one that has been most studied but it is also the model that has given a series of deep mathematical and physical results. Many solutions of the model stand out for the ingenious methods used, such as the theory of determinants, combinatorial approaches, Grassmann variables, or elliptic functions. Many results have deeply influenced the understanding of critical phenomena and have strongly stimulated new fields of research. Ideas that have matured within the study of the two-dimensional Ising model, such as the duality between its highand low-temperature phases, have been readily generalized to other systems of statistical mechanics and have also found important and fundamental applications in other important areas such as, for instance, quantum field theory. Equally fundamental is the discovery that in the vicinity of the critical point, the dynamics of the model can be described from the relativistic Dirac equation for Majorana fermions.

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Abstract In this paper and its sequel, we construct topologically invariant defects in two-dimensional classical lattice models and quantum spin chains. We show how defect lines commute with the transfer matrix/Hamiltonian when they obey the defect commutation relations , cousins of the Yang–Baxter equation. These relations and their solutions can be extended to allow defect lines to branch and fuse, again with properties depending only on topology. In this part I, we focus on the simplest example, the Ising model. We define lattice spin-flip and duality defects and their branching, and prove they are topological. One useful consequence is a simple implementation of Kramers–Wannier duality on the torus and higher genus surfaces by using the fusion of duality defects. We use these topological defects to do simple calculations that yield exact properties of the conformal field theory describing the continuum limit. For example, the shift in momentum quantization with duality-twisted boundary conditions yields the conformal spin 1/16 of the chiral spin field. Even more strikingly, we derive the modular transformation matrices explicitly and exactly.

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We have mentioned in §1.5 the shattering blow which Onsager's exact calculations for a two-dimensional Ising model delivered to the classical theories, and the challenge it posed in relation to critical behaviour. But Onsager's work had much wider ramifications since detailed aspects of his calculations stimulated important new areas of research and progress. His topological interpretation of the duality transformation discovered by Kramers and Wannier greatly extended its scope, and soon led, in conjunction with his formulation of the star-triangle transformation, to exact solutions for other twodimensional lattices (see e.g. Domb 1960 pp. 211-20). The star-triangle transformation itself initiated a search which revealed other useful transformations of a similar kind (see e.g. Syozi 1972). The simplification of the calculations by the use of spinors led to the discovery of other simplified methods of calculation each of which had its own specific advantages (Temperley 1972, Schultz, Mattis and Lieb 1964). More remotely the existence of exact solutions to the Ising model in two dimensions suggested that other realistic models might give rise to exact solutions. Over 20 years elapsed before a breakthrough occurred (Lieb 1967). Subsequently this area of research has generated results of great interest and importance (Baxter 1982).

From the exact solution of the Ising model by Onsager in 1944 up to that of the hard hexagon model by Baxter in 1980, the statistical mechanics of two-dimensional systems has been enriched by a number of exact results. One speaks (in quick manner) of exact models once a convenient mathematical expression has been obtained for a physical quantity such as the free energy, an order parameter or some correlation, or at the very least once their evaluation is reduced to a problem of classical analysis. Such solutions, often considered as singular curiosities upon their appearance, often have the interest of illustrating the principles and general theorems rigorously established in the framework of definitive theories, and also enabling the control of approximate or perturbative methods applicable to more realistic and complex models. In the theory of phase transitions, the Ising model and the results of Onsager and Yang have eminently played such a reference role. With the various vertex models, the methods of Lieb and Baxter have extended this role and the collection of critical exponents, providing new useful elements of comparison with extrapolation methods, and forcing a refinement of the notion of universality. Intimately linked to two-dimensional classical models (but of less interest for critical phenomena), one-dimensional quantum models such as the linear magnetic chain and Bethe's famous solution have certainly contributed to the understanding of fundamental excitations in many-body systems. One could also mention the physics of one-dimensional conductors.

Abstract In this chapter we will begin our study of the Ising model on the two-dimensional lattice. In two dimensions the model has a phase transition, with critical exponents that have different values from those obtained in the mean field approximation. For this reason, it provides an important example of critical phenomena. As we will see in great detail in this chapter and in the next, among all exactly solved models of statistical mechanics, the two-dimensional Ising model is not only the one that has been most studied but it is also the model that has given a series of deep mathematical and physical results. Many solutions of the model stand out for the ingenious methods used, such as the theory of determinants, combinatorial approaches, Grassmann variables, or elliptic functions. Many results have deeply influenced the understanding of critical phenomena and have strongly stimulated new fields of research. Ideas that have matured within the study of the two-dimensional Ising model, such as the duality between its highand low-temperature phases, have been readily generalized to other systems of statistical mechanics and have also found important and fundamental applications in other important areas such as, for instance, quantum field theory. Equally fundamental is the discovery that in the vicinity of the critical point, the dynamics of the model can be described from the relativistic Dirac equation for Majorana fermions.

Abstract In this paper and its sequel, we construct topologically invariant defects in two-dimensional classical lattice models and quantum spin chains. We show how defect lines commute with the transfer matrix/Hamiltonian when they obey the defect commutation relations , cousins of the Yang–Baxter equation. These relations and their solutions can be extended to allow defect lines to branch and fuse, again with properties depending only on topology. In this part I, we focus on the simplest example, the Ising model. We define lattice spin-flip and duality defects and their branching, and prove they are topological. One useful consequence is a simple implementation of Kramers–Wannier duality on the torus and higher genus surfaces by using the fusion of duality defects. We use these topological defects to do simple calculations that yield exact properties of the conformal field theory describing the continuum limit. For example, the shift in momentum quantization with duality-twisted boundary conditions yields the conformal spin 1/16 of the chiral spin field. Even more strikingly, we derive the modular transformation matrices explicitly and exactly.