On the thermodynamics of first-order phase transition smeared by frozen disorder

TL;DR

This paper models how frozen disorder smears first-order phase transitions, creating an inhomogeneous phase and affecting thermodynamics, aligning with more realistic models especially in dimensions greater than two.

Contribution

It introduces a simplified model that captures the smearing of first-order transitions due to frozen disorder and estimates thermodynamic behavior near phase boundaries.

Findings

First-order transition persists only in dimensions d > 2.

Inhomogeneous phase appears due to frozen disorder.

Thermodynamic parameters near phase boundaries are estimated.

Abstract

The simplified model of first-order transition in a media with frozen long-range transition-temperature disorder is considered. It exhibits the smearing of the transition due to appearance of the intermediate inhomogeneous phase with thermodynamics described by the ground state of the short-range random-field Ising model. Thus the model correctly reproduce the persistence of first-order transition only in dimensions d > 2, which is found in more realistic models. It also allows to estimate the behavior of thermodynamic parameters near the boundaries of the inhomogeneous phase.