Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:cond-mat/0102098 · Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics

Susceptibility and percolation in two-dimensional random field Ising magnets

E. Seppälä, Mikko J. Alava

Published May 18, 2001• 46 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The ground-state structure of the two-dimensional random field Ising magnet is studied using exact numerical calculations. First we show that the ferromagnetism, which exists for small system sizes, vanishes with a large excitation at a random field strength-dependent length scale. This breakup length scale L(b) scales exponentially with the squared random field, exp(A/delta(2)). By adding an external field H, we then study the susceptibility in the ground state. If L>L(b), domains melt continuously and the magnetization has a smooth behavior, independent of system size, and the susceptibility decays as L-2. We define a random field strength-dependent critical external field value +/-H(c)(delta) for the up and down spins to form a percolation type of spanning cluster. The percolation transition is in the standard short-range correlated percolation universality class. The mass of the spanning cluster increases with decreasing Delta and the critical external field approaches zero for vanishing random field strength, implying the critical field scaling (for Gaussian disorder) H(c) approximately (delta-delta(c))(delta), where delta(c)=1.65+/-0.05 and delta=2.05+/-0.10. Below Delta(c) the systems should percolate even when H=0. This implies that even for H=0 above L(b) the domains can be fractal at low random fields, such that the largest domain spans the system at low random field strength values and its mass has the fractal dimension of standard percolation D(f)=91/48. The structure of the spanning clusters is studied by defining red clusters, in analogy to the "red sites" of ordinary site percolation. The sizes of red clusters define an extra length scale, independent of L.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.63.066109

Related papers

Percolation in three-dimensional random field Ising magnets

E. Seppälä, A. M. Pulkkinen, Mikko J. Alava

The structure of the three-dimensional (3D) random field Ising magnet is studied by ground-state calculations. We investigate the percolation of the minority-spin orientation in the paramagnetic phase above the bulk phase transition, located at $[\ensuremath{\Delta}/J{]}_{c}\ensuremath{\simeq}2.27,$ where $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ is the standard deviation of the Gaussian random fields $(J=1).$ With an external field H there is a disorder-strength-dependent critical field $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{H}_{c}(\ensuremath{\Delta})$ for the down (or up) spin spanning. The percolation transition is in the standard percolation universality class. ${H}_{c}\ensuremath{\sim}(\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{p}{)}^{\ensuremath{\delta}},$ where ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{p}=2.43\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.01$ and $\ensuremath{\delta}=1.31\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.03,$ implying a critical line for ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}<\ensuremath{\Delta}<~{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{p}.$ When, with zero external field, $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ is decreased from a large value there is a transition from the simultaneous up- and down-spin spanning, with probability ${\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{\ensuremath{\uparrow}\ensuremath{\downarrow}}=1.00$ to ${\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{\ensuremath{\uparrow}\ensuremath{\downarrow}}=0.$ This is located at $\ensuremath{\Delta}=2.32\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.01,$ i.e., above ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}.$ The spanning cluster has the fractal dimension of standard percolation, ${D}_{f}=2.53$ at ${H=H}_{c}(\ensuremath{\Delta}).$ We provide evidence that this is asymptotically true even at $H=0$ for ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}<\ensuremath{\Delta}<~{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{p}$ beyond a crossover scale that diverges as ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}$ is approached from above. Percolation implies extra finite-size effects in the ground states of the 3D random field Ising model.

arXiv:cond-mat/0206376•Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Oct 4, 2002•22 citations

