# Compelling evidence for the theory of dynamic scaling in first-order phase transitions

## TL;DR

This paper provides strong evidence that first-order phase transitions can be understood within the renormalization-group framework when logarithmic corrections are included, unifying the theory with continuous transitions.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that classical nucleation theories are insufficient for FOPTs and shows that incorporating logarithmic corrections aligns FOPTs with renormalization-group theory.

## Key findings

- Classical nucleation theories do not fully explain FOPTs in the 2D Ising model.
- FOPTs agree with renormalization-group theory when logarithmic corrections are included.
- FOPTs can be studied using universality and scaling similar to continuous transitions.

## Abstract

Matter exhibits phases and their transitions. These transitions are classified as first-order phase transitions (FOPTs) and continuous ones. While the latter has a well-established theory of the renormalization group, the former is only qualitatively accounted for by classical theories of nucleation, since their predictions often disagree with experiments by orders of magnitude. A theory to integrate FOPTs into the framework of the renormalization-group theory has been proposed but seems to contradict with extant wisdom. Here we show first that classical nucleation and growth theories alone cannot explain the FOPTs of the paradigmatic two-dimensional Ising model driven by linearly varying an externally applied field. Then we offer compelling evidence that the transitions agree well with the renormalization-group theory when logarithmic corrections are properly considered. This unifies the theories for both classes of transitions and FOPTs can be studied using universality and scaling similar to their continuous counterpart.