Effects of Quenched Randomness on Classical and Quantum Phase Transitions
arXiv:1006.0151
Abstract
This dissertation describes the effect of quenched randomness on first order phase transitions in lattice systems, classical and quantum. It is proven that a large class of quantum lattice systems in low dimension (d <= 2 or, with suitable continuous symmetry, d <= 4) cannot exhibit first-order phase transitions in the presence of suitable ("direct") quenched disorder.
100 pages LaTeX (with included style files), 3 EPS figures. Doctoral dissertation