Scaling, domains, and states in the four-dimensional random field Ising magnet

A. Alan Middleton

The four dimensional Gaussian random field Ising magnet is investigated numerically at zero temperature, using samples up to size $64^4$, to test scaling theories and to investigate the nature of domain walls and the thermodynamic limit. As the magnetization exponent $β$ is more easily distinguishable from zero in four dimensions than in three dimensions, these results provide a useful test of conventional scaling theories. Results are presented for the critical behavior of the heat capacity, magnetization, and stiffness. The fractal dimensions of the domain walls at criticality are estimated. A notable difference from three dimensions is the structure of the spin domains: frozen spins of both signs percolate at a disorder magnitude less than the value at the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition. Hence, in the vicinity of the transition, there are two percolating clusters of opposite spins that are fixed under any boundary conditions. This structure changes the interpretation of the domain walls for the four dimensional case. The scaling of the effect of boundary conditions on the interior spin configuration is found to be consistent with the domain wall dimension. There is no evidence of a glassy phase: there appears to be a single transition from two ferromagnetic states to a single paramagnetic state, as in three dimensions. The slowing down of the ground state algorithm is also used to study this model and the links between combinatorial optimization and critical behavior.

arXiv:cond-mat/0208182•Aug 9, 2002•5 citations

Three-dimensional random-field Ising magnet: Interfaces, scaling, and the nature of states

A. Alan Middleton, Daniel S. Fisher

The nature of the zero-temperature ordering transition in the three-dimensional Gaussian random-field Ising magnet is studied numerically, aided by scaling analyses. Various numerical calculations are used to consistently infer the location of the transition to a high precision. A variety of boundary conditions are imposed on large samples to study the order of the transition and the number of states in the large volume limit. In the ferromagnetic phase, where the domain walls have fractal dimension ${d}_{s}=2,$ the scaling of the roughness of the domain walls, $w\ensuremath{\sim}{L}^{\ensuremath{\zeta}},$ is consistent with the theoretical prediction $\ensuremath{\zeta}=2/3.$ As the randomness is increased through the transition, the probability distribution of the interfacial tension of domain walls scales in a manner that is clearly consistent with a single second-order transition. At the critical point, the fractal dimensions of domain walls and the fractal dimension of the outer surface of spin clusters are investigated: there are at least two distinct physically important fractal dimensions that describe domain walls. These dimensions are argued to be related by scaling to combinations of the energy scaling exponent $\ensuremath{\theta},$ which determines the violation of hyperscaling, the correlation length exponent $\ensuremath{\nu},$ and the magnetization exponent $\ensuremath{\beta}.$ The value $\ensuremath{\beta}=0.017\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.005$ computed from finite-size scaling of the magnetization is very nearly zero: this estimate is supported by the study of the spin cluster size distribution at criticality. The variation of configurations in the interior of a sample with boundary conditions is consistent with the hypothesis that there is a single transition separating the disordered phase with one ground state from the ordered phase with two ground states. The array of results, including values for several exponents, are shown to be consistent with a scaling picture and a geometric description of the influence of boundary conditions on the spins. The details of the algorithm used and its implementation are also described.

arXiv:cond-mat/0107489•Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Mar 19, 2002•172 citations

Geometrical clusters in two-dimensional random-field Ising models

László Környei, Ferenc Iglói

We consider geometrical or Ising clusters (i.e., domains of parallel spins) in the square lattice random-field Ising model by varying the strength of the Gaussian random field $\ensuremath{\Delta}$. In agreement with the conclusion of a previous investigation [Phys. Rev. E 63, 066109 (2001)], the geometrical correlation length, i.e., the average size of the clusters $\ensuremath{\xi}$ is finite for $\ensuremath{\Delta}>{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}\ensuremath{\approx}1.65$ and divergent for $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\leqslant}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}$. The scaling function of the distribution of the mass of the clusters as well as the geometrical correlation function are found to involve the scaling exponents of critical percolation. On the other hand, the divergence of the correlation length, $\ensuremath{\xi}(\ensuremath{\Delta})\ensuremath{\sim}{(\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c})}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\nu}}$, with $\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\approx}2$, is related to that of tricritical percolation. It is verified numerically that critical geometrical correlations transform conformally.

