The square-lattice Ising model is the simplest system showing phase transitions (the transition between the paramagnetic phase and the ferromagnetic phase and the transition between the paramagnetic phase and the antiferromagnetic phase) and critical phenomena at finite temperatures. The exact solution of the squarelattice Ising model with free boundary conditions is not known for systems of arbitrary size. For the first time, the exact solution of the Ising model on the square lattice with free boundary conditions is obtained after classifying all ) spin configurations with the microcanonical transfer matrix. Also, the phase transitions and critical phenomena of the square-lattice Ising model are discussed using the exact solution on the square lattice with free boundary conditions.
The critical-point anomaly of a plane square $m\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}n$ Ising lattice with periodic boundary conditions (a torus) is analyzed asymptotically in the limit $n\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$ with $\ensuremath{\xi}=\frac{m}{n}$ fixed. Among other results, it is shown that for fixed $\ensuremath{\tau}=\frac{n(T\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c})}{{T}_{c}}$, the specific heat per spin of a large lattice is given by $\frac{{C}_{\mathrm{mn}}(T)}{{k}_{\mathrm{B}}\mathrm{mn}}={A}_{0}\mathrm{ln}n+B(\ensuremath{\tau}, \ensuremath{\xi})+{B}_{1}(\ensuremath{\tau})\frac{(\mathrm{ln}n)}{n}+\frac{{B}_{2}(\ensuremath{\tau}, \ensuremath{\xi})}{n}+O[\frac{{(\mathrm{ln}n)}^{3}}{{n}^{2}}],$ where explicit expressions can be given for
A0 and for the functions
B,
B1, and
B2. It follows that the specific-heat peak of the finite lattice is rounded on a scale $\ensuremath{\delta}=\frac{\ensuremath{\Delta}T}{{T}_{c}}\ensuremath{\sim}\frac{1}{n}$, while the maximum in
Cmn(T) is displaced from
Tc by $\ensuremath{\epsilon}=\frac{({T}_{c}\ensuremath{-}{T}_{max})}{{T}_{c}}\ensuremath{\sim}\frac{1}{n}$. For ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{0}>\ensuremath{\xi}>{{\ensuremath{\xi}}_{0}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, where ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{0}=3.13927\ensuremath{\cdots}$, the maximum lies above
Tc; but for $\ensuremath{\xi}>{\ensuremath{\xi}}_{0}$ or $\ensuremath{\xi}<{{\ensuremath{\xi}}_{0}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, the maximum is depressed below
Tc; when $\ensuremath{\xi}=\ensuremath{\infty}, {\ensuremath{\xi}}_{0}, or {{\ensuremath{\xi}}_{0}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, the relative shift in the maximum from
Tc is only of order
n2(lnn). Detailed graphs and numerical data are presented, and the results are compared with some for lattices with free edges. Some heuristic arguments are developed which indicate the possible nature of finite-size critical-point effects in more general systems.
Ising lattices consisting of
n=2,3,4,and5 interacting plane square lattice layers are studied by hightemperature series expansions. Specifically, seven to nine terms of the zero-field susceptibility expansion have been obtained for (a) free-surface boundary conditions (in which each surface spin interacts with only five nearest neighbors); and (b) periodic boundary conditions (in which all spins interact equivalently with six nearest neighbors). Estimates of the critical temperatures
Tc(n) obtained by ratio and Pad\'e approximant techniques are presented. These results are consistent with the conjectures that ${T}_{c}(\ensuremath{\infty})\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c}(n)$ varies with thickness
n, as ${n}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\lambda}}$ with $\ensuremath{\lambda}=1$ in case (a) and $\ensuremath{\lambda}=\frac{1}{{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{c}}\ensuremath{\simeq}1.56$ in case (b); but other, somewhat larger, values of $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ are not excluded.
We present detailed calculations for the partition function and the free energy of the finite two-dimensional square lattice Ising model with periodic and antiperiodic boundary conditions, variable aspect ratio, and anisotropic couplings, as well as for the corresponding universal free energy finite-size scaling functions. Therefore, we review the dimer mapping, as well as the interplay between its topology and the different types of boundary conditions. As a central result, we show how both the finite system as well as the scaling form decay into contributions for the bulk, a characteristic finite-size part, and – if present – the surface tension, which emerges due to at least one antiperiodic boundary in the system. For the scaling limit we extend the proper finite-size scaling theory to the anisotropic case and show how this anisotropy can be absorbed into suitable scaling variables.
The exact partition functions of the Ising model on L × L square lattices with free boundary conditions are evaluated up to L = 22 for the first time by using a microcanonical transfer matrix and counting all possible spin states. The total number of states is 2 22×22 = 2 484 ≈ 5.0 × 10 145 for L = 22. Using the partition function zeros in the complex temperature plane of the Ising model on L × L square lattices with free boundary conditions, we analyze the critical behavior of the square-lattice Ising antiferromagnet and compare them with the results for periodic boundary conditions (the most popular boundary conditions). Our results show clearly that free boundary conditions are much more efficient than periodic boundary conditions in the study of an antiferromagnet.
Although the physical properties of the 2D and 1D Ising models are quite different, we point out an interesting connection between their complex-temperature phase diagrams. We carry out an exact determination of the complex-temperature phase diagram for the 1D Ising model for arbitrary spin s and show that in the u_s=e^{-K/s^2} plane (i) it consists of N_{c,1D}=4s^2 infinite regions separated by an equal number of boundary curves where the free energy is non-analytic; (ii) these curves extend from the origin to complex infinity, and in both limits are oriented along the angles \\theta_n = (1+2n)\\pi/(4s^2), for n=0,..., 4s^2-1; (iii) of these curves, there are N_{c,NE,1D}=N_{c,NW,1D}=[s^2] in the first and second (NE and NW) quadrants; and (iv) there is a boundary curve (line) along the negative real u_s axis if and only if s is half-integral. We note a close relation between these results and the number of arcs of zeros protruding into the FM phase in our recent calculation of partition function zeros for the 2D spin s Ising model.