Rounding by disorder of first-order quantum phase transitions: emergence of quantum critical points

We give a heuristic argument for disorder rounding of a first-order quantum phase transition into a continuous phase transition. From both weak and strong disorder analysis of the N-color quantum Ashkin-Teller model in one spatial dimension, we find that, for N > or =3, the first-order transition is rounded to a continuous transition and the physical picture is the same as the random transverse field Ising model for a limited parameter regime. The results are strikingly different from the corresponding classical problem in two dimensions where the fate of the renormalization group flows is a fixed point corresponding to N-decoupled pure Ising models.     

The Ising transition lines of the symmetric Ashkin-Teller model

The phase transition lines of the symmetric Ashkin-Teller model are investigated by the generalized cluster expansion method near the ising limits. It is shown that the Ising transition is universally preserved and that the first deviation from a straight phase boundary takes place in fourth order.Work performed within the research program of the Sonderforschungsbereich 125     

Phase Diagram for Ashkin-Teller Model on Bethe Lattice

Using the recursion method, we study the phase transitions of the Ashkin-Teller model on the Bethe lattice, restricting ourselves to the case of ferromagnetic interactions. The isotropic Ashkin-Teller model and the anisotropic one are respectively investigated, and exact expressions for the free energy and the magnetization are obtained. It can be found that each of the three varieties of phase diagrams, for the anisotropic Ashkin-Teller model, consists of four phases, i.e., the fully disordered paramagnetic phase Para, the fully ordered ferromagnetic phase Ferro, and two partially ordered ferromagnetic phases 〈σ〉and 〈σs〉, while the phase diagram, for the isotropic Ashkin-Teller model, contains three phases, i.e., the fully disordered paramagnetic phase Para, the fully ordered ferromagnetic phase Baxter Phase, and the partially ordered ferromagnetic phase 〈σs〉.     

Interfacial adsorption phenomena at a weakly first-order phase transition

We study the interfacial adsorption phenomena of the ferromagnetic five-state Potts model on the square lattice, whose transition is of weakly first-order, by using Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling theory. It is shown that the net-adsorption has a finite-size effect according to the first-order phase transition even for systems much smaller than the bulk correlation length.     

On the nucleation of hadronic domains in the quark-hadron transition

We present numerical results on bubble profiles, nucleation rates and time evolution for a weakly first-order quark-hadron phase transition in different expansion scenarios. We confirm the standard picture of a cosmological first-order phase transition, in which the phase transition is entirely dominated by nucleation. We also show that, even for expansion rates much lower than those expected in heavy-ion collisions nucleation is very unlikely, indicating that the main phase conversion mechanism is spinodal decomposition.     

双柱胶体粒子与管状生物膜的相互作用

本文采用Helfrich理论模型研究双柱胶体粒子与管状生物膜的相互作用.通过对柱状粒子与不同半径的管状膜吸附时的自由能分析发现,该体系存在具有较小包络角的弱吸附相以及具有较大包络角的深度吸附相.进一步研究发现体系从解吸附相到弱吸附相的相变是二级相变,而从弱吸附相到深度吸附相的相变是一级相变.双柱粒子与管状膜相对位置的不同会影响体系相变和结构.     

Triangular lattice Potts models

In this paper we study the 3-state Potts model on the triangular lattice which has two- and three-site interactions. Using a Peierls argument we obtain a rigorous bound on the transition temperature, thereby disproving a conjecture on the location of its critical point. Low-temperature series are generated and analyzed for three particular choices of the coupling constants; a phase diagram is then drawn on the basis of these considerations. Our analysis indicates that the antiferromagnetic transition and the transition along the coexistence line are of first order, implying the existence of a multicritical point in the ferromagnetic region. Relation of the triangularq-state Potts model with other lattice-statistical problems is also discussed. In particular, an Ashkin-Teller model and the hard-hexagon lattice gas solved by Baxter emerge as special cases in appropriate limits.Supported in part by NSF grant No. DMR 78-18808.     

Cascade of phase transitions in GdFe<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript>

Cascade of phase transitions in GdFe₃(BO₃)₄ at 156, 37, and 9 K has been detected by specific heat measurements and further studied by Raman scattering and Nd³⁺ spectroscopic probe method. A weakly first-order structural phase transition at 156 K is followed by a second-order antiferromagnetic ordering phase transition at 37 K and a first-order spin-reorientational phase transition at 9 K.     

Effect of long-range correlation on scaling behavior of normalized factorial moments for the first-order phase transition

Within the framework of Ginzburg–Landau theory, the effect of multiplicity correlation between the dynamical multiplicity fluctuations is analyzed for a first-order phase transition from quark–gluon plasma to hadrons.Normalized factorial correlators are used to study the correlated dynamical fluctuations. A scaling behavior is found among the factorial correlators, and an approximate universal exponent, which is weakly dependent on the details of the phase transition, is obtained.     

Squaric acid—a realization of the baxter model?

Squaric acid is a layered structure with an antiferrodistortive phase transition atT _c =373 K. Vertex and Ising models are considered, leading to the conclusion that two-dimensional squaric acid is a realization of the2d X–Y model with a cubic anisotropy, belonging to the same universality class as the Baxter or symmetrical Ashkin-Teller model. Experimental evidence is briefly discussed.     

