First and second order transition of frustrated Heisenberg spin systems

Starting from the hypothesis of a second order transition we have studied modifications of the original Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a stacked triangular lattice (STA-model) by the Monte Carlo technique. The change is a local constraint restricting the spins at the corners of selected triangles to add up to zero without stopping them from moving freely (STAR-model). We have studied also the closely related dihedral and trihedral models which can be classified as Stiefel models. We have found indications of a first order transition for all three modified models instead of a universal critical behavior. This is in accordance with the renormalization group investigations but disagrees with the Monte Carlo simulations of the original STA-model favoring a new universality class. For the corresponding x-y antiferromagnet studied before, the second order nature of the transition could also not be confirmed. Received 17 May 1999 and Received in final form 30 July 1999     

First and second order transition in frustrated XY systems

The nature of the phase transition for the XY stacked triangular antiferromagnet (STA) is a controversial subject at present. The field theoretical renormalization group (RG) in three dimensions predicts a first order transition. This prediction disagrees with Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations which favor a new universality class or a tricritical transition. We simulate by the Monte-Carlo method two models derived from the STA by imposing the constraint of local rigidity which should have the same critical behavior as the original model. A strong first order transition is found. Following Zumbach we analyze the second order transition observed in MC studies as due to a fixed point in the complex plane. We review the experimental results in order to clarify the critical behavior observed. Received: 18 February 1998 / Revised: 24 April 1998 / Accepted: 30 April 1998     

An exact formulation of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model on a two-fold Cayley tree model

A two-fold Cayley tree graph with fully q-coordinated sites is constructed and the spin-1 Ising Blume-Emery-Griffiths model on the constructed graph is solved exactly using the exact recursion equations for the coordination number q = 3. The exact phase diagrams in (kT/J, K/J ) and (kT/J, D/J) planes are obtained for various values of constants D/J and K/J, respectively, and the tricritical behavior is found. It is observed that when the negative biquadratic exchange (K) and the positive crystal-field (D) interactions are large enough, the tricritical point disappears in the (kT/J, K/J) plane. On the other hand, the system always exhibits a tricritical behavior in the phase diagram of (kT/J, D/J) plane. Received 8 June 2001 and Received in final form 28 September 2001     

Exact solution of the one-dimensional spin-\frac{\mathsf 3}{\mathsf 2} Ising model in magnetic field

In this paper, we study the Ising model with general spin S in presence of an external magnetic field by means of the equations of motion method and of the Green's function formalism. First, the model is shown to be isomorphic to a fermionic one constituted of 2S species of localized particles interacting via an intersite Coulomb interaction. Then, an exact solution is found, for any dimension, in terms of a finite, complete set of eigenoperators of the latter Hamiltonian and of the corresponding eigenenergies. This explicit knowledge makes possible writing exact expressions for the corresponding Green's function and correlation functions, which turn out to depend on a finite set of parameters to be self-consistently determined. Finally, we present an original procedure, based on algebraic constraints, to exactly fix these latter parameters in the case of dimension 1 and spin . For this latter case and, just for comparison, for the cases of dimension 1 and spin [F. Mancini, Eur. Phys. J. B 45, 497 (2005)] and spin 1 [F. Mancini, Eur. Phys. J. B 47, 527 (2005)], relevant properties such as magnetization 〈S 〉 and square magnetic moment 〈S² 〉, susceptibility and specific heat are reported as functions of temperature and external magnetic field both for ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic couplings. It is worth noticing the use we made of composite operators describing occupation transitions among the 3 species of localized particles and the related study of single, double and triple occupancy per site.     

The spin-2 antiferromagnet on the Bethe lattice

The complete phase diagrams of the antiferromagnetic spin-2 Blume-Capel Ising system is studied on the Bethe lattice by the use of exact recursion relations. In order to specify the states of the system, i.e. the different spin configurations, the ground state phase diagram is obtained on the (H/|J|, D/|J|) plane corresponding to the reduced external magnetic and crystal fields, respectively. As a result, the thermal change of the order-parameters, the magnetisations belonging to the two sublattice system, was investigated to obtain the full phase diagrams of the system on the (H/|J|, kT/|J|) planes. The behavior of the order-parameters with respect to the external magnetic field was also studied for the given values of D/|J|. Besides the interesting thermal and external magnetic field change of the sublattice magnetisations, the system also exhibits interesting critical behaviors including first- and second-order phase transitions, therefore, triciritical points and the reentrant behavior. The calculations are carried out for the coordination number q=4, corresponding to the square lattice, only.     

