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At mean-field level, positive gradient stiffness favours a spatially uniform order parameter. Writing $r=|\varphi |$, minimization of $f=a{r}^2+r^4/2$ giveswith arbitrary constant $\delta$. The minimized density is zero above the transition and $-a^2/2$ below it. The order parameter vanishes continuously as $(-a{)}^{1/2}$; the first derivative of the minimized free energy is continuous while the second changes. This is the continuous mean-field transition.

The broken symmetry is global U(1) symmetry, not merely the Ising sign symmetry. Selecting one ordered phase breaks this continuous symmetry and leaves a soft phase direction. These are minima of the supplied Landau free energy, not an exact finite-temperature long-range-order claim in one dimension: phase fluctuations invalidate that inference for a short-range one-dimensional system.^[ref]

For uniform unconstrained boundary conditions, the positive gradient coefficient favors a spatially constant minimizer. Put $u=|\mathbf{m}{|}^2\ge 0$. The remaining free-energy difference is $a(T-T_c)u+b{u}^2$. Its minimum isBelow $T_c$ the amplitude is fixed but its direction is arbitrary; the set of uniform minima is a two-sphere. The free-energy minimum is $f_0-a^2(T_c-T{)}^2/(4b)$ below $T_c$ and $f_0$ above. The order parameter vanishes continuously, so this is a continuous, second-order transition within Landau theory.

The free energy has internal $O(3)$ spin-rotation/reflection symmetry; a chosen nonzero vector leaves an $O(2)$ subgroup invariant. Restricting to proper rotations, this is $SO(3)\to SO(2)$ spontaneous symmetry breaking. There are two transverse orientation directions and a massive amplitude direction below the transition. Spatially varying directions cost gradient energy, and imposed boundaries or defects can prevent a uniform minimizer. In strictly two-dimensional equilibrium with short-range interactions, the fluctuation caveat of part (d) still applies: minimizing this polynomial functional at mean-field level does not overturn the absence of finite-temperature spontaneous magnetization.

Differentiation gives $f^{\prime }(m)=2m(b+2d{m}^2)$. For $b>0$ the origin is the global minimum; for $b<0$, $m=\sqrt{-b/(2d)}$ has $f^{\prime \prime }=-4b>0$ and $f=-b^2/(4d)<f(0)$. Therefore, close enough to the transition for the quartic expansion to apply,The order parameter approaches zero continuously with mean-field critical exponent $\beta =1/2$: the transition is continuous. In the aligned phase a particular direction is chosen. The vector-spin rotation symmetry is spontaneously broken from $SO(3)$ to $SO(2)$, or from $O(3)$ to $O(2)$ including reflections. The manifold of vector order parameter directions is a sphere, so this is not just a two-state sign choice.^[ref]

The plot uses illustrative $d=1/2$ and temperature measured in units of $T_c$. A unit-spin average must satisfy $m\le 1$; if the quartic model is used literally far below the transition, its constrained minimum is $\min \{1,\sqrt{(T_c-T)/(2d{T}_c)}\}$. In practice the near-transition expansion is not a controlled prediction of deep low-temperature saturation. Also, a finite zero-field statistical ensemble that averages all directions has $⟨\mathbf{m}⟩=0$ even below $T_c$; the curve describes the magnitude in a selected ordered state, obtained by appropriate boundary conditions or the thermodynamic limit before removing a small magnetic field.

A Landau free energy is a coarse-grained thermodynamic potential expressed as a function of a proposed macroscopic order parameter. Its coefficients include microscopic and thermal effects already averaged over. At fixed external thermodynamic conditions, equilibrium selects its global minimum; other local minima can represent metastable states. It is not the internal energy of a single microscopic magnetic configuration. Here the real scalar $m$ represents a selected component of magnetization: zero describes the disordered state, while nonzero values distinguish two oppositely ordered states.

