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Finite-size Nagle-Kardar model: Casimir force

Statistical Mechanics 2025-01-14 v3 Soft Condensed Matter Mathematical Physics math.MP

Abstract

We derive exact results for the critical Casimir force (CCF) within the Nagle-Kardar model with periodic boundary conditions (PBC's). The model represents one-dimensional Ising chain with long-range equivalent-neighbor ferromagnetic interactions of strength Jl/N>0J_{l}/N>0 superimposed on the nearest-neighbor interactions of strength JsJ_{s} which could be either ferromagnetic (Js>0J_{s}>0) or antiferromagnetic (Js<0J_{s}<0). In the infinite system limit the model exhibits in the plane (Ks=βJs,Kl=βJl)(K_s=\beta J_s,K_l=\beta J_l) a critical line 2Kl=exp(2Ks),Ks>ln3/42 K_l=\exp{\left(-2 K_s\right)}, K_s>-\ln3/4, which ends at a tricritical point (Kl=3/2,Ks=ln3/4)(K_l=-\sqrt{3}/2, K_s=-\ln3/4). The critical Casimir amplitudes are: ΔCas(cr)=1/4\Delta_{\rm Cas}^{\rm (cr)}=1/4 at the critical line, and ΔCas(tr)=1/3\Delta_{\rm Cas}^{\rm (tr)}=1/3 at the tricritical point. Quite unexpectedly, with the imposed PBC's the CCF exhibits very unusual behavior as a function of temperature and magnetic field. It is \textit{repulsive} near the critical line and tricritical point, decaying rapidly with separation from those two singular regimes fast away from them and becoming \textit{attractive}, displaying in which the maximum amplitude of the attraction exceeds the maximum amplitude of repulsion. This represents a violation of the widely-accepted ``boundary condition rule,'' which holds that the CCF is attractive for equivalent BC's and repulsive for conflicting BC's \textit{independently} of the actual bulk universality class of the phase transition under investigation.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2404.18324,
  title  = {Finite-size Nagle-Kardar model: Casimir force},
  author = {Daniel Dantchev and Nicholay Tonchev and Joseph Rudnick},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.18324},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

6 pages, 3 figures; to appear in PRE as a letter

R2 v1 2026-06-28T16:09:09.090Z