Many-Neighbored Ising Chain

Using a method suggested by Montroll, we extend the well-known matrix formulation of the nearest-neighbor one-dimensional Ising problem to allow for interactions with an arbitrary finite range n, general spin l, and an applied magnetic field B. We exhibit the relevant matrix element explicitly and hence formally obtain the partition function via an eigenvalue problem of order (2l + 1)n. For the case B = 0, l = ½ we introduce a change of variable which simplifies the partition function while still allowing a matrix formulation. Using this approach we have computed specific-heat curves for infinite, ferromagnetic Ising chains with interactions of range n (n ≤ 7). We prove in an appendix that open and cyclic boundary conditions are equivalent for the system under consideration.