Every power is even, so the internal discrete symmetry isFor a magnetic order parameter, this represents reversal of the magnetization, as under time reversal in zero applied magnetic field. A nonzero field would generally add an odd term and break this symmetry explicitly. This scalar model has no continuous internal rotation symmetry; physical rotational symmetry of a vector magnet is not implied by treating one real component. The condition $c>0$ makes the polynomial bounded below at large $|m|$.

For the requested ordered phase on cooling, take the usual implicit assumption $a>0$, and write $r=a(T-T_c)$. If $a<0$ the temperature directions reverse; if $a=0$ this expansion has no temperature-driven transition. The source explicitly states only $c>0$.

For $b<0$ at $T=T_c$, the quartic term lowers the free energy near $m=0$, while the positive sextic term stabilizes it at larger $|m|$. The nonzero stationary points haveThey are global minima. The stationary point $m=0$ has zero quadratic curvature but is a flat local maximum because its leading nonzero term is negative. Thus the system is already ordered at $T_c$, with a finite magnetization.

More explicitly, a continuous onset from $m=0$ could occur only where $f^{\prime \prime }(0)=2r$ vanishes, namely at $r=0$. But the global minima there are the finite values above. For sufficiently large positive $r$, only $m=0$ is stable. Therefore the equilibrium minimum must change at some positive $r$ by crossing between a zero and a finite nonzero order parameter. This is a first-order phase transition. Its actual temperature lies above $T_c$ and is calculated next; $T_c$ itself is the disordered spinodal point, not the coexistence temperature.

The mean-field approximation replaces the fluctuating environment of each microscopic variable by a uniform average field. For spins, write $S_i=S+\delta S_i$ and drop products $\delta S_i\delta S_j$ between different sites. The resulting single-site problem can be solved independently, and its average spin must reproduce the assumed order parameter $S$: this is the self-consistency equation.

It is reliable when correlated thermal fluctuations about the mean are small, for example with many interacting neighbours, long-range interactions or high spatial dimension. Near a thermodynamic critical point the quantitative test is the Ginzburg criterion. For short-range scalar ordering the upper critical dimension is four, with logarithmic qualifications at four; a two-dimensional nearest-neighbour lattice is below this and its asymptotic critical region of a phase transition is not described accurately by simple mean-field theory.^[ref]

At zero field, write the right-hand side of the self-consistency equation as $G_T(S)=g(4\beta JS)$, with $g(x)=2\sinh x/[1+2\cosh x]$. The origin is always a solution, and the slope there isThe critical crossing occurs when this equals one, givingThis is a continuous phase transition in the mean-field approximation. For $x>0$,so the positive branch is a strictly concave function, while $g$ is odd and bounded by one. For $T\ge T_c$, the slope at zero is at most one and strict concavity puts $G_T(S)$ below $S$ for every $S>0$, leaving only the unmagnetized solution. For $T<T_c$, it initially lies above $S$ but has $G_T(1)<1$; hence there is one positive intersection and, by spin inversion symmetry, one negative intersection.

The curvature of the Helmholtz free energy in the mean-field approximation is $4J[1-G_T^{\prime }(S)]$ per site. It is negative at $S=0$ below $T_c$ and positive at the nonzero intersections, identifying the ordered minima and the unstable zero solution.

The critical temperature and branches here belong to the mean-field approximation. In the exact finite system, spin inversion symmetry forces zero average magnetization at zero field; selecting a broken-symmetry phase requires the thermodynamic limit with a vanishing field of specified sign.

The small-argument Taylor series of the single-site response isLet $K=4\beta J$. For a small nonzero order parameter at zero field, the self-consistency equation becomesSince $K_c=3/2$ and $K=K_c/(1+t)$, where $t=T/T_c-1$, this givesConsequentlyThe positive branch is the expression printed in the question, while its negative partner is required by spin inversion symmetry. The square-root behavior gives the mean-field critical exponent $1/2$ for the spontaneous magnetization.

