Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 303 1 b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Write , take with , and include the magnetic term . At , minimizing the Landau free energy gives for andfor , so the order-parameter critical exponent is . Substitution gives a singular free-energy density proportional to below , whose second temperature derivative has a finite jump, so the heat-capacity exponent is . Above , the equation gives the magnetic susceptibility , hence . At , , so and .
Reduced temperature 2026-09-24
The reduced temperature is a dimensionless distance from a critical temperature. Multiplying it by a nonzero constant does not change any critical exponent.