Past exam of the theoretical physics I course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / Paper 1 / 6 / d / Solution

Near zero the Langevin function has expansionFor positive $x$, $\mathcal{L}(x)$ rises toward one and its ratio $\mathcal{L}(x)/x$ decreases from $1/3$ to zero. Therefore a line $\tau x$ has only the zero intersection for $\tau \ge 1/3$, and also a nonzero positive intersection for $0<\tau <1/3$. In a fixed signed component there is a corresponding negative solution; in the isotropic vector problem the nonzero solutions have all spin-space orientations.

The mean-field transition temperature isAt the critical temperature the line is tangent at the origin. Just below it, $S\simeq \sqrt{(5/3)(1-T/T_c^{\mathrm{MF}})}$, the usual mean-field square-root onset. The ordered minimum is stable below this temperature while $S=0$ becomes unstable.

This is a mean-field prediction, not a genuine finite-temperature ordering transition for the ideal two-dimensional short-range isotropic model. Long-wavelength spin fluctuations invalidate the predicted nonzero thermodynamic magnetization at every $T>0$. The relevant obstruction is the Mermin-Wagner theorem for continuous spin symmetry; anisotropy, long-range interactions or a finite sample change the assumptions. Its original paper establishes the absence of finite-temperature magnetic ordering for one- and two-dimensional finite-range isotropic Heisenberg models.^[ref]