Phase Diagram of the Ashkin–Teller Model

Abstract

The Ashkin–Teller model is a pair of interacting Ising models and has two parameters: J is a coupling constant in the Ising models and U describes the strength of the interaction between them. In the ferromagnetic case J,U>0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$J,U>0$$\\end{document} on the square lattice, we establish a complete phase diagram conjectured in physics in 1970s (by Kadanoff and Wegner, Wu and Lin, Baxter and others): when J<U\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$J<U$$\\end{document}, the transitions for the Ising spins and their products occur at two distinct curves that are dual to each other; when J≥U\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$J\\ge U$$\\end{document}, both transitions occur at the self-dual curve. All transitions are shown to be sharp using the OSSS inequality. We use a finite-size criterion argument and continuity to extend the result of Glazman and Peled (Electron J Probab 28:1-53, 2023) from a self-dual point to its neighborhood. Our proofs go through the random-cluster representation of the Ashkin–Teller model introduced by Chayes–Machta and Pfister–Velenik and we rely on couplings to FK-percolation.