N-vector model


In statistical mechanics, the n-vector model or O model is a simple system of interacting spins on a crystalline lattice. It was developed by H. Eugene Stanley as a generalization of the Ising model, XY model and Heisenberg model. In the n-vector model, n-component unit-length classical spins are placed on the vertices of a d-dimensional lattice. The Hamiltonian of the n-vector model is given by:
where the sum runs over all pairs of neighboring spins and denotes the standard Euclidean inner product. Special cases of the n-vector model are:
The general mathematical formalism used to describe and solve the n-vector model and certain generalizations are developed in the article on the Potts model.