The challenge of the chiral Potts model

The chiral Potts model continues to pose particular challenges in statistical mechanics: it is ``exactly solvable'' in the sense that it satisfies the Yang-Baxter relation, but actually obtaining the solution is not easy. Its free energy was calculated in 1988 and the order parameter was conjectured in full generality a year later. However, a derivation of that conjecture had to wait until 2005. Here we discuss that derivation.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, 29 reference

The order parameter of the chiral Potts model

An outstanding problem in statistical mechanics is the order parameter of the chiral Potts model. An elegant conjecture for this was made in 1983. It has since been successfully tested against series expansions, but as far as the author is aware there is as yet no proof of the conjecture. Here we show that if one makes a certain analyticity assumption similar to that used to derive the free energy, then one can indeed verify the conjecture. The method is based on the ``broken rapidity line'' approach pioneered by Jimbo, Miwa and Nakayashiki.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures. Citations made more explicit and some typos correcte

Corner transfer matrices in statistical mechanics

Corner transfer matrices are a useful tool in the statistical mechanics of simple two-dimensinal models. They can be very effective way of obtaining series expansions of unsolved models, and of calculating the order parameters of solved ones. Here we review these features and discuss the reason why the method fails to give the order parameter of the chiral Potts model.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, for Proceedings of Conference on Symmetries and Integrability of Difference Equations. (SIDE VII), Melbourne, July 200

Some comments on developments in exact solutions in statistical mechanics since 1944

Lars Onsager and Bruria Kaufman calculated the partition function of the Ising model exactly in 1944 and 1949. Since then there have been many developments in the exact solution of similar, but usually more complicated, models. Here I shall mention a few, and show how some of the latest work seems to be returning once again to the properties observed by Onsager and Kaufman.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, section on six-vertex model revise

Bethe Ansatz Equations for the Broken ZNZ_{N}-Symmetric Model

We obtain the Bethe Ansatz equations for the broken ${\bf Z}_{N}$-symmetric model by constructing a functional relation of the transfer matrix of $L$-operators. This model is an elliptic off-critical extension of the Fateev-Zamolodchikov model. We calculate the free energy of this model on the basis of the string hypothesis.Comment: 43 pages, latex, 11 figure

Free field constructions for the elliptic algebra Aq,p(sl^2){\cal A}_{q,p}(\hat{sl}_2) and Baxter's eight-vertex model

Three examples of free field constructions for the vertex operators of the elliptic quantum group ${\cal A}_{q,p}(\hat{sl}_2)$ are obtained. Two of these (for $p^{1/2}=\pm q^{3/2},p^{1/2}=-q^2$) are based on representation theories of the deformed Virasoro algebra, which correspond to the level 4 and level 2 $Z$-algebra of Lepowsky and Wilson. The third one ($p^{1/2}=q^{3}$) is constructed over a tensor product of a bosonic and a fermionic Fock spaces. The algebraic structure at $p^{1/2}=q^{3}$, however, is not related to the deformed Virasoro algebra. Using these free field constructions, an integral formula for the correlation functions of Baxter's eight-vertex model is obtained. This formula shows different structure compared with the one obtained by Lashkevich and Pugai.Comment: 23 pages. Based on talks given at "MATHPHYS ODYSSEY 2001-Integrable Models and Beyond" at Okayama and Kyoto, February 19-23, 2001, et

Star-Triangle Relation for a Three Dimensional Model

The solvable $sl(n)$-chiral Potts model can be interpreted as a three-dimensional lattice model with local interactions. To within a minor modification of the boundary conditions it is an Ising type model on the body centered cubic lattice with two- and three-spin interactions. The corresponding local Boltzmann weights obey a number of simple relations, including a restricted star-triangle relation, which is a modified version of the well-known star-triangle relation appearing in two-dimensional models. We show that these relations lead to remarkable symmetry properties of the Boltzmann weight function of an elementary cube of the lattice, related to spatial symmetry group of the cubic lattice. These symmetry properties allow one to prove the commutativity of the row-to-row transfer matrices, bypassing the tetrahedron relation. The partition function per site for the infinite lattice is calculated exactly.Comment: 20 pages, plain TeX, 3 figures, SMS-079-92/MRR-020-92. (corrupted figures replaced

Construction of some missing eigenvectors of the XYZ spin chain at the discrete coupling constants and the exponentially large spectral degeneracy of the transfer matrix

We discuss an algebraic method for constructing eigenvectors of the transfer matrix of the eight vertex model at the discrete coupling parameters. We consider the algebraic Bethe ansatz of the elliptic quantum group $E_{\tau, \eta}(sl_2)$ for the case where the parameter $\eta$ satisfies $2 N \eta = m_1 + m_2 \tau$ for arbitrary integers $N$, $m_1$ and $m_2$. When $m_1$ or $m_2$ is odd, the eigenvectors thus obtained have not been discussed previously. Furthermore, we construct a family of degenerate eigenvectors of the XYZ spin chain, some of which are shown to be related to the $sl_2$ loop algebra symmetry of the XXZ spin chain. We show that the dimension of some degenerate eigenspace of the XYZ spin chain on $L$ sites is given by $N 2^{L/N}$, if $L/N$ is an even integer. The construction of eigenvectors of the transfer matrices of some related IRF models is also discussed.Comment: 19 pages, no figure (revisd version with three appendices

A critical Ising model on the Labyrinth

A zero-field Ising model with ferromagnetic coupling constants on the so-called Labyrinth tiling is investigated. Alternatively, this can be regarded as an Ising model on a square lattice with a quasi-periodic distribution of up to eight different coupling constants. The duality transformation on this tiling is considered and the self-dual couplings are determined. Furthermore, we analyze the subclass of exactly solvable models in detail parametrizing the coupling constants in terms of four rapidity parameters. For those, the self-dual couplings correspond to the critical points which, as expected, belong to the Onsager universality class.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure