Renormalization-group study of weakly first-order phase transitions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the universal critical behavior near weakly first-order phase transitions in a 3D coupled scalar field model using renormalization-group methods, providing insights into susceptibility ratios and comparing with simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a renormalization-group analysis of weakly first-order transitions in a coupled scalar field model, offering new universal descriptions and comparison with existing methods.

Findings

Universal form of the coarse-grained free energy derived

Ratio of susceptibilities across the transition calculated

Results compared with Monte Carlo simulations and epsilon-expansion

Abstract

We study the universal critical behaviour near weakly first-order phase transitions for a three-dimensional model of two coupled scalar fields -- the cubic anisotropy model. Renormalization-group techniques are employed within the formalism of the effective average action. We calculate the universal form of the coarse-grained free energy and deduce the ratio of susceptibilities on either side of the phase transition. We compare our results with those obtained through Monte Carlo simulations and the epsilon-expansion.