The coarse-grained order parameter is a real scalar field because the microscopic spin has one component. At $B=0$, spin inversion symmetry takes $m\mapsto -m$, so an analytic local Landau free energy contains only even powers. Near a continuous phase transition, the quadratic coefficient changes sign linearly, represented by $a(T-T_c)$ with $a>0$. A positive quartic coefficient stabilizes the density when the quadratic term becomes negative, giving the two minima $m=\pm \sqrt{a(T_c-T)/b}$ below $T_c$.

The ferromagnetic interaction favours neighbouring spins pointing alike, so spatial variation costs energy; its leading long-wavelength form is the positive gradient term $c({\partial }_{x}m{)}^2$. The source term $-Bm$ favours alignment with the applied magnetic field and explicitly breaks spin inversion symmetry at fixed nonzero $B$. Finally $f_0(T)$ is the spin-independent background free-energy density.

The quartic sign can also be checked from part (b): its expansion containswhose quartic coefficient is positive. This is consistent with the proposed Landau-Ginzburg theory, not a tricritical truncation requiring a stabilizing sixth-order term. The microscopic square lattice is two-dimensional; the written gradient describes a profile depending on one coordinate. For general profiles, replace it by $c[({\partial }_{x}m{)}^2+({\partial }_{y}m{)}^2]$.

The Hamiltonian has the discrete symmetry described in solution, whereas either selected easy-axis ground state has a nonzero order parameter $⟨S^x⟩$ and is not invariant under it. This is spontaneous symmetry breaking: the equations preserve the symmetry while the selected macroscopic quantum state does not.

An infinitesimal longitudinal magnetic field selects one orientation. The defining order of limits isin the ordered zero-temperature phase, with the opposite sign for $h\to 0^{-}$. A symmetric finite-volume quantum state can instead have zero magnetization. Quantum ordered states are generally dressed by fluctuations rather than exact fully polarized product states, because unequal transverse exchange can create pairs of spin waves. Discrete easy-axis symmetry does not imply a gapless Goldstone mode; indeed solution finds a nonzero spin wave gap. Nor does this argument assert positive-temperature order in a one-dimensional short-range chain.^[ref]

Choose a coarse-grained magnetization $m(\mathbf{x})$ as the order parameter: it vanishes in the paramagnetism phase and develops a spontaneous nonzero value in the ferromagnetism phase. In zero applied magnetic field, spin reversal sends $m\mapsto -m$, so the local Landau free energy contains only even powers. A minimal spatially inhomogeneous free-energy functional isThe positive gradient coefficient penalizes rapid spatial variations. Near an ordinary transition take $a(T)=a_0(T-T_0)$, $a_0>0$, and positive $b$; retain the sextic term when $b$ can approach or cross zero. The source $h$ is conjugate to the magnetization and explicitly breaks spin reversal.

Determine equilibrium by minimizing this free-energy functional, imposing the appropriate boundary conditions. Its Euler-Lagrange equation isFor a uniform system at $h=0$, compare the values of all stable stationary solutions, rather than accepting every solution of this equation. The selected global minimum gives the equilibrium magnetization; derivatives of its free energy give entropy, heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility. At an ordinary transition the two ordered minima emerge continuously from zero. Spatial dependence also permits domain walls and an estimate of the correlation length.

This is a mean-field approximation: it selects a minimizing profile and neglects statistical fluctuations around it. The symmetry constrains the expansion, but its numerical coefficients are phenomenological. Close enough to a transition, thermal fluctuations near a critical point can invalidate the resulting mean-field critical exponents.^[ref]

Landau theory expands a thermodynamic potential in an order parameter, constrained by symmetry. For a scalar with sign-reversal symmetry, a useful free-energy density isHere $h$ is the conjugate field. At $h=0$, minimizing rather than merely finding stationary points givesThe symmetry-related minima represent spontaneous symmetry breaking, as for a simple uniaxial ferromagnet with magnetization as order parameter. An infinitesimal field selects one sign. Above $T_c$, the susceptibility is $1/[a(T-T_c)]$; below it the stable-branch susceptibility is $1/[2a(T_c-T)]$. Minimization lowers $f$ by $-a^2(T-T_c{)}^2/(4b)$ below $T_c$, producing a heat-capacity density jump $T_c{a}^2/(2b)$ with continuous entropy.

