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We consider the anisotropic Ising model on the triangular lattice with finite boundaries, and use Kaufman's spinor method to calculate low-temperature series expansions for the partition function to high order. From these we can obtain 108-term series expansions for the bulk, surface and corner free energies. We extrapolate these to all terms and thereby conjecture the exact results for each. Our results agree with the exactly known bulk free energy. For the isotropic case, they also agree with Vernier and Jacobsen's conjecture for the $60^{\circ}$ corners, and with Cardy and Peschel's conformal invariance predictions for the dominant behaviour at criticality., Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, 2 additonal references

We use Kaufman's spinor method to calculate the bulk, surface and corner free energies $f_b, f_s, f_s', f_c$ of the anisotropic square lattice zero-field Ising model for the ordered ferromagnetic case. For $f_b, f_s, f'_s$ our results of course agree with the early work of Onsager, McCoy and Wu. We also find agreement with the conjectures made by Vernier and Jacobsen (VJ) for the isotropic case. We note that the corner free energy $f_c$ depends only on the elliptic modulus $k$ that enters the working, and not on the argument $v$, which means that VJ's conjecture applies for the full anisotropic model. The only aspect of this paper that is new is the actual derivation of $f_c$, but by reporting all four free energies together we can see interesting structures linking them., Comment: 43 pages, 2 figures, paper amended to acknowledge previous work

We consider the bulk, vertical surface, horizontal surface and corner free energies $f_b, f_s, f'_s, f_c$ of the anisotropic self-dual $Q$-state Potts model for $Q > 4$. $f_b$ was calculated in 1973[1]. For $Q<4$, $f_s, f'_s$ were calculated in 1989[2]. Here we extend this last calculation to $Q>4$ and find agreement with the conjectures made in 2012 by Vernier and Jacobsen (VJ)[3] for the isotropic case. All these four free energies satisfy inversion and rotation relations. Together with some plausible analyticity assumptions, these provide a less rigorous, but much simpler, way of determining $f_b, f_s, f'_s$. They also imply that $f_c$ is independent of the anisotropy, being a function only of $Q$, in which respect they resemble the order parameters of the associated six-vertex model. Hence VJ's conjecture for $f_c$ should apply to the full anisotropic model., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, reference 6 updated on 8 June 2016, changes to inversion relation method in November 2016, references added January 2017

We present a spectroscopic component analysis of 18 candidate young, wide, non-magnetic, double-degenerate binaries identified from a search of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (DR7). All but two pairings are likely to be physical systems. We show SDSS J084952.47+471247.7 + SDSS J084952.87+471249.4 to be a wide DA+DB binary, only the second identified to date. Combining our measurements for the components of 16 new binaries with results for three similar, previously known systems within the DR7, we have constructed a mass distribution for the largest sample to date (38) of white dwarfs in young, wide, non-magnetic, double-degenerate pairings. This is broadly similar in form to that of the isolated field population with a substantial peak around M~0.6 Msun. We identify an excess of ultra-massive white dwarfs and attribute this to the primordial separation distribution of their progenitor systems peaking at relatively larger values and the greater expansion of their binary orbits during the final stages of stellar evolution. We exploit this mass distribution to probe the origins of unusual types of degenerates, confirming a mild preference for the progenitor systems of high-field-magnetic white dwarfs, at least within these binaries, to be associated with early-type stars. Additionally, we consider the 19 systems in the context of the stellar initial mass-final mass relation. None appear to be strongly discordant with current understanding of this relationship., Comment: 20 pages, 5 Tables, 7 figures. accepted for publication in MNRAS

Paul Fendley has recently found a "parafermionic" way to diagonalise a simple solvable hamiltonian associated with the chiral Potts model. Here we indicate how this method generalizes to the $\tau_2$ model with open boundaries and make some comments., Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure

In 2011 I reviewed the calculation by Onsager and Kaufman of the spontaneous magnetization of the square-lattice Ising model, which Onsager announced in 1949 but never published. I have recently been alerted to further original papers that bear on the subject. It is quite clear that the draft paper on which I relied was indeed written by Onsager, who was working on the problem with Kaufman, and that they had two derivations of the result., Comment: Follow-up to arXiv:1103.3347

