Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-43/1/e/solution

The first-order coexistence curve approaches the continuous curve as : both meet at . To obtain this tricritical point, two even coefficients must be tuned to zero, while the sextic coefficient remains positive. A nonzero conjugate field removes the zero-field inversion symmetry and leads to the wing structure described in the root solution.
At , the equation of state becomes . For ,
Above the transition and . These are stable branches of a bounded potential, and the ordered value tends continuously to zero at , but with rather than the ordinary square-root law. Tricritical behavior requires , and ; a generic path with fixed instead has ordinary critical behavior.

New to topics? Read the docs here!