Search

We have studied the effects of the random single-ion anisotropy and random magnetic field in the phase diagram and in the thermodynamic properties of the spin-3/2 Blume–Capel model via Curie–Weiss mean-field approximation. The phase diagrams were built in the planes temperature versus single-ion anisotropy, temperature versus magnetic field, temperature versus random parameters and the dependencies of magnetization were plotted versus temperature and single-ion anisotropy. These diagrams show that, in the space ( D / J − T / J ) , the type (first- or second-order) of the phase transition between the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases is dependent on the random parameters. Therefore, within these conditions the model presents tricritical behavior. For large values, and a certain critical value of the random parameters, the phase transition is only of second-order, but it is of first-order within the ordered phase, between the phase with m = 1 / 2 and m = 3 / 2 , which ends in a terminal critical point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]