We report the results of a CCD imaging survey, complimented by astrometric and spectroscopic follow-up studies, that aims to probe the fate of heavy-weight intermediate mass stars by unearthing new, faint, white dwarf members of the rich, nearby, intermediate age open clusters NGC3532 and NGC2287. We identify a total of four white dwarfs with distances, proper motions and cooling times which can be reconciled with membership of these populations. We find that WDJ0643-203 in NGC2287, with an estimated mass of M=1.02-1.16Msun, is potentially the most massive white dwarf so far identified within an open cluster. Guided by the predictions of modern theoretical models of the late-stage evolution of heavy-weight intermediate mass stars, we conclude that there is a distinct possibility it has a core composed of O and Ne. We also determine that despite the cooling times of the three new white dwarfs in NGC3532 and the previously known degenerate member NGC3532-10 spanning ~90Myr, they all have remarkably similar masses (M~0.9-1Msun). This is fully consistent with the results from our prior work on a heterogeneous sample of ~50 white dwarfs from 12 stellar populations, on the basis of which we argued that the stellar initial mass-final mass relation is less steep at Minit>4Msun than in the adjacent lower initial mass regime. This change in the gradient of the relation could account for the secondary peak observed in the mass distribution of the field white dwarf population and mitigate the need to invoke close binary evolution to explain its existence. Spectroscopic investigation of numerous additional candidate white dwarf members of NGC3532 unearthed by a recent independent study would be useful to confirm (or otherwise) these conclusions., Comment: 8 Figures, 8 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Lars Onsager announced in 1949 that he and Bruria Kaufman had proved a simple formula for the spontaneous magnetization of the square-lattice Ising model, but did not publish their derivation. It was three years later when C. N. Yang published a derivation in Physical Review. In 1971 Onsager gave some clues to his and Kaufman's method, and there are copies of their correspondence in 1950 now available on the Web and elsewhere. Here we review how the calculation appears to have developed, and add a copy of a draft paper, almost certainly by Onsager and Kaufman, that obtains the result., Comment: 32 pages, including copies of a draft paper almost certainly by Onsager and Kaufman Minor additions and corrections in second version

Lars Onsager and Bruria Kaufman calculated the partition function of the Ising model exactly in 1944 and 1949. Since then there have been many developments in the exact solution of similar, but usually more complicated, models. Here I shall mention a few, and show how some of the latest work seems to be returning once again to the properties observed by Onsager and Kaufman., Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, section on six-vertex model revised

The superintegrable chiral Potts model has many resemblances to the Ising model, so it is natural to look for algebraic properties similar to those found for the Ising model by Onsager, Kaufman and Yang. The spontaneous magnetization M_r can be written in terms of a sum over the elements of a matrix S_r. The author conjectured the form of the elements, and this conjecture has been verified by Iorgov et al. The author also conjectured in 2008 that this sum could be expressed as a determinant, and has recently evaluated the determinant to obtain the known result for M_r. Here we prove that the sum and the determinant are indeed identical expressions., Comment: 7 pages

For the Ising model, the calculation of the spontaneous magnetization leads to the problem of evaluating a determinant. Yang did this by calculating the eigenvalues in the large-lattice limit. Montroll, Potts and Ward expressed it as a Toeplitz determinant and used Szego's theorem: this is almost certainly the route originally travelled by Onsager. For the corresponding problem in the superintegrable chiral Potts model, neither approach appears to work: here we show that the determinant D_PQ can be expressed as that of a product of two Cauchy-like matrices. One can then use the elementary exact formula for the Cauchy determinant. One of course regains the known result, originally conjectured in 1989., Comment: 16 pages, no figures; revised 11 Jan 2010 to correct citations and to include reference to subsequent work

The spontaneous magnetization of a two-dimensional lattice model can be expressed in terms of the partition function $W$ of a system with fixed boundary spins and an extra weight dependent on the value of a particular central spin. For the superintegrable case of the chiral Potts model with cylindrical boundary conditions, W can be expressed in terms of reduced hamiltonians H and a central spin operator S. We conjectured in a previous paper that W can be written as a determinant, similar to that of the Ising model. Here we generalize this conjecture to any Hamiltonians that satisfy a more general Onsager algebra, and give a conjecture for the elements of S., Comment: 18 pages, one figure

