Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/iii/paper-303/3/b/i/solution

Write . The stationary equations for
are
For , the disordered minimum is . If and , the first component orders with and . If and , the second component orders analogously.
The positive half of and the positive half of are continuous-transition lines. Along the negative diagonal , the potential has an enhanced symmetry and a circle of minima. Crossing that diagonal exchanges the two ordered axes and makes derivatives of the minimum free energy jump, so it is a first-order phase transition line. The origin, where the two continuous lines meet the first-order line, is a bicritical point.

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