A negative quartic coefficient requires a stabilizing $+c{\eta }^6/6$ with $c>0$. It can produce a first-order transition before the quadratic coefficient changes sign: coexistence occurs at $a(T-T_c)=3b^2/(16c)$ and ${\eta }^2=-3b/(4c)$. Odd terms are allowed when the assumed symmetry is absent. Landau theory predicts mean-field exponents; spatial fluctuations can change critical behaviour, especially close to a critical point in low dimensions. A gradient term extends the model to nonuniform order parameters but does not by itself supply dynamical equations.

Landau theory expands the free energy in an order parameter. For a scalar with sign-reversal symmetry and zero conjugate field, a useful sextic even Landau potential isEquilibrium selects the global minimum; other local minima can be metastable.

For $b>0$, the minimum changes continuously from $m=0$ to $m\simeq \pm \sqrt{-r/b}$ as $r$ passes below zero. This is a second-order transition at $T_0$: the order parameter is continuous, there is no latent heat, and thermodynamic derivatives such as heat capacity can be discontinuous.

For $b<0$, the sixth-order term stabilizes the free energy. Equality of the ordered and disordered minima, together with $f^{\prime }(m)=0$, givesThe order parameter jumps at $T_t=T_0+r_t/a$. The entropy generally jumps too, giving latent heat; metastable branches and barriers permit hysteresis, though equilibrium coexistence itself does not require hysteresis. The special case $b=0$ is tricritical. Mean-field exponents can fail where fluctuations dominate.

Landau description. Introduce a macroscopic order parameter and expand an appropriate free energy analytically in that parameter, retaining terms permitted by the physical symmetries. Stable equilibrium minimizes this free energy globally; a local minimum with larger free energy is metastable. Coefficient changes with temperature can exchange the preferred minima. A continuous emergence from zero can produce a continuous transition, while competing separated minima can produce a first-order transition. Stability requires a positive highest retained even-power term. This local mean-field description neglects spatial fluctuations and nucleation dynamics unless gradient and dynamical terms are added; near a critical point those omissions can matter.

For this temperature-dependent cubic-quartic Landau free energy, abbreviate $B=a/(12\pi )>0$ and $A(T)=c(T^2-T_0^2)$, so $F=A{\varphi }^2/2-BT{\varphi }^3+\lambda {\varphi }^4/4$ and $\gamma =2B^2/(\lambda c)$.

Local behavior at the origin. To determine constrained order-parameter boundary stability, note that $F^{\prime }(0)=0$ and $F^{\prime \prime }(0)=c(T^2-T_0^2)$, the origin is a local minimum for $T>T_0$ and a local maximum for $0\le T<T_0$. At $T=T_0$, the quadratic term vanishes, but $F=-B{T}_0{\varphi }^3+O({\varphi }^4)<0$ for small positive $\varphi$. ThereforeThe equality case uses the stipulated domain $\varphi \ge 0$. On an unrestricted real line, the nonzero cubic term would instead make it a stationary inflection point.

Global stability in both inline cases. For $\varphi >0$, complete the square in $F/{\varphi }^2$:The quartic coefficient guarantees a bounded global minimum. A negative value exists precisely when the minimum of this quadratic factor is negative. Hence case a, $\gamma >1$, has a nonzero globally stable phase with $F<0$ for every physical temperature. Case b, $0<\gamma <1$, has such a phase exactly forAt $T=0$, the square's centre is at the boundary, but its negative constant still gives $F<0$ for small positive $\varphi$, so this endpoint is included.

At $T=T^{\ast }$,The two global minima $\varphi =0,{\varphi }^{\ast }$ have equal free energy, and $F^{\prime \prime }({\varphi }^{\ast })=\lambda ({\varphi }^{\ast }{)}^2/2>0$. The coexistence barrier of a cubic-quartic Landau transition has its maximum at ${\varphi }^{\ast }/2$, with barrier height $\lambda ({\varphi }^{\ast }{)}^4/64$.

