8 - Spin dynamics

Summary

Two classical subjects in statistical physics are kinetic theory and phase transitions. The latter has been traditionally studied in the equilibrium framework, where the goal is to characterize the ordered phases that arise below the critical temperature in systems with short-range interactions. A more recent development has been to investigate how this order is formed dynamically. In the present and following chapter, we focus on this dynamics.

Phenomenology of coarsening

The theory of phase transitions was originally motivated by the goal of understanding ferromagnetism. The Ising model played a central role in this effort and provided a useful framework for investigating dynamics. The basic entity in the Ising model is a spin variable that can take two possible values, s = ±1, at each site of a lattice. A local ferromagnetic interaction between spins promotes their alignment, while thermal noise tends to randomize their orientations. The outcome of this competition is a disordered state for sufficiently high temperature, while below a critical temperature the tendency for alignment prevails and an ordered state arises in which the order parameter – the average magnetization – is non-zero.

Suppose that we start with an Ising model in an equilibrium disordered phase and lower the temperature. To understand how the system evolves toward the final state, we must endow this model with a dynamics and we also need to specify the quenching procedure. Quenching is usually implemented as follows:

1. • Start at a high initial temperature T_i > T_c, where spins are disordered; here T_c is the critical temperature.

2. • Instantaneously cool the system to a lower temperature T_f.