We consider the Ising model on a cylindrical lattice of L columns, with fixed-spin boundary conditions on the top and bottom rows. The spontaneous magnetization can be written in terms of partition functions on this lattice. We show how we can use the Clifford algebra of Kaufman to write these partition functions in terms of L by L determinants, and then further reduce them to m by m determinants, where m is approximately L/2. In this form the results can be compared with those of the Ising case of the superintegrable chiral Potts model. They point to a way of calculating the spontaneous magnetization of that more general model algebraically., Comment: 25 pages, one figure, last reference completed. Various typos fixed. Changes on 12 July 2008: Fig 1, 0 to +1; before (2.1), if to is; after (4.6), from to form; before (4.46), first three to middle two; before (4.46), last to others; Conclusions, 2nd para, insert how ; renewcommand \i to be \rm i

We adapt our previous results for the ``partition function'' of the superintegrable chiral Potts model with open boundaries to obtain the corresponding matrix elements of e^{-\alpha H}, where H is the associated hamiltonian. The spontaneous magnetization M_r can be expressed in terms of particular matrix elements of e^{-\alpha H} S^r_1 \e^{-\beta H}, where S_1 is a diagonal matrix.We present a conjecture for these matrix elements as an m by m determinant, where m is proportional to the width of the lattice. The author has previously derived the spontaneous magnetization of the chiral Potts model by analytic means, but hopes that this work will facilitate a more algebraic derivation, similar to that of Yang for the Ising model., Comment: 19 pages, one figure; Corrections made between 28 March 2008 and 28 April 2008: (1) 2.10: q to p; (2) 3.1: epsilon to 0 (not infinity); (3) 5.29: p to q; (4) p14: sub-head: p, q to q,p; (5) p15: sub-head: p, q to q,p; (6) 7.5 second theta to -theta ; (7) before 7.6: make more explicit definition of lambda_j. Several other typos fixed later

The hard square model in statistical mechanics has been investigated for the case when the activity z is -1. For cyclic boundary conditions, the characteristic polynomial of the transfer matrix has an intriguingly simple structure, all the eigenvalues $x$ being zero, roots of unity, or solutions of x^3 = 4 cos^2 (pi*m/N). Here we tabulate the results for lattices of up to 12 columns with cyclic or free boundary conditions and the two obvious orientations. We remark that they are all unexpectedly simple and that for the rotated lattice with free or fixed boundary conditions there are obvious likely generalizations to any lattice size., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables; two additional references

Corner transfer matrices are a useful tool in the statistical mechanics of simple two-dimensinal models. They can be very effective way of obtaining series expansions of unsolved models, and of calculating the order parameters of solved ones. Here we review these features and discuss the reason why the method fails to give the order parameter of the chiral Potts model., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, for Proceedings of Conference on Symmetries and Integrability of Difference Equations. (SIDE VII), Melbourne, July 2006

{We show that the free energy of the three-state $\tau_2(t_q)$ model can be expressed as products of Jacobi elliptic functions, the arguments being those of an hyperelliptic parametrization of the associated chiral Potts model. This is the first application of such a parametrization to the $N$-state chiral Potts free energy problem for $N > 2$., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures

It has been known for some time that the Boltzmann weights of the chiral Potts model can be parametrized in terms of hyperelliptic functions, but as yet no such parametrization has been applied to the partition and correlation functions. Here we show that for N=3 the function $S(t_p)$ that occurs in the recent calculation of the order parameters can be expressed quite simply in terms of such a parametrization., Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures

The chiral Potts model continues to pose particular challenges in statistical mechanics: it is ``exactly solvable'' in the sense that it satisfies the Yang-Baxter relation, but actually obtaining the solution is not easy. Its free energy was calculated in 1988 and the order parameter was conjectured in full generality a year later. However, a derivation of that conjecture had to wait until 2005. Here we discuss that derivation., Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, 29 references

We derive the order parameter of the chiral Potts model, using the method of Jimbo et al. The result agrees with previous conjectures., Comment: Version 2 submitted 21 Feb 2005. It has 7 pages, 2 figures. The introduction has been expanded and a significant typographical error in eqn 23 has been corrected