For locating the extrema away from coexistence,Retain only real positive roots; when both are positive, ${\varphi }_{-}$ is a local maximum and ${\varphi }_{+}$ a local minimum. For $T<T_0$, only ${\varphi }_{+}$ is positive. If $\gamma <8/9$, the pair first appears on cooling at $T_{\mathrm{sp}}=T_0/\sqrt{1-9\gamma /8}>T^{\ast }$; if $8/9\le \gamma <1$, a higher-free-energy nonzero minimum already exists at arbitrarily high temperature. These local-stability limits must not be mistaken for the global coexistence condition. The boundary $\gamma =1$ also favors a nonzero minimum at every finite temperature, but has no finite $T^{\ast }$.

Cooling and transition temperature. For $\gamma <1$, equilibrium starts at the zero minimum at high temperature and switches to the nonzero minimum at $T^{\ast }$. The jump is finite, $0\to {\varphi }^{\ast }>0$, and there is a barrier between the coexisting states. This is a first-order transition. The latent heat of a temperature-dependent cubic-quartic Landau transition follows from differentiating the minimized free energy: the heat released on cooling isIf $F$ is an energy density rather than total energy, $L$ is likewise a density. An actual system can supercool below $T^{\ast }$ before nucleation, so $T^{\ast }$ is the equilibrium transition temperature.

For thermal symmetry nonrestoration in a cubic-quartic model, with $\gamma >1$, the equilibrium global minimum is nonzero already at arbitrarily high temperature. Following it does not force a transition. A system initially prepared in the metastable zero minimum can still leave it by nucleation while $T>T_0$; that minimum loses local stability at $T_0$. This is the sense in which a change is possible rather than inevitable. There is no equilibrium coexistence temperature for $\gamma >1$ in this model. A kinetic transition can depend on preparation and nucleation dynamics; $T_0$ is the limiting loss of local stability of the zero state, not a second coexistence temperature. Continuing $T^{\ast }$ to an imaginary value does not define a physical transition temperature.

Mass window in the specified electroweak phase transition model. For the mass window in a cubic electroweak transition model, put $x=m_H^2/m_0^2>0$. The supplied ratios implyThe two strict conditions therefore requireSince $x(A+x)$ is increasing for $x>0$, the finite window isUsing the specified $A$ and $m_0$ givesAt $m_H=134$ u, $x=0.3581801$, $\gamma \simeq 0.0030033<1$ but ${\varphi }^{\ast }/T^{\ast }\simeq 0.1481<1$. Thus 134 u lies outside the required window, failing the order-parameter-strength condition. This does not remove the polynomial model's finite first-order jump; it fails the additional requirement ${\varphi }^{\ast }>T^{\ast }$. The result is a bound within the specified simplified model, not a model-independent Higgs-mass bound.

Landau theory expands the free energy in a small order parameter and keeps terms allowed by the system's symmetries. For a scalar order parameter $q$ with sign-reversal symmetry in Landau theory $q\mapsto -q$, a useful free-energy density isAt zero conjugate field $h$, the quartic Landau equilibrium branches obtained by minimizing areThe single minimum becomes two symmetry-related minima: the order parameter turns on continuously and a chosen equilibrium phase spontaneously breaks the symmetry. At the critical temperature the quadratic restoring term vanishes. The mean-field exponent is $q\propto (T_c-T{)}^{1/2}$; the susceptibility above $T_c$ is $\partial q/\partial h=1/[a(T-T_c)]$.

More general allowed terms describe other transitions. A negative quartic term, stabilized by a positive sixth-order term, can give a first-order transition with a discontinuous order parameter and metastable minima. Without the sign-reversal symmetry, a cubic term may also be allowed. The expansion is phenomenological: its coefficients depend on microscopic physics. Minimizing a uniform polynomial neglects important spatial fluctuations, particularly near a critical point, so its critical exponents need not be exact.^[ref]

Order parameter and the free-energy landscape. In Landau theory, take a scalar magnetization component at fixed volume and composition. It is an order parameter: its nonzero spontaneous value distinguishes an ordered phase with ferromagnetism from the symmetric high-temperature phase. One first constructs a constrained order-parameter free energy at specified magnetization by summing over microscopic states compatible with it. An external magnetic field is an independent control, so it can also appear in that constrained function. For a total magnetic moment the conjugate term is $-BM$; if $M$ is a magnetization density, the total-energy term is $-VBM$, or $-BM$ in free-energy density. Minimizing over $M$ then yields the equilibrium thermodynamic potential as a function of the imposed field.

