Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/iii/paper-46/1/solution

For the requested ordinary critical point take , , and the quartic Landau free energy . At , minimization gives . Choosing the positive pure thermodynamic phase,
For the magnetic susceptibility, differentiate the equation of state at fixed temperature:
Both sides diverge as , with different amplitudes, so
The one-sided field limit below the transition selects a pure phase; differentiating the symmetric finite-volume mixture would instead include its macroscopic switching response.

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