An outstanding problem in statistical mechanics is the order parameter of the chiral Potts model. An elegant conjecture for this was made in 1983. It has since been successfully tested against series expansions, but as far as the author is aware there is as yet no proof of the conjecture. Here we show that if one makes a certain analyticity assumption similar to that used to derive the free energy, then one can indeed verify the conjecture. The method is based on the ``broken rapidity line'' approach pioneered by Jimbo, Miwa and Nakayashiki., Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures. Citations made more explicit and some typos corrected

The $N$-state chiral Potts model in lattice statistical mechanics can be obtained as a ``descendant'' of the six-vertex model, via an intermediate ``$Q$'' or ``$\tau_2 (t_q)$'' model. Here we generalize this to obtain a column-inhomogeneous $\tau_2 (t_q)$ model, and derive the functional relations satisfied by its row-to-row transfer matrix. We do {\em not} need the usual chiral Potts relations between the $N$th powers of the rapidity parameters $a_p, b_p, c_p, d_p$ of each column. This enables us to readily consider the case of fixed-spin boundary conditions on the left and right-most columns. We thereby re-derive the simple direct product structure of the transfer matrix eigenvalues of this model, which is closely related to the superintegrable chiral Potts model with fixed-spin boundary conditions., Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures

Elliott Lieb's ice-type models opened up the whole field of solvable models in statistical mechanics. Here we discuss the ``commuting transfer matrix'' $T, Q$ equations for these models, writing them in a more explicit and transparent notation that we believe offers new insights. The approach manifests the relationship between the six-vertex and chiral Potts models, and between the eight-vertex and Kashiwara-Miwa models., Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures

We derive the free energy of the chiral Potts model by the infinite lattice ``inversion relation'' method. This method is non-rigorous in that it always needs appropriate analyticity assumptions. Guided by previous calculations based on exact finite-lattice functional relations, we find that in addition to the usual assumption that the free energy be analytic and bounded in some principal domain of the rapidity parameter space that includes the physical regime, we also need a much less obvious symmetry. We can then obtain the free energy by Wiener-Hopf factorization in the complex planes of appropriate variables. Together with the inversion relation, this symmetry relates the values of the free energy in all neighbouring domains to those in the principal domain., Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures

In a recent paper we derived the free energy or partition function of the $N$-state chiral Potts model by using the infinite lattice ``inversion relation'' method, together with a non-obvious extra symmetry. This gave us three recursion relations for the partition function per site $T_{pq}$ of the infinite lattice. Here we use these recursion relations to obtain the full Riemann surface of $T_{pq}$. In terms of the $t_p, t_q$ variables, it consists of an infinite number of Riemann sheets, each sheet corresponding to a point on a $(2N-1)$-dimensional lattice (for $N > 2$). The function $T_{pq}$ is meromorphic on this surface: we obtain the orders of all the zeros and poles. For $N$ odd, we show that these orders are determined by the usual inversion and rotation relations (without the extra symmetry), together with a simple linearity ansatz. For $N$ even, this method does not give the orders uniquely, but leaves only $[(N+4)/4]$ parameters to be determined., Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure

We discuss some of the difficulties that have been mentioned in the literature in connection with the Bethe ansatz for the six-vertex model and XXZ chain, and for the eight-vertex model. In particular we discuss the ``beyond the equator'', infinite momenta and exact complete string problems. We show how they can be overcome and conclude that the coordinate Bethe ansatz does indeed give a complete set of states, as expected., Comment: 40 pages, no figures

The normalization factor in the star-triangle relation can be evaluated in a simple form by taking determinants. If we combine this with the rotation symmetries, then we can show that a certain simple quantity $I$ has to be independent of the rapidities. In this sense it is an invariant. We evaluate it for several particular models and find it is one for self-dual models, and is related to the modulus $k$ (or $k'$) for the Ising, Kashiwara-Miwa and chiral Potts models., Comment: 18 pages

We consider the sum of dichromatic polynomials over non-separable rooted planar maps, an interesting special case of which is the enumeration of such maps. We present some known results and derive new ones. The general problem is equivalent to the $q$-state Potts model randomized over such maps. Like the regular ferromagnetic lattice models, it has a first-order transition when $q$ is greater than a critical value $q_c$, but $q_c$ is much larger - about 72 instead of 4., Comment: 29 pages, three figures changes in App D, introduction and acknowledgements

