On the finite-temperature generalization of theC-theorem and the interplay between classical and quantum fluctuations

Abstract

The behaviour of the finite-temperature C-function, defined by Neto and Fradkin (1993 Nucl. Phys. B 400 525), is analysed within a d -dimensional exactly solvable lattice model, recently considered by Vojta (1996 Phys. Rev. B 53 710), which is of the same universality class as the quantum nonlinear O(n) sigma model in the limit n. The scaling functions of C for the cases d = 1 (absence of long-range order), d = 2 (existence of a quantum critical point), d = 4 (existence of a line of finite-temperature critical points that ends up with a quantum critical point) are derived and analysed. The locations of regions where C is monotonically increasing (which depend significantly on d) are exactly determined. The results are interpreted within the finite-size scaling theory that has to be modified for d = 4.