On the properties of small-world network models

We study the small-world networks recently introduced by Watts and Strogatz [Nature 393, 440 (1998)], using analytical as well as numerical tools. We characterize the geometrical properties resulting from the coexistence of a local structure and random long-range connections, and we examine their evolution with size and disorder strength. We show that any finite value of the disorder is able to trigger a “small-world” behaviour as soon as the initial lattice is big enough, and study the crossover between a regular lattice and a “small-world” one. These results are corroborated by the investigation of an Ising model defined on the network, showing for every finite disorder fraction a crossover from a high-temperature region dominated by the underlying one-dimensional structure to a mean-field like low-temperature region. In particular there exists a finite-temperature ferromagnetic phase transition as soon as the disorder strength is finite. [0.5cm] Received 29 March 1999 and Received in final form 21 May 1999     

Density waves in traffic flow model with relative velocity

The car-following model of traffic flow is extended to take into account the relative velocity. The stability condition of this model is obtained by using linear stability theory. It is shown that the stability of uniform traffic flow is improved by considering the relative velocity. From nonlinear analysis, it is shown that three different density waves, that is, the triangular shock wave, soliton wave and kink-antikink wave, appear in the stable, metastable and unstable regions of traffic flow respectively. The three different density waves are described by the nonlinear wave equations: the Burgers equation, Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation and modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation, respectively.     

Analysis of stability and density waves of traffic flow model in an ITS environment

By introducing relative velocities of arbitrary number of cars ahead into the full velocity difference models (FVDM), we present a forward looking relative velocity model (FLRVM) of cooperative driving control system. To our knowledge, the model is an improvement over the similar extension in the forward looking optimal velocity models (FLOVM), because it is more reasonable and realistic in implement of incorporating intelligent transportation system in traffic. Then the stability criterion is investigated by the linear stability analysis with finding that new consideration theoretically lead to the improvement of the stability of traffic flow, and the validity of our theoretical analysis is confirmed by direct simulations. In addition, nonlinear analysis of the model shows that the three waves: triangular shock wave, soliton wave and kink-antikink wave appear respectively in stable, metastable and unstable regions. These correspond to the solutions of the Burgers equation, Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation and modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation.     

Zero-temperature TAP equations for the Ghatak-Sherrington model

The zero-temperature TAP equations for the spin-1 Ghatak-Sherrington model are investigated. The spin-glass energy density (ground state) is determined as a function of the anisotropy crystal field D for a large number of spins. This allows us to locate a first-order transition between the spin-glass and paramagnetic phases within a good accuracy. The total number of solutions is also determined as a function of D. Received 25 November 1999     

Effects of random biquadratic couplings in a spin-1 spin-glass model

A spin-1 model, appropriated to study the competition between bilinear (J _ij S _i S _j ) and biquadratic (K _ij S _i ² S _j ²) random interactions, both of them with zero mean, is investigated. The interactions are infinite-ranged and the replica method is employed. Within the replica-symmetric assumption, the system presents two phases, namely, paramagnetic and spin-glass, separated by a continuous transition line. The stability analysis of the replica-symmetric solution yields, besides the usual instability associated with the spin-glass ordering, a new phase due to the random biquadratic couplings between the spins. Received 18 May 1999 and Received in final form 20 October 1999     

Paradoxical magnetic cooling in a structural transition model

In contrast to the experimentally widely used isentropic demagnetization process for cooling to ultra-low temperatures we examine a particular classical model system that does not cool, but rather heats up with isentropic demagnetization. This system consists of several magnetite particles in a colloidal suspension, and shows the uncommon behavior of disordering structurally while ordering magnetically in an increasing magnetic field. For a six-particle system, we report an uncommon structural transition from a ring to a chain as a function of magnetic field and temperature. Received 5 September 2000     

Thermodynamic properties of the XX model in a chain with a period two and three coupling

The exact solutions for the energy spectrum of the XX model with a periodic coupling and an external transverse magnetic field h are obtained. The diagonalization procedure is discussed, and analytical and numerical solutions are given. Using the solutions for period-two coupling, the free energy, entropy, and specific heat are calculated as functions of temperature and applied transverse external magnetic field. Their expressions show that below a particular value v and above a value u of the magnetic field |h|, the entropy and the specific heat vanish exponentially in the low temperature limit.     

Universal behaviors of mutual information in one-dimensional ${\sf J}_1-{\sf J}_2$ model

The critical behaviors of the entropy correlation effects in the one dimensional J₁-J₂ Heisenberg model are studied. It is shown that the mutual information or the correlation entropy captures the key features of information about critical fluctuations and can be used to quantify the quantum and finite-temperature phase transitions. At the critical point, the mutual information is power-law decay and the entanglement correlation length is infinite. While far away from the critical point, the mutual information is exponential decay and the entanglement correlation length is finite. A universal property of the mutual information is also found. Based on the critical behaviors of the mutual information, a new method to quantify the infinite order phase transition in the system is proposed.     

