Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/iii/paper-69/4/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 69 4 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write the interaction matrix as to distinguish it from its scalar strength. The printed pair sum contains both orientations and has no factor . For a positive-definite matrix , completion of the square gives the Hubbard–Stratonovich transformationsince . For the exponential kernel with and , positivity follows from the positive Fourier symbol derived in part (b), or from its finite open-chain covariance matrix.
Insert this identity into the Ising model partition sum and interchange the finite spin sum with the convergent Gaussian integral. The spin variables now factor independently:It follows thatwith for the measure used here. The factor two in the spin-field coupling is required by the double pair sum; replacing it by one would decouple a statistical Hamiltonian with a different normalization. The diagonal is a spin-independent energy. Including it as printed makes the positive Gaussian identity directly applicable; if diagonal self-couplings are removed they should first be restored as an irrelevant constant before this real auxiliary-field decoupling.
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