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arXiv:cond-mat/9612022 · Physical review. B, Condensed matter

Exact ground-state properties of disordered Ising systems

Joachim Esser, U. Nowak, Klaus D. Usadel

Published Mar 1, 1997• 70 citations
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Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.55.5866

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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.
We have studied the equilibrium properties of the random-field (H) ferromagnetic Ising model (RFIM) and the dilute antiferromagnetic Ising model (DAF) in a uniform field. For RFIM we have used the transfer-matrix technique, thus bypassing serious equilibration problems which would arise in a Monte Carlo calculation for random systems. We have calculated the structure factor S versus H. Our results are consistent with S\ensuremath{\sim}exp(c/H2{H}^{2}H2) as predicted by theories which yield a lower critical dimension dc{d}_{c}dc​=2, whereas the expected behavior for dc{d}_{c}dc​=3, S\ensuremath{\sim}${H}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}4}$ is inconsistent with our results. We have carried out analogous calculations for DAF. Our results for DAF suffer seriously from finite-size effects. To circumvent this difficulty, we have also performed calculations on interface models. Together, these results indicate that DAF crosses over to RFIM behavior at H\ensuremath{\simeq}J.
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.
We study the correlated-disorder-driven zero-temperature equilibrium phase transition of the random-field Ising magnet (RFIM) using exact numerical ground-state calculations for cubic lattices. We consider correlations of the quenched disorder decaying proportionally to ra{r}^{a}ra, where rrr is the distance between two lattice sites and a<0a<0a<0. To obtain exact ground states, we use a well-established mapping to the graph-theoretical maximum-flow problem, which allows us to study large system sizes of more than $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ spins. We use finite-size-scaling analyses for values $a={\ensuremath{-}1,\ensuremath{-}2,\ensuremath{-}3,\ensuremath{-}7}$ to calculate the critical point and the critical exponents characterizing the behavior of the specific heat, magnetization, susceptibility, and the correlation length close to the critical point. We find basically the same critical behavior as for the RFIM with $\ensuremath{\delta}$-correlated disorder, except for the finite-size exponent of the susceptibility and for the case $a\ensuremath{\ge}\ensuremath{-}2$, where the results are also compatible with a phase transition at infinitesimal disorder strength. We numerically confirm earlier predictions.
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.
Abstract We analyze the nonequilibrium athermal random field Ising model (RFIM) at equilateral cubic lattices of finite size L and show that the entire range of disorder consists of three distinct domains in which the model manifests different scaling behaviour. The first domain contains the values of disorder R that are below the critical disorder R c where the spanning avalanches almost surely appear when the system is driven by the external magnetic field. The spanning avalanches become unlikely for disorders above the size-dependent effective disorder R c eff ( L ) > R c , and the system response is size-independent. Between the foregoing two lies the domain of transitional disorders R c < R < R c eff ( L ) vanishing in the thermodynamic limit. In this domain, not recognized in the literature so far, all types of spanning avalanches exist, whereas for R < R c only the avalanches spanning all three dimensions are present. Like for R < R c the data collapsing is possible only for distributions having the same value of (1 − R c / R ) L 1/ ν , however with different universal scaling functions than in R < R c case; ν is the correlation length exponent. The foregoing findings follow from the extensive simulations of L ⩽ 2048 systems enabling us to propose modified values of some of the RFIM critical exponents and nonuniversal critical parameters as well as the analytic forms of universal scaling functions and different definitions of reduced magnetization and reduced magnetic field.
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.