Thus treating both $M$ and $B$ as arguments of a Landau function does not treat them as independent natural variables of the already-minimized equilibrium free energy. The first is the fluctuating or constrained order parameter, and the second its conjugate field.

At zero field, reversal symmetry requires $F(M)=F(-M)$, excluding odd powers. Near a continuous transition, assume the homogeneous constrained free energy is analytic for small $M$, that the quadratic coefficient crosses zero linearly, and that the quartic coefficient is positive. ThenThe temperature $T_c$ is where the zero-field quadratic coefficient vanishes and spontaneous ordering begins in this approximation. Higher powers are negligible sufficiently close to it; spatial fluctuations are neglected in this mean-field treatment.

Stationarity gives $2M[b(T-T_c)+2d{M}^2]=0$. Above $T_c$, the only minimum is at zero. Below it, zero becomes a maximum and two minima appear:The two signs describe spontaneous symmetry breaking: they are the average magnetizations in the symmetry-broken pure phases. A strictly finite system at exactly zero field samples the two wells symmetrically and has ensemble average $⟨M⟩=0$. A spontaneous pure-phase value is defined by selecting a phase, for example taking the thermodynamic limit before removing a small field. This qualification distinguishes a minimum's location from the average over a symmetric two-well distribution.

Minimum free energy and the heat-capacity jump. At a nonzero minimum, $M^2=-b(T-T_c)/(2d)$. Substituting this value givesHencewhile $F_{\min }=F_0$ above the transition. Take the temperature derivatives only after minimizing, so the equilibrium order parameter is allowed to change with temperature. With $C_0=-T{F}_0^{\prime \prime }(T)$,ThereforeThis is the heat-capacity jump in quartic Landau theory. The entropy is continuous at $T_c$, so there is no latent heat. If $F$ denotes free-energy density rather than total free energy, these expressions denote heat capacity per unit volume with the same normalization.

Stabilizing a tricritical expansion. At a tricritical point, the quartic coefficient is tuned to zero at the same point where the quadratic coefficient changes sign. Reversal symmetry still excludes odd powers. The next available stabilizing term is thereforeA negative or vanishing leading sextic coefficient would not stabilize this truncation for large $|M|$; a higher positive term would then be needed and the present tricritical form would be insufficient. The ordinary quartic theory has a continuous transition for $d>0$, while a stabilized theory with $d<0$ can have a first-order transition. Their meeting at zero field is what makes the simultaneous tuning tricritical.

The tricritical minimum. At zero field and $T<T_c$, stationarity givesThe nonzero solutions are minima: their curvature is $2b(T-T_c)+30d^{\prime }{M}^4=8b(T_c-T)>0$. Put $t=T_c-T>0$. Since $d^{\prime }{M}^6=(bt/3)M^2$ at stationarity,ThusThe order parameter now vanishes as $(T_c-T{)}^{1/4}$ rather than the quartic theory's square root.

Heat-capacity singularity. Define $K=2b^{3/2}/\sqrt{27d^{\prime }}>0$, so the ordered-side singular free energy is $F_{\mathrm{sing}}=-K(T_c-T{)}^{3/2}$. Its derivatives areConsequentlyThis is the tricritical heat-capacity amplitude in a sextic Landau expansion. It is positive on the ordered side and diverges as $T\to T_c^{-}$, rather than remaining a finite jump. This value of the heat-capacity critical exponent is the mean-field result along the path keeping the quartic term zero; a detuning to $d>0$ ultimately restores ordinary quartic behavior. Fluctuation corrections to the mean-field theory are not included in the stipulated polynomial minimization.

