Critical behavior induced by quenched disorder

A. Nihat Berker

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 1993, vol. 194, issue 1, 72-76

Abstract: Domain arguments and renormalization-group calculations indicate that all temperature-driven symmetry-breaking first-order phase transitions are converted to second order by quenched bond randomness. This occurs for infinitesimal randomness in d⩽2 or d⩽4 respectively for discrete or continuous (n = 1 or n⩾2 component) microscopic degrees of freedom. Even strongly first-order transitions undergo this conversion to second order! Above these dimensions this conversion still occurs but requires a threshold bond randomness, presumably with an intervening new tricritical point. For example, q-state Potts transitions can be made second order for any q in any d, via bond randomness. Non-symmetry-breaking “temperature-driven” first-order transitions are eliminated under the above conditions. These quenched-fluctuation-induced second-order phase transitions suggest the possibility of new universality classes of criticality and tricriticality.

Date: 1993
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:194:y:1993:i:1:p:72-76

DOI: 10.1016/0378-4371(93)90341-Z

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