Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / iii / Paper 303 / 2

Take the couplings in the Hamiltonian to include inverse temperature, so the Boltzmann factor is $e^{-H}$. If physical energies are used instead, first replace $J,L,D,K$ by their products with $1/(k_{B}T)$. Split the on-site term equally between its two bonds. For spin states $s,t\in \{1,0,-1\}$ the spin-chain transfer matrix has entriesUsing the specified coupling coordinates, in the order $(1,0,-1)$ this isFor example, $e^{D/2}=x/z$ and $e^{-J+L+D}=y/z$. This is the nearest-neighbour Blume–Emery–Griffiths model with an additive constant and the paper's sign convention for $D$.

Summing the periodic spin chain gives the partition function $Z_N=\mathrm{tr}{W}^N={\sum }_{a=1}^3{\lambda }_a^N$. For finite real couplings all entries of $W$ are strictly positive; the Perron–Frobenius theorem gives a unique positive dominant eigenvalue with ${\lambda }_1>|{\lambda }_a|$ for $a\ne 1$. Since $W$ is a symmetric matrix, all its eigenvalues are real. Thus in the thermodynamic limit,The positivity condition is stronger and more useful than mere ordering by signed value: subdominant eigenvalues can be negative. Also, the printed strict ordering between the other two is not guaranteed for all couplings. For instance, $J=L=D=0$ makes $W$ the positive constant matrix $e^{K}11^T$ with two equal zero eigenvalues. Degeneracy there does not affect the largest-eigenvalue limit; no explicit generic eigenvalues are needed.

For spin magnetization, introduce a dimensionless field $h$ through $-h{\sum }_i{\sigma }_i$, or insert $S=\mathrm{diag}(1,0,-1)$ into the trace. Thenwhere $v_1$ is a normalized eigenvector of the largest eigenvalue and $W_{st}(h)=e^{h(s+t)/2}{W}_{st}(0)$. Spin inversion symmetry gives $v_{1,+}=v_{1,-}$, since the positive eigenvector of the largest eigenvalue is unique. Thereforeat zero field, both at finite $N$ and in the finite-coupling thermodynamic limit. The finite-$N$ result follows directly by pairing each configuration with its spin-reversed partner. Eigenvalues at a single fixed field do not determine a general observable: a field derivative of the largest eigenvalue, or its eigenvector, is required. Positivity and the real analytic dependence on the couplings exclude a finite-temperature spontaneous symmetry breaking transition in this one-dimensional finite-range chain; singular zero-temperature coupling limits require separate treatment.

For even $N$, spin decimation on alternate sites sums the middle spin of each two-bond segment, hence the coarse spin-chain transfer matrix is $W^{\prime }=W^2$. DefineDirect multiplication gives $W^2=e^{2K}{z}^{-2}\left(\begin{array}{ccc}A& B& C\\ B& E& B\\ C& B& A\end{array}\right)$. Matching its entry ratios to the original parameterization yields the spin-1 chain decimation recursionThe remaining overall positive factor is absorbed into $K^{\prime }$. Keeping that factor preserves the free energy as well as normalized spin probabilities. Indeed $\mathrm{tr}(W^2{)}^{N/2}=\mathrm{tr}{W}^N$, exactly; on an odd ring an unmatched boundary segment needs separate handling rather than assuming a uniform two-site block decomposition.

The fixed-point equation for $u$ factors asThe cubic derivative is $3u^2+2u+3>0$ for every real $u$; its values at zero and one have opposite signs. Thus the possible first coordinates in the stated domain are exactly $u=0,u_{\ast },1$.

For finite $v$, the second fixed-point equation is $v[v^3-(1+u^2{)}^2]=0$. The renormalization-group fixed points are consequentlyThere are six finite points and three boundary points at infinity. Infinity is interpreted in a compactified domain, not as an ordinary real number. The reciprocal coordinate at infinite coupling $w=1/v$ transforms as $w^{\prime }=(1+u^2{)}^2{w}^4$, making $w=0$ a well-defined boundary fixed point.

At any finite fixed point $(\tilde{u},\tilde{v})$, let $\delta u=u-\tilde{u}$, $\delta v=v-\tilde{v}$. The Jacobian matrix linearization isThe only point with both coordinates strictly interior is $\tilde{u}=u_{\ast }$, $\tilde{v}=(1+u_{\ast }^2{)}^{2/3}$. Using its fixed-point relations, the matrix becomesIts eigenvalues are $\rho$ and $4$. In particular, $u_{\ast }<1/\sqrt{3}$ because the increasing cubic is already positive there, so $\rho >1$ (numerically about $1.68$). The corresponding eigenvectors can be chosen as $(1,c/(\rho -4){)}^T$ and $(0,1{)}^T$. Both discrete multipliers exceed one, henceBoth perturbations are relevant directions of a fixed point under repeated coarse-graining, rather than one stable and one unstable direction. A length-rescaling factor was not specified, so these multipliers should not be assigned numerical critical scaling exponents without additional information. At $a=0,1$, the $u$ multiplier is zero; at $v=0$ or $w=0$ the other multiplier is also zero. Thus the four corner points attract locally within the domain, the two positive finite boundary points at $a=0,1$ are saddles, and the points $(u_{\ast },0),(u_{\ast },\infty )$ have one repulsive and one attractive direction.