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Transfer Matrix of the Two-dimensional Ising Model

Giuseppe Mussardo

Published Aug 27, 2009• 0 citations
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Abstract

Abstract In this chapter we study the solution of the two-dimensional Ising model by means of the transfer matrix. Unlike the methods discussed in the previous chapter, the transfer matrix approach has greater generality and can used to solve exactly other two-dimensional models. Even if the general ideas behind this approach have been explained in Chapter 2 by means of the one-dimensional case, their application to the two-dimensional cases requires more powerful and sophisticated mathematical tools: for instance, the study the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix in the Ising model for T = Tcneeds to employ elliptic functions. The same is also true for other models. In order to present in the simplest possible way the main lines of this method, in the following we focus attention only on the solution of the model at T = Tcbecause this case can be analyzed in terms of simple trigonometric functions.

DOI
10.1093/oso/9780199547586.003.0006

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Abstract In this chapter we study the solution of the two-dimensional Ising model by means of the transfer matrix. Unlike the methods discussed in the previous chapter, the transfer matrix approach has greater generality and can used to solve exactly other two-dimensional models. Even if the general ideas behind this approach have been explained in Chapter 2 by means of the one-dimensional case, their application to the two-dimensional cases requires more powerful and sophisticated mathematical tools: for instance, the study the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix in the Ising model for T = Tcneeds to employ elliptic functions. The same is also true for other models. In order to present in the simplest possible way the main lines of this method, in the following we focus attention only on the solution of the model at T = Tcbecause this case can be analyzed in terms of simple trigonometric functions.
Abstract This chapter deals with the exact solution of the two-dimensional Ising model as it is achieved through the transfer matrix formalism. It discusses the crucial role played by the commutative properties of the transfer matrices, which lead to a functional equation for their eigenvalues. The exact free energy of the Ising model and its critical point can be identified by means of the lowest eigenvalue. The chapter covers Baxter's approach, the Yang–Baxter equation and its relation to the Boltzmann weights, the R-matrix, and discusses activity away from the critical point, the six-vertex model, as well as functional equations and symmetries.
The use of a transfer matrix method to solve the 3D Ising model is straightforwardly generalized from the 2D case. We follow B.Kaufman's approach. No approximation is made, however the largest eigenvalue cannot be identified. This problem comes from the fact that we follow the choice of directions of 2-dimensional rotations in the direct product space of the 2D Ising model such that all eigenvalue equations reduce miraculously to only one equation. Other choices of directions of 2-dimensional rotations for finding the largest eigenvalue may lose this fascinating feature. Comparing the series expansion of internal energy per site at the high temperature limit with the series obtained from the computer graphic method, we find these two series have very similar structures. A possible correct via a factor Φ(x) is suggested to fit the result of the graphic method.
Abstract The aim of this chapter is to describe how transfer matrices can be used to solve one-dimensional classical spin models. The idea is to write down the partition function in terms of a matrix, the transfer matrix. The thermodynamic properties of the model are then wholly described by the eigenspectrum of the matrix. In particular the free energy per spin in the thermodynamic limit depends only on the largest eigenvalue and the correlation length only on the two largest eigenvalues through simple formulae.
Abstract The aim of this work is to present a formulation to solve the one-dimensional Ising model using the elementary technique of mathematical induction. This formulation is physically clear and leads to the same partition function form as the transfer matrix method, which is a common subject in the introductory courses of statistical mechanics. In this way our formulation is a useful tool to complement the traditional more abstract transfer matrix method. The method can be straightforwardly generalised to other short-range chains, coupled chains and is also computationally friendly. These two approaches provide a more complete understanding of the system, and therefore our work can be of broad interest for undergraduate teaching in statistical mechanics.
The Ising model was generalized to a system of cells interacting exclusively by presence of shared spins. Within the cells there are interactions of any complexity, the simplest intracell interactions come down to the Ising model. The system may be not only one-dimensional but also two-dimensional, three-dimensional, etc. The purpose of the paper is to develop an approach to constructing the exact matrix model for any considered system in the simplest way. Without this, it is almost impossible to analyze complex systems. After trying a lot of ways, the approach has been simplified to suit first year students. Using the approach, the exact matrix model for a two-dimensional generalized Ising model was constructed. The following approaches have already been developed to obtaining and analyzing partition function and various thermodynamic functions. They will be considered in following papers.
Abstract Chapter 2 discusses one-dimensional statistical models, for example, the Ising model and its generalizations (Potts model, systems with O(n) or Zn-symmetry, etc.). It discusses several methods of solution and covers the recursive method, the transfer matrix approach, and series expansion techniques. General properties of these methods, which are valid on higher-dimensional lattices, are also covered. The contents of this chapter are quite simple and pedagogical but extremely useful for understanding the following sections of the book. One of the appendices at the end of the chapter is devoted to a famous problem of topology, i.e. the four-colour problem, and its relation with the two-dimensional Potts model.