Testing approximate theories of first-order phase transitions on the two-dimensional Potts model

The two-dimensional,q-state (q>4) Potts model is used as a testing ground for approximate theories of first-order phase transitions. In particular, the predictions of a theory analogous to the Ramakrishnan-Yussouff theory of freezing are compared with those of ordinary mean-field (Curie-Wiess) theory. It is found that the Curie-Weiss theory is a better approximation than the Ramakrishnan-Yussouff theory, even though the former neglects all fluctuations. It is shown that the Ramakrishnan-Yussouff theory overestimates the effects of fluctuations in this system. The reasons behind the failure of the Ramakrishnan-Yussouff approximation and the suitability of using the two-dimensional Potts model as a testing ground for these theories are discussed.     

Microcanonical Analysis of Exactness of the Mean-Field Theory in Long-Range Interacting Systems

Classical spin systems with nonadditive long-range interactions are studied in the microcanonical ensemble. It is expected that the entropy of such a system is identical to that of the corresponding mean-field model, which is called “exactness of the mean-field theory”. It is found out that this expectation is not necessarily true if the microcanonical ensemble is not equivalent to the canonical ensemble in the mean-field model. Moreover, necessary and sufficient conditions for exactness of the mean-field theory are obtained. These conditions are investigated for two concrete models, the α-Potts model with annealed vacancies and the α-Potts model with invisible states.     

Dynamical generation of a Coulomb phase in the mean-field approach to Z(N) lattice gauge theories

The phase diagram of Z(N) lattice gauge theories is examined in the mean-field approach. It is shown how large non-perturbative fluctuations around the mean-field may naturally occur in these theories. When this happens, a massless phase which is absent in the mean-field approximation is dynamically generated. An order parameter which characterizes the Coulomb to Higgs phase transition is introduced. The predictions for the values of the critical coupling for this transition are in excellent agreement with the Monte Carlo data in four dimensions.     

On the Mean-Field Spherical Model

Exact solutions are obtained for the mean-field spherical model, with or without an external magnetic field, for any finite or infinite number N of degrees of freedom, both in the microcanonical and in the canonical ensemble. The canonical result allows for an exact discussion of the loci/ of the Fisher zeros of the canonical partition function. The microcanonical entropy is found to be nonanalytic for arbitrary finite N. The mean-field spherical model of finite size N is shown to be equivalent to a mixed isovector/isotensor σ-model on a lattice of two sites. Partial equivalence of statistical ensembles is observed for the mean-field spherical model in the thermodynamic limit. A discussion of the topology of certain state space submanifolds yields insights into the relation of these topological quantities to the thermodynamic behavior of the system in the presence of ensemble nonequivalence.     

Being Discrete about Yang and Mills: Basic Techniques of Euclidean Lattice Gauge Theory

We discuss the formulation of gauge-invariant quantum field theories (without dynamical matter fields) as statistical mechanics systems on four-dimensional Euclidean lattices. Approximation methods including strong- and weak-coupling expansions, mean-field theory and Monte Carlo simulations are reviewed in detail, and Abelian duality transformations are derived. New models are discussed. An action is defined on 2 × 1 rectangular loops of links and its properties are investigated. It is found to result in phase transitions in 2, 3 and 4 dimensions with Z(2) and SU(2) gauge groups. A large class of models with Z(N) symmetry realised on plaquettes is investigated, and several phase diagrams are presented. A mixed model with interactions through both plaquettes and rectangles is found to have a line of phase transitions and a critical point associated with the crossover region in the Wilson SU(2) model.     

A new construction of thermodynamic mean-field theories of itinerant fermions: application to the Falicov-Kimball model

We present a general scheme for a construction of mean-field-like theories of itinerant lattice fermions based on solutions to the exactd= grand canonical potential. The general construction is explicitly demonstrated on the exactly solvabled= Falicov-Kimball model. A mean-field zero-temperature behaviour of this sample model is studied quantitatively.Work supported by the A. von Humboldt Foundation.     

Commutability between the semiclassical and adiabatic limits

We study the adiabatic limit and the semiclassical limit with a second-quantized two-mode model of a many-boson interacting system. When its mean-field interaction is small, these two limits are commutable. However, when the interaction is strong and over a critical value, the two limits become incommutable. This change of commutability is associated with a topological change in the structure of the energy bands. These results reveal that nonlinear mean-field theories, such as Gross-Pitaevskii equations for Bose-Einstein condensates, can be invalid in the adiabatic limit.     

