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This article lists the
critical exponent Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine * Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. * Critical Software, a company specializing i ...
s of the ferromagnetic transition in the
Ising model The Ising model () (or Lenz-Ising model or Ising-Lenz model), named after the physicists Ernst Ising and Wilhelm Lenz, is a mathematical model of ferromagnetism in statistical mechanics. The model consists of discrete variables that represent ...
. In
statistical physics Statistical physics is a branch of physics that evolved from a foundation of statistical mechanics, which uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the mathematical tools for dealing with large populations and approxi ...
, the Ising model is the simplest system exhibiting a continuous
phase transition In chemistry, thermodynamics, and other related fields, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states ...
with a scalar
order parameter In chemistry, thermodynamics, and other related fields, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states ...
and \mathbb_2 symmetry. The critical exponents of the transition are universal values and characterize the singular properties of physical quantities. The ferromagnetic transition of the Ising model establishes an important
universality class In statistical mechanics, a universality class is a collection of mathematical models which share a single scale invariant limit under the process of renormalization group flow. While the models within a class may differ dramatically at finite s ...
, which contains a variety of phase transitions as different as
ferromagnetism Ferromagnetism is a property of certain materials (such as iron) which results in a large observed magnetic permeability, and in many cases a large magnetic coercivity allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagnetic materials a ...
close to the
Curie point In physics and materials science, the Curie temperature (''T''C), or Curie point, is the temperature above which certain materials lose their permanent magnetic properties, which can (in most cases) be replaced by induced magnetism. The Cur ...
and
critical opalescence Critical opalescence is a phenomenon which arises in the region of a continuous, or second-order, phase transition. Originally reported by Charles Cagniard de la Tour in 1823 in mixtures of alcohol and water, its importance was recognised by Thom ...
of liquid near its critical point. From the
quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles a ...
point of view, the critical exponents can be expressed in terms of scaling dimensions of the local operators \sigma,\epsilon,\epsilon' of the
conformal field theory A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations. In two dimensions, there is an infinite-dimensional algebra of local conformal transformations, and conformal field theories can sometime ...
describing the
phase transition In chemistry, thermodynamics, and other related fields, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states ...
(In the Ginzburg–Landau description, these are the operators normally called \phi,\phi^2,\phi^4.) These expressions are given in the last column of the above table, and were used to calculate the values of the critical exponents using the operator dimensions values from the following table: In d=2, the two-dimensional critical Ising model's critical exponents can be computed exactly using the minimal model M_. In d=4, it is the free massless scalar theory (also referred to as
mean field theory In physics and probability theory, Mean-field theory (MFT) or Self-consistent field theory studies the behavior of high-dimensional random ( stochastic) models by studying a simpler model that approximates the original by averaging over degrees of ...
). These two theories are exactly solved, and the exact solutions give values reported in the table. The d=3 theory is not yet exactly solved. This theory has been traditionally studied by the
renormalization group In theoretical physics, the term renormalization group (RG) refers to a formal apparatus that allows systematic investigation of the changes of a physical system as viewed at different scales. In particle physics, it reflects the changes in the ...
methods and Monte-Carlo simulations. The estimates following from those techniques, as well as references to the original works, can be found in Refs. and. Kleinert, H.
"Critical exponents from seven-loop strong-coupling φ4 theory in three dimensions".
''
Physical Review ''Physical Review'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1893 by Edward Nichols. It publishes original research as well as scientific and literature reviews on all aspects of physics. It is published by the American Physical Soc ...
'' D 60, 085001 (1999)
More recently, a conformal field theory method known as the
conformal bootstrap The conformal bootstrap is a non-perturbative mathematical method to constrain and solve conformal field theories, i.e. models of particle physics or statistical physics that exhibit similar properties at different levels of resolution. Overview ...
has been applied to the d=3 theory. This method gives results in agreement with the older techniques, but up to two orders of magnitude more precise. These are the values reported in the table.


See also

*
Universality class In statistical mechanics, a universality class is a collection of mathematical models which share a single scale invariant limit under the process of renormalization group flow. While the models within a class may differ dramatically at finite s ...
*
XY model The classical XY model (sometimes also called classical rotor (rotator) model or O(2) model) is a lattice model of statistical mechanics. In general, the XY model can be seen as a specialization of Stanley's ''n''-vector model for . Definition ...


References


Books

* Kleinert, H. and Schulte-Frohlinde, V.; ''Critical Properties of φ4-Theories''
World Scientific (Singapore, 2001)
Paperback {{ISBN, 981-02-4658-7'' (also availabl
online
(together with V. Schulte-Frohlinde)''


External links


A discussion of critical exponents in general at the Statistical Mechanics Wiki
Critical exponents (phase transitions)