Transfer-Matrix Study of Hard-Core Singularity for Hard-Square Lattice Gas

A singularity on the negative fugacity axis of the hard-square lattice gas is investigated in terms of numerical diagonalization of transfer matrices. The location of the singular point $z_c^-$ and the critical exponent $\nu$ are accurately determined by the phenomenological renormalization technique as -0.11933888188(1) and 0.416667(1), respectively. It is also found that the central charge $c$ and the dominant scaling dimension $x_\sigma$ are -4.399996(8) and -0.3999996(7), respectively. These results strongly support that this singularity belongs to the same universality class as the Yang-Lee edge singularity ($c=-22/5, x_\sigma=-2/5 and \nu=5/12$).