The two-dimensional four-state Potts model at finite temperature can be transformed, via the transfer matrix, into a one-dimensional quantum mechanical model at zero temperature. The duality invariant renormalisation group introduced by Fernandez-Pacheco (1979) is then employed to study the ground-state critical properties of this model. The fixed point is located at exactly the self-dual critical point K*=1. The thermal exponent is calculated to be y T =1.3219. It is in excellent agreement with the recent series value of Ditzian and Kadanoff (1979) (y T =1.33). Although it is not inconsistent with den Nijs's (1979) conjectured exact value of 3 / 2 , the difference is nevertheless substantial.
Critical properties of the
Q-state Potts model for dimensions $3\ensuremath{\le}d\ensuremath{\le}6$ are calculated by means of Wilson's exact momentum-space renormalization-group equation. The scaling-field method of Golner and Riedel is used to approximate the functional differential equation by a set of 11 ordinary coupled differential equations. For $d=4\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\epsilon}$, lines of critical and tricritical Potts fixed points are found as functions of
Q that annihilate as
Q approaches a critical value ${Q}_{c}=\frac{2+{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{2}}{a+O({\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{3})}$. For
Q>Qc, the Potts transition is first order. Along these fixed lines the critical and tricritical exponents (upper and lower sign, respectively) are to leading order: $\frac{1}{\ensuremath{\nu}}=2\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{6}[\ensuremath{\epsilon}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{({\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{2}\ensuremath{-}a\ensuremath{\delta})}^{\frac{1}{2}}]$, $\frac{\ensuremath{\varphi}}{\ensuremath{\nu}}=\ensuremath{\mp}{({\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{2}\ensuremath{-}a\ensuremath{\delta})}^{\frac{1}{2}}$, and $\ensuremath{\eta}=\frac{{[\ensuremath{\epsilon}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{({\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{2}\ensuremath{-}a\ensuremath{\delta})}^{\frac{1}{2}}]}^{2}}{216}+b\ensuremath{\delta}$, where $\ensuremath{\epsilon}=4\ensuremath{-}d$, $\ensuremath{\delta}=Q\ensuremath{-}2$, and $\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\le}{\ensuremath{\delta}}_{c}=\frac{{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{2}}{a}+O({\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{3})$. While the form of the $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ and $\ensuremath{\delta}$ dependences is exact, the coefficients
a and
b cannot be obtained systematically by $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ expansion, since the upper critical dimensionality of the Potts model is six when $Q\ensuremath{\ne}2$. In our truncation,
a=6.52 and
b=0.065. The results have been extended to dimensions $3.4\ensuremath{\le}d\ensuremath{\lesssim}4$ by solving the renormalization-group equations numerically. The percolation limit of the Potts model,
Q=1, is also investigated and the critical exponents ${\ensuremath{\nu}}^{P},{\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{P}$, and ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{P}$ determined as functions of dimension for $3\ensuremath{\le}d\ensuremath{\le}6$.
For paper II, see ibid, vol. 27, p.1503 (1994). The finite-lattice method of series expansion has been used to extend low-temperature series for the partition function, order parameter and susceptibility of the 3-state Potts model on the simple cubic lattice to order z 43 and the high-temperature expansion of the partition function to order v 21 . We use the numerical data to show that the transition is first-order, and estimate the latent heat, the discontinuity in the magnetization, and a number of other critical parameters.