Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/iii/paper-303/1/a/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 303 1 a ii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Put , so . At zero field the stationary equation factors asFor , is the unique minimum. For , it is unstable and the two minima areThe order parameter therefore tends continuously to zero, and its order-parameter critical exponent is .
At either ordered minimum the singular free-energy density iswhereas it is zero for . Two temperature derivatives give a singular heat capacity proportional to below the transition and zero above it, so the heat-capacity critical exponent is .
The inverse magnetic susceptibility at a stable minimum is the curvature . Below ,and hence and . Above , however, the curvature at vanishes for every . Indeed, at small field , so and the linear susceptibility is already infinite away from the critical point. Consequently the usual magnetic-susceptibility critical exponent is not defined for this exceptional free energy; assigning it a finite value would incorrectly assume a quadratic term.
At , the equation of state is , so and the critical-isotherm exponent is . Thus the transition is continuous, although its missing quadratic term makes the high-temperature linear response singular throughout that phase.
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