A phase transition is a qualitative change of thermodynamic phase as control parameters such as temperature, pressure or chemical potential are varied. A genuine equilibrium singularity is a nonanalyticity of the appropriate thermodynamic potential in the thermodynamic limit; finite systems generally show rounded crossovers instead.

An order parameter is a macroscopic quantity that distinguishes the phases. It often vanishes in a symmetric disordered phase and becomes nonzero after spontaneous symmetry breaking, although density-driven transitions need not have that simple symmetry interpretation. It can be a scalar, vector or tensor. At a first-order phase transition an appropriate first derivative of the free energy is discontinuous, and the order parameter commonly jumps; at a continuous phase transition the order parameter can approach zero continuously while a susceptibility or a higher derivative becomes singular.

Three examples are:

These examples also illustrate why an order parameter must reflect the physical distinction between phases rather than merely be any quantity that changes with temperature.

For attractive nearest-neighbour interactions, $J>0$, the transformed model is a ferromagnetic Ising model. In three dimensions and at $T<T_c$, its infinite-volume spontaneous magnetization has two branches. As the effective field crosses zero, the equilibrium mean spin changes discontinuously from a negative value to a positive value. Since $(\partial h/\partial \mu {)}_T=1/2$, varying the physical chemical potential crosses this same first-order phase transition.

The particle-hole-symmetric coexistence line isThe mean Ising spin is a rescaled occupation density. Writing $n=⟨N⟩/V$ for the physical number density,The negative-spin phase is a dilute gas and the positive-spin phase is a dense, liquid-like phase. If the spontaneous spin magnitude at coexistence is $m_0(T)>0$, their number densities areThus the physical order parameter is a density or occupation imbalance, not an actual magnetic moment of these particles. In a closed system with an intermediate mean density, the same transition appears as phase coexistence between the two densities. At $T=T_c$ the density contrast vanishes continuously; above $T_c$, sweeping the chemical potential gives no coexistence jump. A true discontinuity requires the thermodynamic limit; a finite sum over finitely many cells remains analytic.

For the physical free energythe Boltzmann factor is $e^{-F_{\theta }/(k_{B}T)}$. At $T>0$, the Gaussian thermal phase fluctuations therefore obeyThe temperature factor is necessary when ${\rho }_s$ is the energy stiffness defined by the parent. Defining a dimensionless stiffness $K={\rho }_s/(k_{B}T)$ instead replaces $k_{B}T/{\rho }_s$ by $1/K$.

The difference cancels the spatially uniform phase mode. At any fixed separation, $1-\cos (\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{x})$ removes the small-$k$ singularity. What grows in low dimensions is the variance as the separation tends to infinity.

In one dimension, the integral equals $|x|/2$, so the variance is $(k_{B}T/{\rho }_s)|x|$. In two dimensions, with microscopic cutoff $a$ and $r\gg a$, it grows asFor the Gaussian field, the order parameter correlation isIt decays exponentially in one dimension and algebraically in two. Thus nonzero-temperature Gaussian fluctuations do not leave conventional long-range order in these dimensions. This is the long-wavelength mechanism related to the Mermin-Wagner theorem; vortices and interactions require the fuller theory of the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition in the two-dimensional case.

A system can split into macroscopic regions with distinct local order parameters, densities or compositions. In a short-range system at phase coexistence, regions of two phases with means $M_1,M_2$ and volume fractions $q,1-q$ have spatial mean $M=q{M}_1+(1-q)M_2$. Their interface contribution is subextensive, so their thermodynamic free-energy density is the corresponding convex combination of the phase densities. This can lie below the homogeneous-branch Landau free energy at the same $M$. The equilibrium constrained order-parameter free energy is consequently convexified, with a straight coexistence segment described by the Maxwell construction. A nonconvex local potential remains useful for homogeneous branches, metastability and interfaces, but must not be identified with the full equilibrium constrained density throughout a coexistence interval.