Chemical and structural disorder effects on the Curie temperature

The disorder effects on the Curie temperature of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric systems are studied by factorizing the spin–spin (or dipole–dipole) interaction into a chemical (on-site) and a structural (off-site) part. Assuming the statistical independence of the two contributions, the Curie temperature T_c is calculated in the limit of small disorder and in the mean-field approximation. The chemical disorder always enhances T_c . In the absence of spin waves (Ising-like systems), the structural disorder enhances T_c in turn. The only negative contribution to T_c is found in Heisenberg-like systems, and is ascribed to the interplay between structural disorder and spin waves. A comparison is made with other mean-field theories that adopt a different representation of the disorder. The application of the results obtained to real systems is considered, with special reference to recent experimental data on ferroelectric perovskites. An approximate expression, consistent with the mean-field approach, is suggested to estimate the relative weight of the chemical and structural disorder effects, even when an exact factorization is impossible, as is the case of the exchange interactions.     

Theory and simulations of rigid polyelectrolytes

Theoretical and numerical studies are reported on stiff, linear polyelectrolytes within the framework of the cell model, first reviewing analytical results obtained on a mean-field Poisson—Boltzmann level, and then using molecular dynamics simulations to show the circumstances under which these fail quantitatively and qualitatively. For the hexagonally packed nematic phase of the polyelectrolytes the osmotic coefficient is computed as a function of density. In the presence of multivalent counterions it can become negative, leading to effective attractions. This is shown to result from a reduced contribution of the virial part to the pressure. The osmotic coefficient and ionic distribution functions are computed from Poisson—Boltzmann theory with and without a recently proposed correlation correction. Simulation results for the case of poly(p-phenylene) are presented and compared with recently obtained experimental data on this stiff polyelectrolyte. Ion—ion correlations in the strong coupling regime are studied and compared with the predictions of the recently advocated Wigner crystal theories.     

金属铍热力学性质的理论研究

使用第一性原理方法结合平均场模型研究了压力从0到150GPa、温度从0到1500K，金属铍六角密排结构(hcp)的热力学性质，包括铍的常态性质，等温高压物态方程，以及常压下平衡体积、体弹模量随温度的变化，Hugoniot曲线等.0K物态方程由广义梯度近似下的密度泛函理论计算，粒子热运动的贡献由平均场模型计算.由于铍的Debye温度比较高，计算自由能时考虑了零点振动能修正.计算结果与已有的静力学和冲击波实验数据符合得非常好. 关键词： 热力学性质 物态方程 第一原理计算     

Pattern formation by growing droplets: The touch-and-stop model of growth

We investigate a novel model of pattern formation phenomena. In this model spherical droplets are nucleated on a substrate and grow at constant velocity; when two droplets touch each other they stop their growth. We examine the heterogeneous process in which the droplet formation is initiated on randomly distributed centers of nucleation and the homogeneous process in which droplets are nucleated spontaneously at constant rate. For the former process, we find that in arbitrary dimensiond the system reaches a jamming state where further growth becomes impossible. For the latter process, we observe the appearance of fractal structures. We develop mean-field theories that predict that the fraction of uncovered material (t) approaches to the jamming limit as (t)–()exp(Ct ^d ) for the heterogeneous process and as a power law for the homogeneous process. Exact solutions in one dimension are obtained and numerical simulations ford=1–3 are performed and compared with mean-field predictions.     

Instability in relativistic mean-field theories of nuclear matter

We investigate the stability of the nuclear matter ground state with respect to small perturbations of the meson fields in relativistic mean-field theories. The popular σ-ω model is shown to have an instability at about twice the nuclear density, which gives rise to a new ground state with periodic spin alignment. Taking into account the contributions of the Dirac sea properly, this instability vanishes. Consequences for relativistic heavy-ion collisions are discussed briefly.     

Uniform uniaxial anisotropic systems with coupled vector order parameters

Phase transitions in magnets, described by two coupled, m-component vector order parameters, having uniform uniaxial anisotropies are studied. Using a phenomenological model, it is shown that when both order parameters are anisotropic, phase transitions are always second order, in either the uniaxial or the (m???1)-isotropic phase. This is contrary to the isotropic case of two coupled order parameters, for which phase transitions are fluctuation-induced first order. The transitions are still continuous into the m-isotropic phase even when the only anisotropic order parameter is the one with the lowest mean-field critical temperature. New discontinuous transitions still occur in either the uniaxial or the (m???1)-isotropic phase, when the only anisotropic order parameter has the highest mean-field critical temperature.     

