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The Ising Model

David E Evans, Yasuyuki Kawahigashi

Published May 21, 1998• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Statistical mechanics aims to study the global properties of classical or quantum systems, which may have a large number of building blocks and interactions, through a small number of global concepts such as volume, temperature, equilibrium states, critical exponents. We may be particularly interested in critical phenomena and phase transition such as a liquid/gas transition or a change in magnetic properties. Consider for example a metal bar suspended in a magnetic field. Apart from diamagnetic effects (where currents are induced by Lenz’s law to oppose the field) there may be a (greater) opposite paramagnetic effect (as in aluminium) where there is a permanent magnetic moment present in the material which the field tends to line up.

DOI
10.1093/oso/9780198511755.003.0007

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Abstract We have now seen how powerful the tools of statistical mechanics can be in the study of complex systems in thermal equilibrium and how they can be used to determine exactly the behaviour of some simplified, but nevertheless interesting, models of phase transitions. However, these exact solutions are sometimes lengthy and difficult and there is no guarantee that any particular model will yield exact results. For example, we were able to solve the two-dimensional, but not the three-dimensional, Ising model, and that only in zero magnetic field. So, it is natural to consider whether we can use a computer to simulate these systems. In this chapter we shall see that this is indeed possible; a great deal of our understanding of critical phenomena is based wholly or partly on the results of such numerical work. However, as we shall also see, such simulations are not entirely straightforward and a number of tricks are needed to obtain accurate results. This is partly a consequence of the very physics that makes the phase transitions interesting to start with. One should probably think of numerical simulation as a whole subject, almost an art, of its own; we shall have time only to scratch at the surface and discuss a few of the most important ideas.
Abstract In this chapter we introduce some general concepts of statistical mechanics and phase transitions, in order to give a rapid overview of the different topics of the subject and their physical relevance. For the sake of clarity and simplicity, we will focus our attention on magnetic systems but it should be stressed that the concepts discussed here are of a more general nature and can be applied to other systems as well. We will analyze, in particular, the significant role played by the correlation length in the phase transitions and the important properties of universality observed in those phenomena. As we will see, near a phase transition the thermodynamic quantities of a system present an anomalous power law behavior, parameterized by a set of critical exponents.
We study the phase diagram and critical properties of quantum Ising chains with long-range ferromagnetic interactions decaying in a power-law fashion with exponent α \\alpha , in regimes of direct interest for current trapped ion experiments. Using large-scale path integral Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate both the ground-state and the nonzero-temperature regimes. We identify the phase boundary of the ferromagnetic phase and obtain accurate estimates for the ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition temperatures. We further determine the critical exponents of the respective transitions. Our results are in agreement with existing predictions for interaction exponents α > 1 \\alpha > 1 up to small deviations in some critical exponents. We also address the elusive regime α < 1 \\alpha < 1 , where we find that the universality class of both the ground-state and nonzero-temperature transition is consistent with the mean-field limit at α = 0 \\alpha = 0 . Our work not only contributes to the understanding of the equilibrium properties of long-range interacting quantum Ising models, but can also be important for addressing fundamental dynamical aspects, such as issues concerning the open question of thermalization in such models.
The examination of phase transitions and critical phenomena has dominated statistical physics for the latter half of this century--there is a great theoretical challenge in solving special statistical mechanical models. Additionally, beautiful experimental results have elucidated the singularities (critical behavior) that occur in phase transitions. Although a few spectacular successes in the exact solution of simple models have occurred, interesting systems have mostly proven to be intractable from the analytic perspective. Because many physically disparate systems show identical critical behavior, identifying and understanding general principles of universality and their relationship to microscopic symmetries are of fundamental importance
The Ising and QQQ-state Potts models are statistical mechanical models of spins interaction on crystal lattices. \nWe study the partition functions on a range of lattices, particularly two- and three-dimensional cases. The study aims to investigate cooperative phenomena −-− how higher level structure is affected by the detailed activity of a very large number of lower level structures. \nWe investigate the analytic properties of the partition functions and their relationship to physical observables in equilibrium near phase transition. \nOur study is focussed on describing the partition function and the distribution of zeros of the partition function in the complex-temperature plane close to phase transitions. \nHere we first consider the solved case of the Ising model on square lattice as a benchmark for checking our method of computation and analysis. \nThe partition function is computed using a transfer matrix approach and the zeros are found numerically by Newton-Raphson method. \nWe extend the study of QQQ-state Potts models to a more general case called the ZQZ_QZQ​-symmetric model. \nWe evidence the existence of multiple phase transitions for this model in case Q=5,6,Q=5,6,Q=5,6, and discuss the possible connection to different stages of disordered state. \nGiven sufficient and efficient coding and computing resources, we extend many previously studied cases to larger lattice sizes. \nOur analysis of zeros distribution close to phase transition point is based on a certain power law relation which leads to critical exponent of physical observable. \nWe evidence for example, that our method can be used to give numerical estimates of the specific heat critical exponent alpha\\alphaalpha.
Among the many applications of statistical mechanics, some of the most intriguing and challenging theoretical problems arise in connection with phase transitions. These are abrupt changes of state such as occur, for example, when a liquid is transformed into a vapour, a ferromagnet loses its magnetization upon heating to its Curie temperature, or at the onset at suciently low temperatures of super uidity or superconductivity. It is within the theory of phase transitions, too, that the mathematical relationships between statistical mechanics and relativistic eld theories are most powerful. Indeed, the idea of spontaneous symmetry breaking, which lies at the heart of the theory of phase transitions, is the crucial ingredient that turns the gauge theories of Chapter 8 into a real working model of the fundamental forces of nature, to be discussed in the next chapter.