arXiv:cond-mat/0610110•Physical Review E•Jan 29, 2007•15 citations

Percolation in the two-dimensional Ising model

Tao Chen, Jinhong Zhu, Wei Zhong +2 more

The study of the Ising model from a percolation perspective has played a significant role in the modern theory of critical phenomena. We consider the celebrated square-lattice Ising model and construct percolation clusters by placing bonds, with probability p, between any pair of parallel spins within an extended range beyond nearest neighbors. At the Ising criticality, we observe two percolation transitions as p increases: starting from a disordered phase with only small clusters, the percolation system enters into a stable critical phase that persists over a wide range p_{c_{1}}<p<p_{c_{2}}, and then develops a long-ranged percolation order with giant clusters for both up and down spins. At p_{c1} and for the stable critical phase, the critical behaviors agree well with those for the Fortuin-Kasteleyn random clusters and the spin domains of the Ising model, respectively. At p_{c2}, the fractal dimension of clusters and the scaling exponent along p direction are estimated as y_{h2}=1.9580(6) and y_{p2}=0.552(9), of which the exact values remain unknown. These findings reveal interesting geometric properties of the two-dimensional Ising model that has been studied for more than 100 years.

arXiv:2504.18861•Physical review. E•Jul 22, 2025•2 citations

Exact ground-state properties of disordered Ising systems

Joachim Esser, U. Nowak, Klaus D. Usadel

Exact ground states are calculated with an integer optimization algorithm for two- and three-dimensional site-diluted Ising antiferromagnets in a field (DAFF) and random field Ising ferromagnets (RFIM), the latter with Gaussian- and bimodal-distributed random fields. We investigate the structure and the size distribution of the domains of the ground state and compare it to earlier results from Monte Carlo (MC) simulations for finite temperature. Although DAFF and RFIM are thought to be in the same universality class we found differences between these systems as far as the distribution of domain sizes is concerned. In the limit of strong disorder for the DAFF in two and three dimensions the ground states consist of domains with a broad size distribution that can be described by a power law with exponential cutoff. For the RFIM this is only true in two dimensions while in three dimensions above the critical field where long-range order breaks down the system consists of two infinite interpenetrating domains of up and down spins---the system is in a two-domain state. For DAFF and RFIM the structure of the domains of finite size is fractal and the fractal dimensions for the DAFF and the RFIM agree within our numerical accuracy supporting that DAFF and RFIM are in the same universality class. Also, the DAFF ground-state properties agree with earlier results from MC simulations in the whole whereas there are essential differences between our exact ground-state calculations and earlier MC simulations for the RFIM which suggested that there are differences between the fractality of domains in RFIM and DAFF. Additionally, we show that for the case of higher disorder there are strong deviations from Imry-Ma-type arguments for RFIM and DAFF in two and three dimensions.

