The generalization of dynamical scaling to local scale invariance is reviewed. Starting from a recapitulation of the phenomenology of ageing phenomena, the generalization of dynamical scaling to local scale transformation for any given dynamical exponent
z is described and the two distinct types of local scale invariance are presented. The special case
z=2 and the associated Ward identity of Schrödinger invariance is treated. Local scale invariance predicts the form of the two-point functions. Existing confirmations of these predictions for (I) the Lifshitz points in spin systems with competing interactions such as the ANNNI model and (II) non-equilibrium ageing phenomena as occur in the kinetic Ising model with Glauber dynamics are described.
The behaviour of the 3D axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model at the uniaxial Lifshitz point is studied using Monte Carlo techniques. A new variant of the Wolff cluster algorithm permits the analysis of systems far larger than in previous studies. The Lifshitz point critical exponents are $\ensuremath{\alpha}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0.18(2)$, $\ensuremath{\beta}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0.238(5)$, and $\ensuremath{\gamma}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1.36(3)$. Data for the spin-spin correlation function are shown to be consistent with the explicit scaling function derived from the assumption of local scale invariance, which is a generalization of conformal invariance to the anisotropic scaling at the Lifshitz point.
In the context of a phase transition, the critical singularity is characterized by a set of numbers, the critical exponents. It is widely believed that for transitions in systems with pair interactions on Bravais lattices (as opposed to hierarchical lattices), the critical exponents are determined solely by parameters d and n, representing the dimensionality of space and of the order parameter, respectively, and by \ensuremath{\sigma}, the interaction range. In this paper we consider a certain generalization of the Lifshitz singularity in the n-vector model in which a new parameter \ensuremath{\lambda}, describing a type of anisotropy of the interactions, is introduced. This is described by a model Hamiltonian in k space in which the leading term is of the form [${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{\mathit{i}=1}^{\mathit{d}}$(
ki2${)}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\sigma}}/(2\ensuremath{\lambda})}$]\ensuremath{\lambda}. It should be noted that, as for the usual Lifshitz case, what would otherwise be the dominant
k2 term is supposed to have already been cancelled. For this model the parameters d, n, and \ensuremath{\sigma} are not sufficient to determine the value of the critical exponents to O(1/n), although they are sufficient for the first order in the \ensuremath{\epsilon} expansion.Calculations exact to O(1/n) show that, for a given set d, n, and \ensuremath{\sigma}, the exponents vary continuously with the parameter \ensuremath{\lambda} and include as a special case (for \ensuremath{\lambda}=1) the critical exponents for an anisotropic Lifshitz point. The critical exponents for this Lifshitz point differ markedly in value from those for the usually studied isotropic Lifshitz point, which is also a special case (for \ensuremath{\lambda}=\ensuremath{\sigma}/2) of our model. For \ensuremath{\sigma}=2, however, the two cases corresponding to \ensuremath{\lambda}=1 and \ensuremath{\sigma}/2 become degenerate. We provide another explicit example of the dependence of the critical exponents on \ensuremath{\lambda} by performing, in addition to the 1/n expansion, an expansion in \ensuremath{\sigma}-2. This helps to shed some light on the approach to the degeneracy at \ensuremath{\sigma}=2. The analysis of the Feynman integrals arising in the O(1/n) calculation provides interesting examples of the applications of hypergeometric functions; these integrals have themselves led to new results (published separately) in the theory of hypergeometric functions.
The goal of this work is to provide an analysis of spaces of critical points for multicomponent systems. First, we propose the geometric concept of order
O for critical points; we distinguish it from a previous definition of a "multicritical" point. Specifically, we may define the intersection of spaces of critical points of order
O to be a space of critical points of order (
O+1). Ordinary critical points are defined to be of order
O=2, so that the tricritical points introduced by Griffiths are of order
O=3. We discuss more general examples of critical spaces of order
O=3 which are known for a wide variety of systems; we also propose several examples of models of magnetic systems showing critical points of order
O=4---i.e., systems having intersecting lines of tricritical points. The analysis of critical and coexistence spaces also provides a new form of the Gibbs phase rule suitable for complex magnetic models. Next we define---for the critical points of order
O of which examples have been given---special directions in terms of which to make a scaling hypothesis. We give the hypothesis for simple systems and then for tricritical points, and then, in a subsequent paper, part II, the special directions are used to make a scaling hypothesis at spaces of critical points of any order. Certain predictions (e.g., scaling laws and "single-power" scaling functions) follow in a simple and straightforward fashion. We consider the scaling hypothesis at a critical space of order
O in terms of a group of transformations. We can define a set of invariants of the group. It is possible, for $\mathcal{O}\ensuremath{\ge}3$, to make a second scaling hypothesis for the space of order $\mathcal{O}\ensuremath{-}1$ using certain of these invariants as independent variables. This is advantageous because certain "double-power" scaling functions then follow directly; these predict that for
O=3, experimental data collapse from a volume onto a line. This prediction is to be contrasted with ordinary scaling functions, which predict that data collapse by only a single dimension (e.g., from a volume onto a surface or from a surface onto a line).
Field-theoretic renormalization-group methods are developed to describe in a unified fashion the critical exponents of an m-fold Lifshitz point at the two-loop order in the anisotropic $(m\ensuremath{\ne}d)$ and isotropic
(m=d close to 8) situations. The general theory is illustrated for the N-vector ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{4}$ model describing a d-dimensional system. A new regularization and renormalization procedure is presented for both types of Lifshitz behavior. The anisotropic cases are formulated with two independent renormalization-group transformations. The description of the isotropic behavior requires only one type of renormalization-group transformation. We point out the conceptual advantages implicit in this picture and show how this framework is related to other previous renormalization-group treatments for the Lifshitz problem. The Feynman diagrams of arbitrary loop order can be performed analytically provided these integrals are considered to be homogeneous functions of the external momenta scales. The anisotropic universality class
(N,d,m) reduces easily to the Ising-like
(N,d) when
m=0. We show that the isotropic universality class
(N,m) when m is close to 8 cannot be obtained from the anisotropic one in the limit $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{d}m$ near 8. The exponents for the uniaxial case
d=3,N=m=1 are in good agreement with recent Monte Carlo simulations for the axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model.
We present analytical results for the finite-size scaling in
d-dimensional
O(N) systems with strong anisotropy where the critical exponents (e.g., ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\Vert}}$ and ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$) depend on the direction. Prominent examples are systems with long-range interactions, decaying with the interparticle distance
r as ${r}^{\ensuremath{-}d\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\sigma}}$ with different exponents $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ in corresponding spatial directions, systems with space-``time'' anisotropy near a quantum critical point, and systems with Lifshitz points. The anisotropic properties involve also the geometry of the systems. We consider
O(N) systems in the $N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$ limit, confined to a
d-dimensional layer with geometry ${L}^{m}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{\ensuremath{\infty}}^{n};m+n=d$ and periodic boundary conditions across the finite
m dimensions. The arising difficulties are avoided using a technique of calculations based on the analytical properties of the generalized Mittag-Leffler functions.