Entropy and multi-particle correlations in two-dimensional lattice gases

We analyse the statistical entropy of two-dimensional lattice-gas models in terms of the contributions which arise from space correlations of increasing order. The “residual multiparticle entropy”, defined as the contribution to the excess entropy that is associated with correlations involving more than two particles, is calculated for the Ising and Coulomb lattice gases. The thermodynamic behaviour of the residual multiparticle entropy is then discussed in relation to the phase diagram of the model and the existence of underlying signatures of order-disorder phase transitions is also investigated. Received 31 December 1998 and Received in final form 8 March 1999     

Short-time behavior of the kinetic spherical model with long-ranged interactions

The kinetic spherical model with long-ranged interactions and an arbitrary initial order m₀ quenched from a very high temperature to T is solved. In the short-time regime, the bulk order increases with a power law in both the critical and phase-ordering dynamics. To the latter dynamics, a power law for the relative order is found in the intermediate time-regime. The short-time scaling relations of small m₀ are generalized to an arbitrary m₀ and all the time larger than . The characteristic functions for the scaling of m₀ and for are obtained. The crossover between scaling regimes is discussed in detail. Received 17 September 1999     

Antiferromagnetic Ising spin glass competing with BCS pairing interaction in a transverse field

The competition among spin glass (SG), antiferromagnetism (AF) and local pairing superconductivity (PAIR) is studied in a two-sublattice fermionic Ising spin glass model with a local BCS pairing interaction in the presence of an applied magnetic transverse field Γ. In the present approach, spins in different sublattices interact with a Gaussian random coupling with an antiferromagnetic mean J₀ and standard deviation J. The problem is formulated in the path integral formalism in which spin operators are represented by bilinear combinations of Grassmann variables. The saddle-point Grand Canonical potential is obtained within the static approximation and the replica symmetric ansatz. The results are analysed in phase diagrams in which the AF and the SG phases can occur for small g (g is the strength of the local superconductor coupling written in units of J), while the PAIR phase appears as unique solution for large g. However, there is a complex line transition separating the PAIR phase from the others. It is second order at high temperature that ends in a tricritical point. The quantum fluctuations affect deeply the transition lines and the tricritical point due to the presence of Γ.     

Twist free energy in a spin glass

The field theory of a short range spin glass with Gaussian random interactions, is considered near the upper critical dimension six. In the glassy phase, replica symmetry breaking is accompanied with massless Goldstone modes, generated by the breaking of reparametrization invariance of a Parisi type solution. Twisted boundary conditions are thus imposed at two opposite ends of the system in order to study the size dependence of the twist free energy. A loop-expansion is performed to first order around a twisted background. It is found, as expected but it is non trivial, that the theory does renormalize around such backgrounds, as well as for the bulk. However two main differences appear, in comparison with simple ferromagnetic transitions: (i) the loop expansion yields a (negative) anomaly in the size dependence of the free energy, thereby lifting the lower critical dimension to a value greater than two (ii) the free energy is lowered by twisting the boundary conditions. This situation is common in spin glasses, reflecting the non-positivity of mode multiplicity in replica symmetry breaking, but its physical meaning is still unclear. Received 12 April 2002 / Received in final form 30 July 2002 Published online 19 November 2002     

Critical fluctuations of a binary fluid mixture confined in a porous medium

We have performed small angle neutron scattering experiments on the binary fluid mixture n-C₆H₁₄+n-C₈F₁₈ imbibed inside porous Vycor glass in the thermodynamic region corresponding to the bulk critical one. The resulting structure can be represented as the sum of a temperature dependent Lorentzian term and a term describing the interference between the porous matrix, a shell part richer in one component coating the glass surface, and a core part richer in the other component. We observe critical fluctuations extending over distances markedly larger than the mean pore size. Received 20 May 1999     

Morphological characterization of spinodal decomposition kinetics

The time evolution of the morphology of homogeneous phases during spinodal decomposition is described using a family of morphological measures known as Minkowski functionals. They provide the characteristic length scale L of patterns in a convenient, statistically robust, and computationally inexpensive way. They also allow one to study the scaling behavior of the content, shape, and connectivity of spatial structures and to define the crossover from the early stage decomposition to the late stage domain growth. We observe the scaling behavior with , , and depending on the viscosity of the fluid. When approaching the spinodal density , we recover the prediction for the early time spinodal decomposition. Received 3 March 1998