Ising model

The Ising model is also known as the Lenz-Ising model. For a history of the Lenz-Ising model see Refs. 1 and 2. The Ising model is commonly defined over an ordered lattice. Each site of the lattice can adopt two states: either UP (S=+1) or DOWN (S=-1).

The energy of the system is the sum of pair interactions between nearest neighbors.

${\frac {U}{k_{B}T}}=-K\sum _{\langle ij\rangle }S_{i}S_{j}$

where $k_{B}$ is the Boltzmann constant, $T$ is the temperature, $\langle ij\rangle$ indicates that the sum is performed over nearest neighbors, and $S_{i}$ indicates the state of the i-th site, and $K$ is the coupling constant.

1-dimensional Ising model

• 1-dimensional Ising model (exact solution)

2-dimensional Ising model

Solved by Lars Onsager in 1944. Rudolf Peierls had previously shown (1935) that, contrary to the one-dimensional case, the two-dimensional model must have a phase transition.

• Lars Onsager "Crystal Statistics. I. A Two-Dimensional Model with an Order-Disorder Transition", Physical Review 65 pp. 117 - 149 (1944)

3-dimensional Ising model

Sorin Istrail has shown that the solution of Ising's model cannot be extended into three dimensions for any lattice:

• Three-dimensional proof for Ising model impossible, Sandia researcher claims to have shown
• Sorin Istrail "Statistical mechanics, three-dimensionality and NP-completeness: I. Universality of intracatability for the partition function of the Ising model across non-planar surfaces", Proceedings of the thirty-second annual ACM symposium on Theory of computing pp. 87 - 96 (2000)

ANNNI model

The axial next-nearest neighbour Ising (ANNNI) model is used to study alloys, adsorbates, ferroelectrics, magnetic systems, and polytypes.

• Walter Selke "The ANNNI model — Theoretical analysis and experimental application", Physics Reports 170 pp. 213-264 (1988)

References

1. S. G. Brush "History of the Lenz-Ising Model", Reviews of Modern Physics 39 pp. 883-893 (1967)
2. Martin Niss "History of the Lenz-Ising Model 1920-1950: From Ferromagnetic to Cooperative Phenomena", Archive for History of Exact Sciences 59 pp. 267-318 (2005)