Past exam of the theoretical physics I course of the University of Cambridge 2022 3 b Solution 2026-10-18
The square lattice has coordination number of a lattice . The mean-field decoupling isAccounting for the factor in the directed-neighbour sum gives the Hamiltonian in the mean-field approximation:The constant term is necessary to correct the double counting of the interaction. Let . The one-site partition function isso . The Helmholtz free energy is thereforeThe equilibrium mean-field approximation is obtained by minimizing this expression over the allowed . The state supplies the extra in ; omitting it would instead describe the two-state Ising model. This is the Blume-Capel mean-field transition at zero single-ion anisotropy.