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Spin Models Revisited

Recall that the Ising model has energy

For J>0 we have a ferromagnet. Energy is smallest when neighboring spins are aligned, either or . Ground state (T=0 lowest energy state) is when all spins are aligned, or parallel (all +1 or all -1).

For J<0 we have an antiferromagnet. Energy is smallest when neighboring spins are opposite, either or . Ground state is when all spins are antiparallel, that is, a checkerboard configuration for a square 2D lattice.

Thus there are only two possible ground states for Ising ferromagnets and antiferromagnets on a square lattice.



Paul Coddington, Northeast Parallel Architectures Center at Syracuse University, paulc@npac.syr.edu