arXiv:cond-mat/9612022•Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Mar 1, 1997•70 citations
The ground-state structure of the two-dimensional random field Ising magnet is studied using exact numerical calculations. First we show that the ferromagnetism, which exists for small system sizes, vanishes with a large excitation at a random field strength-dependent length scale. This breakup length scale L(b) scales exponentially with the squared random field, exp(A/delta(2)). By adding an external field H, we then study the susceptibility in the ground state. If L>L(b), domains melt continuously and the magnetization has a smooth behavior, independent of system size, and the susceptibility decays as L-2. We define a random field strength-dependent critical external field value +/-H(c)(delta) for the up and down spins to form a percolation type of spanning cluster. The percolation transition is in the standard short-range correlated percolation universality class. The mass of the spanning cluster increases with decreasing Delta and the critical external field approaches zero for vanishing random field strength, implying the critical field scaling (for Gaussian disorder) H(c) approximately (delta-delta(c))(delta), where delta(c)=1.65+/-0.05 and delta=2.05+/-0.10. Below Delta(c) the systems should percolate even when H=0. This implies that even for H=0 above L(b) the domains can be fractal at low random fields, such that the largest domain spans the system at low random field strength values and its mass has the fractal dimension of standard percolation D(f)=91/48. The structure of the spanning clusters is studied by defining red clusters, in analogy to the "red sites" of ordinary site percolation. The sizes of red clusters define an extra length scale, independent of L.
The structure of the three-dimensional (3D) random field Ising magnet is studied by ground-state calculations. We investigate the percolation of the minority-spin orientation in the paramagnetic phase above the bulk phase transition, located at $[\ensuremath{\Delta}/J{]}_{c}\ensuremath{\simeq}2.27,$ where $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ is the standard deviation of the Gaussian random fields (J=1).(J=1).(J=1). With an external field H there is a disorder-strength-dependent critical field $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{H}_{c}(\ensuremath{\Delta})$ for the down (or up) spin spanning. The percolation transition is in the standard percolation universality class. ${H}_{c}\ensuremath{\sim}(\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{p}{)}^{\ensuremath{\delta}},$ where ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{p}=2.43\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.01$ and $\ensuremath{\delta}=1.31\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.03,$ implying a critical line for ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}<\ensuremath{\Delta}<~{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{p}.$ When, with zero external field, $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ is decreased from a large value there is a transition from the simultaneous up- and down-spin spanning, with probability ${\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{\ensuremath{\uparrow}\ensuremath{\downarrow}}=1.00$ to ${\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{\ensuremath{\uparrow}\ensuremath{\downarrow}}=0.$ This is located at $\ensuremath{\Delta}=2.32\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.01,$ i.e., above ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}.$ The spanning cluster has the fractal dimension of standard percolation, Df=2.53{D}_{f}=2.53Df​=2.53 at ${H=H}_{c}(\ensuremath{\Delta}).$ We provide evidence that this is asymptotically true even at H=0H=0H=0 for ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}<\ensuremath{\Delta}<~{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{p}$ beyond a crossover scale that diverges as ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}$ is approached from above. Percolation implies extra finite-size effects in the ground states of the 3D random field Ising model.
The four dimensional Gaussian random field Ising magnet is investigated numerically at zero temperature, using samples up to size 64464^4644, to test scaling theories and to investigate the nature of domain walls and the thermodynamic limit. As the magnetization exponent βββ is more easily distinguishable from zero in four dimensions than in three dimensions, these results provide a useful test of conventional scaling theories. Results are presented for the critical behavior of the heat capacity, magnetization, and stiffness. The fractal dimensions of the domain walls at criticality are estimated. A notable difference from three dimensions is the structure of the spin domains: frozen spins of both signs percolate at a disorder magnitude less than the value at the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition. Hence, in the vicinity of the transition, there are two percolating clusters of opposite spins that are fixed under any boundary conditions. This structure changes the interpretation of the domain walls for the four dimensional case. The scaling of the effect of boundary conditions on the interior spin configuration is found to be consistent with the domain wall dimension. There is no evidence of a glassy phase: there appears to be a single transition from two ferromagnetic states to a single paramagnetic state, as in three dimensions. The slowing down of the ground state algorithm is also used to study this model and the links between combinatorial optimization and critical behavior.