The free energy of the chiral Potts model has been obtained in two ways. The first used only the star-triangle relation, symmetries and invariances, and led to a system of equations that implicitly define the free energy, and from which the critical behaviour can be obtained. The second used the functional relations derived by Bazhanov and Stroganov, solving them to obtain the free energy explicitly as a double integral. Here we obtain, for the first time, a direct verification that the two results are identical at all temperatures., Comment: 21 pages, no figures

A zero-field Ising model with ferromagnetic coupling constants on the so-called Labyrinth tiling is investigated. Alternatively, this can be regarded as an Ising model on a square lattice with a quasi-periodic distribution of up to eight different coupling constants. The duality transformation on this tiling is considered and the self-dual couplings are determined. Furthermore, we analyze the subclass of exactly solvable models in detail parametrizing the coupling constants in terms of four rapidity parameters. For those, the self-dual couplings correspond to the critical points which, as expected, belong to the Onsager universality class., Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures

We discuss the hard-hexagon and hard-square problems, as well as the corresponding problem on the honeycomb lattice. The case when the activity is unity is of interest to combinatorialists, being the problem of counting binary matrices with no two adjacent 1's. For this case we use the powerful corner transfer matrix method to numerically evaluate the partition function per site, density and some near-neighbour correlations to high accuracy. In particular for the square lattice we obtain the partition function per site to 43 decimal places., Comment: 16 pages, 2 built-in Latex figures, 4 tables

This is the third in a series of papers in which we set up and discuss the functional relations for the ``split rapidity line'' correlation function in the N - state chiral Potts model. The order parameters of the model can be obtained from this function. Here we consider the case N = 3 and write the equations explicitly in terms of the hyperelliptic functions parametrization. We also present four-term low-temperature series expansions, which we hope will cast light on the analyticity properties needed to solve the relations. The problem remains unsolved, but we hope that this will prove to be a step in the right direction., Comment: 17 pages

As a by-product of a finite-size Bethe Ansatz calculation in statistical mechanics, Doochul Kim has established, by an indirect route, three mathematical identities rather similar to the conjugate modulus relations satisfied by the elliptic theta constants. However, they contain factors like $1 - q^{\sqrt{n}}$ and $1 - q^{n^2}$, instead of $1 - q^n$. We show here that there is a fourth relation that naturally completes the set, in much the same way that there are four relations for the four elliptic theta functions. We derive all of them directly by proving and using a specialization of Weierstrass' factorization theorem in complex variable theory., Comment: Latex, 6 pages, accepted by J. Physics A

We consider the six-vertex model with anti-periodic boundary conditions across a finite strip. The row-to-row transfer matrix is diagonalised by the `commuting transfer matrices' method. {}From the exact solution we obtain an independent derivation of the interfacial tension of the six-vertex model in the anti-ferroelectric phase. The nature of the corresponding integrable boundary condition on the $XXZ$ spin chain is also discussed., Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX with 1 PostScript figure

The solvable $sl(n)$-chiral Potts model can be interpreted as a three-dimensional lattice model with local interactions. To within a minor modification of the boundary conditions it is an Ising type model on the body centered cubic lattice with two- and three-spin interactions. The corresponding local Boltzmann weights obey a number of simple relations, including a restricted star-triangle relation, which is a modified version of the well-known star-triangle relation appearing in two-dimensional models. We show that these relations lead to remarkable symmetry properties of the Boltzmann weight function of an elementary cube of the lattice, related to spatial symmetry group of the cubic lattice. These symmetry properties allow one to prove the commutativity of the row-to-row transfer matrices, bypassing the tetrahedron relation. The partition function per site for the infinite lattice is calculated exactly., Comment: 20 pages, plain TeX, 3 figures, SMS-079-92/MRR-020-92. (corrupted figures replaced)

We present the first study of the light hadron spectrum and decay constants for quenched QCD using an O(a)-improved nearest-neighbour Wilson fermion action at \beta=6.2. We compare the results with those obtained using the standard Wilson fermion action, on the same set of 18 gauge field configurations of a 24^3 times 48 lattice. For pseudoscalar meson masses in the range 330-800 MeV, we find no significant difference between the results for the two actions. The scales obtained from the string tension and mesonic sector are consistent, but differ from that derived from baryon masses. The ratio of the pseudoscalar decay constant to the vector meson mass is roughly independent of quark mass as observed experimentally, and in approximate agreement with the measured value., Comment: 11 pages