一类新的Stückelberg全息超导模型

本文研究了含Stückelberg机理的黑洞全息超导模型. 通过选取标量场新的高阶修正形式, 建立了新的Stückelberg黑洞全息超导模型. 通过研究模型参数对标量场凝聚的影响, 发现了当模型参数大于临界值时, 高阶修正可以引起一阶相变. 同时本文还考查了反作用对临界值的影响.     

Quantum phase transitions in the interacting boson model: integrability, level repulsion, and level crossing

We study the quantum phase transition mechanisms that arise in the interacting boson model. We show that the second-order nature of the phase transition from U(5) to O(6) may be attributed to quantum integrability, whereas all the first-order phase transitions of the model are due to level repulsion with one singular point of level crossing. We propose a model Hamiltonian with a true first-order phase transition for finite systems due to level crossings.     

More results on the Ashkin-Teller model

We analyze the low-temperature phase diagram of the Ashkin-Teller model for real values of the quadratic and quartic coupling constants.     

Numerical study of the three-state Ashkin-Teller model with competing dynamics

An open ferromagnetic Ashkin-Teller model with spin variables 0, ±1 is studied by standard Monte Carlo simulations on a square lattice in the presence of competing Glauber and Kawasaki dynamics. The Kawasaki dynamics simulates spin-exchange processes that continuously flow energy into the system from an external source. Our calculations reveal the presence, in the model, of tricritical points where first order and second order transition lines meet. Beyond that, several self-organized phases are detected when Kawasaki dynamics become dominant. Phase diagrams that comprise phase boundaries and stationary states have been determined in the model parameters’ space. In the case where spin-phonon interactions are incorporated in the model Hamiltonian, numerical results indicate that the paramagnetic phase is stabilized and almost all of the self-organized phases are destroyed.     

Phase transitions in the Ashkin-Teller model

For some values of the coupling constants, a proof of the existence of two phase transitions in the Ashkin-Teller model is given. Only correlation inequalities are used.     

Ground-state phases and quantum phase transitions in a two-dimensional spin-1/2 XY model with four-spin interactions

We discuss the ground state phase transition between an antiferromagnet and a valence-bond solid in a two-dimensional spin-1/2 XY model with a four-spin interaction. This transition has been proposed as a candidate for a deconfined quantum-critical point. We analyze quantum Monte Carlo data in order to accurately characterize the transition. The central question that remains to be answered is whether the transition really is continuous, or whether it is actually weakly first-order. We present the current status of both ground state and finite-temperature calculations. Based on the results, we discuss possible scenarios for the transition, none of which is consistent with deconfined quantum-criticality. However, we argue that a deconfined quantum-critical point may be located nearby in an extended parameter space.We also discuss the staggered Ising phase obtaining in the limit of strong four-spin coupling.     

Phase Transition of Meshwork Models for Spherical Membranes

We have studied two types of meshwork models by using the canonical Monte Carlo simulation technique. The first meshwork model has elastic junctions, which are composed of vertices, bonds, and triangles, while the second model has rigid junctions, which are hexagonal (or pentagonal) rigid plates. Two-dimensional elasticity is assumed only at the elastic junctions in the first model, and no two-dimensional bending elasticity is assumed in the second model. Both of the meshworks are of spherical topology. We find that both models undergo a first-order collapsing transition between the smooth spherical phase and the collapsed phase. The Hausdorff dimension of the smooth phase is H≃2 in both models as expected. It is also found that H≃2 in the collapsed phase of the second model, and that H is relatively larger than 2 in the collapsed phase of the first model, but it remains in the physical bound, i.e., H<3. Moreover, the first model undergoes a discontinuous surface fluctuations transition at the same transition point as that of the collapsing transition, while the second model undergoes a continuous transition of surface fluctuation. This indicates that the phase structure of the meshwork model is weakly dependent on the elasticity at the junctions. This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.     

Pion interferometry at RHIC: porobing a thermalized quark-gluon plasma?

We calculate the Gaussian radius parameters of the pion-emitting source in high-energy heavy-ion collisions, assuming a first-order phase transition from a thermalized quark-gluon plasma (QGP) to a gas of hadrons. Such a model leads to a very long-lived dissipative hadronic rescattering phase which dominates the properties of the two-pion correlation functions. The radii are found to depend only weakly on the thermalization time tau(i), the critical temperature Tc (and thus the latent heat), and the specific entropy of the QGP. The model calculations suggest a rapid increase of R(out)/R(side) as a function of KT if a thermalized QGP were formed.     

First-order phase transition of the tethered membrane model on spherical surfaces

We found that three types of tethered surface model undergo a first-order phase transition between the smooth and the crumpled phase. The first and the third are discrete models of Helfrich, Polyakov, and Kleinert, and the second is that of Nambu and Goto. These are curvature models for biological membranes including artificial vesicles. The results obtained in this paper indicate that the first-order phase transition is universal in the sense that the order of the transition is independent of discretization of the Hamiltonian for the tethered surface model.