The nature of the zero-temperature ordering transition in the three-dimensional Gaussian random-field Ising magnet is studied numerically, aided by scaling analyses. Various numerical calculations are used to consistently infer the location of the transition to a high precision. A variety of boundary conditions are imposed on large samples to study the order of the transition and the number of states in the large volume limit. In the ferromagnetic phase, where the domain walls have fractal dimension ds=2,{d}_{s}=2,ds​=2, the scaling of the roughness of the domain walls, $w\ensuremath{\sim}{L}^{\ensuremath{\zeta}},$ is consistent with the theoretical prediction $\ensuremath{\zeta}=2/3.$ As the randomness is increased through the transition, the probability distribution of the interfacial tension of domain walls scales in a manner that is clearly consistent with a single second-order transition. At the critical point, the fractal dimensions of domain walls and the fractal dimension of the outer surface of spin clusters are investigated: there are at least two distinct physically important fractal dimensions that describe domain walls. These dimensions are argued to be related by scaling to combinations of the energy scaling exponent $\ensuremath{\theta},$ which determines the violation of hyperscaling, the correlation length exponent $\ensuremath{\nu},$ and the magnetization exponent $\ensuremath{\beta}.$ The value $\ensuremath{\beta}=0.017\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.005$ computed from finite-size scaling of the magnetization is very nearly zero: this estimate is supported by the study of the spin cluster size distribution at criticality. The variation of configurations in the interior of a sample with boundary conditions is consistent with the hypothesis that there is a single transition separating the disordered phase with one ground state from the ordered phase with two ground states. The array of results, including values for several exponents, are shown to be consistent with a scaling picture and a geometric description of the influence of boundary conditions on the spins. The details of the algorithm used and its implementation are also described.
We consider geometrical or Ising clusters (i.e., domains of parallel spins) in the square lattice random-field Ising model by varying the strength of the Gaussian random field $\ensuremath{\Delta}$. In agreement with the conclusion of a previous investigation [Phys. Rev. E 63, 066109 (2001)], the geometrical correlation length, i.e., the average size of the clusters $\ensuremath{\xi}$ is finite for $\ensuremath{\Delta}>{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}\ensuremath{\approx}1.65$ and divergent for $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\leqslant}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c}$. The scaling function of the distribution of the mass of the clusters as well as the geometrical correlation function are found to involve the scaling exponents of critical percolation. On the other hand, the divergence of the correlation length, $\ensuremath{\xi}(\ensuremath{\Delta})\ensuremath{\sim}{(\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{c})}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\nu}}$, with $\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\approx}2$, is related to that of tricritical percolation. It is verified numerically that critical geometrical correlations transform conformally.
The study of the Ising model from a percolation perspective has played a significant role in the modern theory of critical phenomena. We consider the celebrated square-lattice Ising model and construct percolation clusters by placing bonds, with probability p, between any pair of parallel spins within an extended range beyond nearest neighbors. At the Ising criticality, we observe two percolation transitions as p increases: starting from a disordered phase with only small clusters, the percolation system enters into a stable critical phase that persists over a wide range p_{c_{1}}<p<p_{c_{2}}, and then develops a long-ranged percolation order with giant clusters for both up and down spins. At p_{c1} and for the stable critical phase, the critical behaviors agree well with those for the Fortuin-Kasteleyn random clusters and the spin domains of the Ising model, respectively. At p_{c2}, the fractal dimension of clusters and the scaling exponent along p direction are estimated as y_{h2}=1.9580(6) and y_{p2}=0.552(9), of which the exact values remain unknown. These findings reveal interesting geometric properties of the two-dimensional Ising model that has been studied for more than 100 years.
Exact ground states are calculated with an integer optimization algorithm for two- and three-dimensional site-diluted Ising antiferromagnets in a field (DAFF) and random field Ising ferromagnets (RFIM), the latter with Gaussian- and bimodal-distributed random fields. We investigate the structure and the size distribution of the domains of the ground state and compare it to earlier results from Monte Carlo (MC) simulations for finite temperature. Although DAFF and RFIM are thought to be in the same universality class we found differences between these systems as far as the distribution of domain sizes is concerned. In the limit of strong disorder for the DAFF in two and three dimensions the ground states consist of domains with a broad size distribution that can be described by a power law with exponential cutoff. For the RFIM this is only true in two dimensions while in three dimensions above the critical field where long-range order breaks down the system consists of two infinite interpenetrating domains of up and down spins---the system is in a two-domain state. For DAFF and RFIM the structure of the domains of finite size is fractal and the fractal dimensions for the DAFF and the RFIM agree within our numerical accuracy supporting that DAFF and RFIM are in the same universality class. Also, the DAFF ground-state properties agree with earlier results from MC simulations in the whole whereas there are essential differences between our exact ground-state calculations and earlier MC simulations for the RFIM which suggested that there are differences between the fractality of domains in RFIM and DAFF. Additionally, we show that for the case of higher disorder there are strong deviations from Imry-Ma-type arguments for RFIM and DAFF in two and three dimensions.