Smooth cutoff formulation of hierarchical reference theory for a scalar phi4 field theory

Abstract

The phi4 scalar field theory in three dimensions, prototype for the study of phase transitions, is investigated by means of the hierarchical reference theory (HRT) in its smooth cutoff formulation. The critical behavior is described by scaling laws and critical exponents which compare favorably with the known values of the Ising universality class. The inverse susceptibility vanishes identically inside the coexistence curve, providing a first principle implementation of the Maxwell construction, and shows the expected discontinuity across the phase boundary, at variance with the usual sharp cutoff implementation of HRT. The correct description of first and second order phase transitions within a microscopic, nonperturbative approach is thus achieved in the smooth cutoff HRT.

8 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (3)

• Critical Phenomena and Renormalization-Group Theory
• Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking and Proper-Time Flow Equations
• Non-Perturbative Renormalization Group for Simple Fluids

Cited by in corpus (7)

• From local to critical fluctuations in lattice models: a non-perturbative renormalization-group approach
• The smooth cut-off Hierarchical Reference Theory of fluids
• Recent developments of the Hierarchical Reference Theory of Fluids and its relation to the Renormalization Group
• Liquid-vapor transition from a microscopic theory: Beyond the Maxwell construction
• Exact Renormalization Group : A New Method for Blocking the Action
• Critical region of D-dimensional spins: Extension and analysis of the hierarchical reference theory
• RG studies of scalar-field models of long-range interactions