Lattice statistics in a magnetic field, I. A two-dimensional super-exchange antiferromagnet

Abstract The partition function of a two-dimensional ` super-exchange ’ antiferromagnet in an arbitrary magnetic field is derived rigorously. The model is a decorated square lattice in which magnetic Ising spins on the bonds are coupled together via non-magnetic Ising spins on the vertices. By use of the decoration transformation all the thermodynamic and magnetic properties of the model are derived from Onsager’s solution for the standard square lattice in zero field. The transition temperature Tt (H) is a single-valued, decreasing function of the field H. The energy and the magnetization are continuous functions of T for all magnetic fields; but the specific heat and the temperature gradient of the magnetization become infinite as — In |T—Tt|. The initial (H = 0) susceptibility is a continuous and smoothly varying function of T with a maximum 40 % above the critical point; but ∂x/∂T becomes infinite at T = Tc. In a non-vanishing field the susceptibility has a logarithmic infinity at T = Tt. For small fields the behaviour near the critical point is given by X ≈ (Nμ/kT) 2—√2—D (T—Tc) ln ∣T — Tc∣ — D´H2 ln ∣T — Tc∣, where D and D' are constants.