Two-Dimensional Heisenberg Model with Nonlinear Interactions

We investigate a two-dimensional classical $N$-vector model with a nonlinear interaction (1 + \bsigma_i\cdot \bsigma_j)^p in the large-N limit. As observed for N=3 by Bl\"ote {\em et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 88}, 047203 (2002)], we find a first-order transition for $p>p_c$ and no finite-temperature phase transitions for $p p_c$, both phases have short-range order, the correlation length showing a finite discontinuity at the transition. For $p=p_c$, there is a peculiar transition, where the spin-spin correlation length is finite while the energy-energy correlation length diverges.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures in a uufile. Discussion of the theory for p = p_c revised and enlarge

Off-equilibrium scaling behaviors driven by time-dependent external fields in three-dimensional O(N) vector models

We consider the dynamical off-equilibrium behavior of the three-dimensional O$(N)$ vector model in the presence of a slowly-varying time-dependent spatially-uniform magnetic field ${\bm H}(t) = h(t)\,{\bm e}$, where ${\bm e}$ is a $N$-dimensional constant unit vector, $h(t)=t/t_s$, and $t_s$ is a time scale, at fixed temperature $T\le T_c$, where $T_c$ corresponds to the continuous order-disorder transition. The dynamic evolutions start from equilibrium configurations at $h_i < 0$, correspondingly $t_i < 0$, and end at time $t_f > 0$ with $h(t_f) > 0$, or vice versa. We show that the magnetization displays an off-equilibrium scaling behavior close to the transition line ${\bm H}(t)=0$. It arises from the interplay among the time $t$, the time scale $t_s$, and the finite size $L$. The scaling behavior can be parametrized in terms of the scaling variables $t_s^\kappa/L$ and $t/t_s^{\kappa_t}$, where $\kappa>0$ and $\kappa_t > 0$ are appropriate universal exponents, which differ at the critical point and for $T < T_c$. In the latter case, $\kappa$ and $\kappa_t$ also depend on the shape of the lattice and on the boundary conditions. We present numerical results for the Heisenberg ($N=3$) model under a purely relaxational dynamics. They confirm the predicted off-equilibrium scaling behaviors at and below $T_c$. We also discuss hysteresis phenomena in round-trip protocols for the time dependence of the external field. We define a scaling function for the hysteresis loop area of the magnetization that can be used to quantify how far the system is from equilibrium.Comment: 16 pages, extended text and ref

Critical Phenomena and Renormalization-Group Theory

We review results concerning the critical behavior of spin systems at equilibrium. We consider the Ising and the general O($N$)-symmetric universality classes, including the $N\to 0$ limit that describes the critical behavior of self-avoiding walks. For each of them, we review the estimates of the critical exponents, of the equation of state, of several amplitude ratios, and of the two-point function of the order parameter. We report results in three and two dimensions. We discuss the crossover phenomena that are observed in this class of systems. In particular, we review the field-theoretical and numerical studies of systems with medium-range interactions. Moreover, we consider several examples of magnetic and structural phase transitions, which are described by more complex Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson Hamiltonians, such as $N$-component systems with cubic anisotropy, O($N$)-symmetric systems in the presence of quenched disorder, frustrated spin systems with noncollinear or canted order, and finally, a class of systems described by the tetragonal Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson Hamiltonian with three quartic couplings. The results for the tetragonal Hamiltonian are original, in particular we present the six-loop perturbative series for the $\beta$-functions. Finally, we consider a Hamiltonian with symmetry $O(n_1)\oplus O(n_2)$ that is relevant for the description of multicritical phenomena.Comment: 151 pages. Extended and updated version. To be published in Physics Report

Randomly dilute spin models: a six-loop field-theoretic study

We consider the Ginzburg-Landau MN-model that describes M N-vector cubic models with O(M)-symmetric couplings. We compute the renormalization-group functions to six-loop order in d=3. We focus on the limit N -> 0 which describes the critical behaviour of an M-vector model in the presence of weak quenched disorder. We perform a detailed analysis of the perturbative series for the random Ising model (M=1). We obtain for the critical exponents: gamma = 1.330(17), nu = 0.678(10), eta = 0.030(3), alpha=-0.034(30), beta = 0.349(5), omega = 0.25(10). For M > 1 we show that the O(M) fixed point is stable, in agreement with general non-perturbative arguments, and that no random fixed point exists.Comment: 29 pages, RevTe

Fluid-fluid demixing curves for colloid-polymer mixtures in a random colloidal matrix

We study fluid-fluid phase separation in a colloid-polymer mixture adsorbed in a colloidal porous matrix close to the \theta -point. For this purpose we consider the Asakura-Oosawa model in the presence of a quenched matrix of colloidal hard spheres. We study the dependence of the demixing curve on the parameters that characterize the quenched matrix, fixing the polymer-to-colloid size ratio to 0.8. We find that, to a large extent, demixing curves depend only on a single parameter f, which represents the volume fraction which is unavailable to the colloids. We perform Monte Carlo simulations for volume fractions f equal to 40% and 70%, finding that the binodal curves in the polymer and colloid packing-fraction plane have a small dependence on disorder. The critical point instead changes significantly: for instance, the colloid packing fraction at criticality increases with increasing f. Finally, we observe for some values of the parameters capillary condensation of the colloids: a bulk colloid-poor phase is in chemical equilibrium with a colloid-rich phase in the matrix.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures. In publication in Molecular Physics, special volume dedicated to Luciano Reatto for his 70th birthda

The scaling equation of state of the three-dimensional O(N) universality class: N >= 4

We determine the critical equation of state of the three-dimensional O(N) universality class, for N=4, 5, 6, 32, 64. The N=4 is relevant for the chiral phase transition in QCD with two flavors, the N=5 model is relevant for the SO(5) theory of high-T_c superconductivity, while the N=6 model is relevant for the chiral phase transition in two-color QCD with two flavors. We first consider the small-field expansion of the effective potential (Helmholtz free energy). Then, we apply a systematic approximation scheme based on polynomial parametric representations that are valid in the whole critical regime, satisfy the correct analytic properties (Griffiths' analyticity), take into account the Goldstone singularities at the coexistence curve, and match the small-field expansion of the effective potential. From the approximate representations of the equation of state, we obtain estimates of universal amplitude ratios. We also compare our approximate solutions with those obtained in the large-N expansion, up to order 1/N, finding good agreement for N \gtrsim 32.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Talk presented at Lattice2004(spin), Fermilab, June 21-26, 200

Pseudo-Character Expansions for U(N)-Invariant Spin Models on CP^{N-1}

We define a set of orthogonal functions on the complex projective space CP^{N-1}, and compute their Clebsch-Gordan coefficients as well as a large class of 6-j symbols. We also provide all the needed formulae for the generation of high-temperature expansions for U(N)-invariant spin models defined on CP^{N-1}.Comment: 24 pages, no figure

Crossover from random-exchange to random-field critical behavior in Ising models

We compute the crossover exponent $\phi$ describing the crossover from the random-exchange to the random-field critical behavior in Ising systems. For this purpose, we consider the field-theoretical approach based on the replica method, and perform a six-loop calculation in the framework of a fixed-dimension expansion. The crossover from random-exchange to random-field critical behavior has been observed in dilute anisotropic antiferromagnets, such as Fe$_x$Zn$_{1-x}$F$_2$ and Mn$_x$Zn$_{1-x}$F$_2$, when applying an external magnetic field. Our result $\phi=1.42(2)$ for the crossover exponent is in good agreement with the available experimental estimates.Comment: 5 page