Baxter–Wu model according to a mean-field approach

Abstract

The Baxter–Wu model in one, two, and three dimensions is studied according to a mean-field-like approach. The thermodynamics and the phase transition behavior are obtained by considering different types of clusters. The mean-field solution shows that the model presents a first-order phase transition in any dimension, contrary to the exact result of a second-order transition in the two-dimensional model. Although the one-dimensional version has no phase transition at finite temperatures, the Baxter–Wu model on a three-dimensional lattice may indeed undergo a first-order transition.