Stochastic dynamics in a two-level model of disorder: comparison of mean-field and exact solutions

Stochastic dynamics in the presence of quenched disorder (e.g., diffusion in a random medium) is generally treated in a suitable mean-field or effective medium approximation. While numerical simulations may help determine the accuracy of such approximations in specific models, there are relatively few instances in which analytic solutions are possible, to enable a precise comparison to be made with the mean-field results. We consider in this paper a simple but general model of quenched disorder in which a system variablex jumps stochastically between two valuesx _a andx _b . However, in each level there occurs with a certain probability a branch (or internal) state into which the system may fall, and from which a jump to the other level is possible only after a return to the original (or ‘active’) state. Four different configurations of the states of the system are thus possible, and the transitions between the states are governed by Markovian transition probabilities. The moments ofx and its autocorrelation function are computed in each case, and then configuration-averaged over the four realizations. This represents the exact solution. Next, a mean-field theory of the dynamics is developed: this turns out to involve an effective waiting-time density at each of the two levels that is non-exponential in time, so that the mean-field dynamics is a non-Markovian alternating renewal process. The moments and autocorrelation ofx are again computed, and compared with the exact solutions. The extent of the differences at both short and long times is elucidated, and a numerical comparison is presented for the case of maximal disorder.     

The spin-S Blume-Capel RG flow diagram

Using the finite-size scaling renormalization group, we obtain the two-dimensional flow diagram of the Blume-Capel model forS=1 andS=3/2. In the first case our results are similar to those of mean-field theory, which predicts the existence of first- and second-order transitions with a tricritical point. In the second case, however, our results are different. While we obtain in theS=1 case a phase diagram presenting a multicritical point, the mean-field approach predicts only a second-order transition and a critical endpoint.     

Self-consistent normal ordering of gauge field theories

Mean field theories with a real action of unconstrained fields can be self-consistently normal ordered. This leads to a considerable improvement over standard mean-field theory. This concept is applied to lattice gauge theories. We construct first an appropriate real action mean-field theory. The equations determining the Gaussian kernel necessary for self-consistent normal ordering of this mean-field theory are derived.Invited talk presented at the International Conference Selected Topics in Quantum Field Theory and Mathematical Physics, Bechyn, Czechoslovakia, June 23–27, 1986.     

On the independent particle approximation of gauge theories

In this work the independent particle model formulation is studied as a mean-field approximation of gauge theories using the path integral approach in the framework of quantum electrodynamics in 1+1 dimensions. It is shown how a mean-field approximation scheme can be applied to fit an effective potential to an independent particle model, building a straightforward relation between the model and the associated gauge field theory. An example is made considering the problem of massive Dirac fermions on a line, the so called massive Schwinger model. An interesting result is found, indicating a behaviour of screening of the charges in the relativistic limit of strong coupling. A forthcoming application of the method developed to confining potentials in independent quark models for QCD is in view and is briefly discussed.     

The three-dimensional (2 + 1)-fluid model for relativistic nuclear collisions

A new multi-fluid model is constructed for describing high-energy heavy-ion collisions. It is assumed that two baryonic fluids formed by the projectile and target nucleons produce a third hadronic fluid via inelastic nucleon-nucleon collisions. The production and expansion dynamics of the hadronic fluid are investigated in detail. Two equations of state for this fluid are considered: one corresponding to an ideal gas of pions and resonances and another one corresponding to an interacting hadron gas described by the relativistic mean-field model. The effects of freeze-out and non-zero pion chemical potential are investigated. The rapidity and transverse momentum spectra of secondary pions are compared with the experimental data forS + S collisions at 200 GeV/nucleon.The authors thank J. Schaffner for his most valuable assistance in the application of the mean-field model. The authors are also grateful to H. Sorge and A. Jahns for fruitful discussions. This work was supported by the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) and the Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie (BMFT).     

Relativistic mean-field parametrization of effective interaction in nuclear matter

The results of the modern relativistic Dirac-Brueckner calculations of nuclear matter are parametrized in terms of the relativistic- mean-field theory with scalar and vector nonlinear selfinteractions. It is shown that the inclusion of the isoscalar vector-meson quartic selfinteraction is essential for obtaining a proper density dependence of the vector potential in the mean-field model. The obtained mean-field parameters represent a simple parametrization of effective interaction in nuclear matter. This interaction may be used in the mean-field studies of the structure of finite nuclei without the introduction of additional free parameters.This work was supported in part by the Grant Agency of the Slovak Academy of Sciences under Grant No. GA SAV-517/1991.