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arXiv:cond-mat/0302177 · Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics

Transient backbending behavior in the Ising model with fixed magnetization

Francesca Gulminelli, J. M. Carmona, Ph. Chomaz, J. Richert, S. Jiménez, V. Regnard

Published Aug 20, 2003• 24 citations
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Abstract

The physical origin of the backbendings in the equations of state of finite but not necessarily small systems is studied in the Ising model with fixed magnetization (IMFM) by means of the topological properties of the observable distributions and the analysis of the largest cluster with increasing lattice size. Looking at the convexity anomalies of the IMFM thermodynamic potential, it is shown that the order of the transition at the thermodynamic limit can be recognized in finite systems independently of the lattice size. General statistical mechanics arguments and analytical calculations suggest that the backbending in the caloric curve is a transient behavior which should not converge to a plateau in the thermodynamic limit, while the first-order transition (in the Ehrenfest sense) is still signaled by a discontinuity in the magnetization equation of state.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.68.026119

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The physical origin of the backbendings in the equations of state of finite but not necessarily small systems is studied in the Ising model with fixed magnetization (IMFM) by means of the topological properties of the observable distributions and the analysis of the largest cluster with increasing lattice size. Looking at the convexity anomalies of the IMFM thermodynamic potential, it is shown that the order of the transition at the thermodynamic limit can be recognized in finite systems independently of the lattice size. General statistical mechanics arguments and analytical calculations suggest that the backbending in the caloric curve is a transient behavior which should not converge to a plateau in the thermodynamic limit, while the first-order transition (in the Ehrenfest sense) is still signaled by a discontinuity in the magnetization equation of state.
First-order phase transitions are ubiquitous in nature but their presence is often uncertain because of the effects which finite size has on all transitions. In this article we consider a general treatment of size effects on lattice systems with discrete degrees of freedom and which undergo a first-order transition in the thermodynamic limit. We review recent work involving studies of the distribution functions of the magnetization and energy at a first-order transition in a finite sample of size N connected to a bath of size N′. Two cases: N′ = ∞ and N′ = finite are considered. In the former (canonical ensemble) case, the distributions are approximated by a superposition of Gaussians corresponding to the different phases; all finite-size effects then vary as N or 1/N. The latter case involves the Gaussian ensemble where the entropy of the bath has a convenient form; for small N′, first-order transitions are characterized by van der Waals' loops in (for example) the energy vs. temperature curves. Results from extensive Monte Carlo simulations of Ising and Potts models in d = 2 are presented to confirm the predictions. Comparison is made with data from second-order transitions to show that the order of a transition can be distinguished through such studies, although problems still occur for first-order transitions very close to critical points.
We study the three-dimensional Ising model at the critical point in the fixed-magnetization ensemble, by means of the recently developed geometric cluster Monte Carlo algorithm. We define a magnetic-field-like quantity in terms of microscopic spin-up and spin-down probabilities in a given configuration of neighbors. In the thermodynamic limit, the relation between this field and the magnetization reduces to the canonical relation M(h). However, for finite systems, the relation is different. We establish a close connection between this relation and the probability distribution of the magnetization of a finite-size system in the canonical ensemble.
The recent progress in the study of finite-size scaling (FSS) properties of the Ising model is briefly reviewed. We calculate the universal FSS functions for the Binder parameter g and the magnetization distribution function p(m) for the Ising model on L1×L2 two-dimensional lattices with tilted boundary conditions. We show that the FSS functions are universal for fixed sets of the aspect ratio L1/L2 and the tilt parameter. We also study the percolating properties of the Ising model, giving attention to the effects of the aspect ratio of finite systems. We elucidate the origin of the complex structure of p(m) for the system with large aspect ratio by the multiple-percolating-cluster argument.
Thermodynamic functions of an nnn-component magnetic system coupled to an isotropic elastic medium in $d=4\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ dimensions are calculated to leading order in $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$. Solutions to renormalization-group recursion relations correct to $O(\ensuremath{\epsilon})$ along with trajectory-integral methods are employed in these calculations. For n> 2n>~2n> 2 the finite compressibility modifies the critical-point behavior producing new corrections to scaling in the thermodynamic functions which are given. In the n=1n=1n=1 case renormalization-group predictions of a first-order transition are verified. Thermodynamic functions are given and analyzed in this case. In particular the transition temperature and discontinuity in order parameter are determined and the phase diagram is constructed.
We show that an out-of-equilibrium percolation transition occurs after quenching ferromagnetic Ising-like systems across their magnetic first-order transitions. As a paradigmatic example, we consider a two-dimensional Ising system driven across its low-temperature first-order transition line by a quench of the magnetic field hhh from hi<0h_i<0hi​<0 to h>0h>0h>0. In the thermodynamic limit and for finite values of hhh, the post-quench evolution under a purely relaxational dynamics is characterized by a dynamic transition at a finite critical time tc(h)t_c(h)tc​(h) from the metastable negatively magnetized phase to the positive one, marked by the percolation of the largest clusters of positive and negative spins. This out-of-equilibrium percolation transition displays a finite-size scaling behavior as in the standard random-percolation case. However, while the fractal dimension of the percolating clusters is consistent with the random-percolation value, the exponent controlling the approach to criticality differs and depends on hhh. We also show that the percolation critical behavior is related to the spinodal-like behavior of the magnetization in the small-hhh limit, which implies that the percolation time tc(h)t_c(h)tc​(h) exhibits a spinodal-like exponential dependence on hhh.
The description of first-order phase transitions using the linear renormalization group is illustrated with the two-dimensional Ising model. Different linear renormalization groups should be used to describe the system in the neighborhood of criticality and away from it. In the latter case, the renormalization-group trajectories are lines of constant spin expectation value, which map a system below critical temperature in a small magnetic field to a system of free spins at a finite magnetic field. A finite-lattice approximation is also presented. The equation of state and several thermodynamic quantities are obtained; a smooth matching of the behavior near and away from criticality occurs naturally.