General Lattice Model of Phase Transitions

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Abstract
A general lattice-statistical model which includes all soluble two-dimensional model of phase transitions is proposed. Besides the well-known Ising and "ice" models, other soluble cases are also considered. After discussing some general symmetry properties of this model, we consider in detail a particular class of the soluble cases, the "free-fermion" model. The explicit expressions for all thermodynamic functions with the inclusion of an external electric field are obtained. It is shown that both the specific heat and the polarizability of the free-fermion model exhibit in general a logarithmic singularity. An inverse-square-root singularity results, however, if the free-fermion model also satisfies the ice condition. The results are illustrated with a specific example.