A new approach to the quenched bond-diluted Ising model

Abstract

The techniques developed by Edwards and Anderson (1975) for the spin-glass problem are here applied to the bond-diluted quenched Ising model (S=1/2). The n to 0 trick is used to express exactly the free energy in terms of a generalized Hamiltonian representing n different but coupled replicas. The only approximation of the theory consists of decoupling these replicas in a way that reduces the free energy of the diluted system to that of a pure system with renormalized, concentration-dependent parameters. To first order in the concentration of missing bonds the author obtains all the results previously derived by Harris (1974) using a cumulant expansion and which are exact in this limit. More generally, the theory allows a discussion of the concentration dependence of the critical temperature; in particular, the values deduced for the critical concentration agree rather well with those obtained exactly or through series expansions. The behaviour of the system near the transition is also studied and the critical exponents are found to be Fisher-renormalized.