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The four-state clock model permits the four angles $0,\pi /2,\pi ,3\pi /2$. Its finite discrete symmetry allows finite-temperature long-range order above one spatial dimension.

The Landau-Ginzburg theory for a scalar order parameter supplements a local symmetry-allowed potential with a gradient penalty. For a ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ symmetry at zero field, a stable quartic model iswith $r=a(T-T_c)$ near a mean-field transition. Equilibrium fluctuations have weight $e^{-F/(k_{B}T)}$. In the Landau approximation, minimize the functional. A uniform stationary state obeys $r\varphi +u{\varphi }^3=h$. At zero field the minimum is $\varphi =0$ for $r>0$ and $\varphi =\pm \sqrt{-r/u}$ for $r<0$. The latter pair is spontaneous symmetry breaking of the discrete symmetry.

The uniform free-energy density at its minimum is zero above the transition and $-r^2/(4u)$ below, up to regular backgrounds. Differentiating the equation of state gives ${\chi }_{+}=1/r$ and ${\chi }_{-}=1/(2|r|)$. At $r=0$, $\varphi =(h/u{)}^{1/3}$. Gaussian fluctuations around the minimum have inverse covariance $(K{q}^2+r)/(k_{B}T)$ above and $(K{q}^2+2|r|)/(k_{B}T)$ below. Their correlation lengths are ${\xi }_{+}=(K/r{)}^{1/2}$ and ${\xi }_{-}=(K/(2|r|){)}^{1/2}$. These results give the usual mean-field critical exponentsThe heat capacity has a finite jump rather than a power-law divergence. Negative quartic coefficient requires higher stabilizing terms and can produce a first-order transition; a vanishing quartic coefficient requires a tricritical analysis. Thus the assumed positivity of $u$ matters.

The Ginzburg criterion tests whether this saddle description is self-consistent. Below the transition compare fluctuations of the order parameter averaged over a correlation volume with its squared mean-field value ${\varphi }_0^2=|r|/u$. Modes with $q\lesssim {\xi }^{-1}$ dominate this coarse-grained fluctuation estimate:where the positive dimensionless $A_D$ depends on the averaging window and the factor of two used in $\xi$. Dividing by ${\varphi }_0^2$ givesIt is the fluctuation of a correlation-volume average, not the full cutoff-dominated microscopic variance, that should be compared with the mean-field order parameter.

For $D<4$, $\mathcal{G}$ diverges as $r\to 0$, so the asymptotic critical region is fluctuation dominated. Away from it, mean-field theory can still work whenFor $D>4$, the long-wavelength ratio tends to zero near criticality, consistently with Gaussian control and mean-field thermodynamic exponents. At $D=4$, quartic coupling is marginal; scale-dependent logarithms require a renormalization-group analysis rather than interpreting a constant bare ratio as a proof of no corrections. This identifies four as the upper critical dimension of the short-range scalar quartic model.

The Landau-Ginzburg theory is valuable because symmetries restrict a manageable list of local operators, the gradient term describes correlations and interfaces, and the Ginzburg criterion identifies when neglected fluctuations become decisive. Below the upper critical dimension an interacting renormalization-group fixed point, rather than the bare saddle, determines universal exponents. For continuous order parameters the manifold of ordered minima also has Goldstone modes, and lower-critical-dimension fluctuations require separate attention. Mean-field minimization supplies an approximation; the Ginzburg ratio decides whether its neglect of fluctuations is justified.

Use spin one-half states $|\uparrow ⟩,|\downarrow ⟩$ with $S^z=\pm 1/2$, so ${\sigma }^i=2S^i$ and $H=-J{\sum }_n({\sigma }_n^x{\sigma }_{n+1}^x+g{\sigma }_n^z)$. At $g=0$, every ferromagnetic bond has its lowest energy $-J$ when adjacent $x$ spins agree. On the connected periodic chain the normalized ground states arewhere $|\pm x⟩=(|\uparrow ⟩\pm |\downarrow ⟩)/\sqrt{2}$. Their span is the two-dimensional ground-state subspace; any normalized superposition is another ground state. They are exchanged by the global spin-flip discrete symmetry generated by ${\prod }_n{\sigma }_n^z$.

As $g\to +\infty$, the field dominates and selectsThe limiting polarized state is unique. At large finite $g$, exchange admixes virtual spin flips, so the product state is the limiting wavefunction rather than an exact finite-field eigenstate. The bulk expansion below gives $E_0/N=-J[g+1/(4g)+O(g^{-3})]$. The exact twofold degeneracy stated at $g=0$ should be distinguished from thermodynamic spontaneous symmetry breaking in the ordered phase: a finite chain at nonzero field can have a split pair of symmetry eigenstates.

Write $m_i={\mu }_i^2$ and $r^2={\varphi }_1^2+{\varphi }_2^2$. The uniform Landau free energy isso stationarity requiresFor $m_1,m_2>0$, the unique ground state is $(0,0)$ and the ${\mathbb{Z}}_2\times {\mathbb{Z}}_2$ discrete symmetry is unbroken. If $m_1<0$ and $|m_1|>|m_2|$, thenwhich breaks the first ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ and leaves the second intact. This includes the case in which both masses are negative, because $m_1$ is then the more negative one. The remaining possible ordered case under the stated inequality is $m_1>0>m_2$, for whichand only the second ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ is broken. The Hessian matrix in each ordered state is positive because the uncondensed direction has squared mass $m_k-m_j>0$, where $m_j$ is the condensed, more negative mass.

Near either continuous transition the nonzero order parameter is proportional to $(-m_i{)}^{1/2}$. Hence the mean-field critical exponents are

The lower critical dimension is the dimension at or below which fluctuations destroy the proposed finite-temperature ordered phase. Here the broken symmetry is discrete, so $d_{\mathrm{l}}=1$. In one dimension a domain wall interpolating between the two signs has finite energy, whereas its possible position gives an entropy growing as $\log L$. Domain walls therefore occur with nonzero density at every positive temperature and split the system into domains of finite typical length. Thus there is no finite-temperature ordered phase in one dimension.

When $h_0=0$, the cubic contribution is absent andAlthough terms odd in ${\varphi }^{+}$ occur for a fixed low field, the simultaneous transformation $(\varphi ,{\varphi }^{+})\mapsto (-\varphi ,-{\varphi }^{+})$ shows that integrating out the shell preserves the original ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ discrete symmetry of the effective action.