Janke Wolfhard, Schakel Adriaan M J
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Leipzig, Augustusplatz 10/11, 04109 Leipzig, Germany.
Phys Rev Lett. 2005 Sep 23;95(13):135702. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.135702. Epub 2005 Sep 22.
The critical behavior of the two-dimensional O(N) model close to criticality is shown to be encoded in the fractal structure of the high-temperature graphs of the model. Based on Monte Carlo simulations and with the help of percolation theory, de Gennes' results for polymer rings, corresponding to the limit N-->0, are generalized to random loops for arbitrary -2<or=N<or=2. The loops are studied also close to their tricritical point, known as the Theta point in the context of polymers, where they collapse. The corresponding fractal dimensions are argued to be in one-to-one correspondence with those at the critical point, leading to an analytic prediction for the magnetic scaling dimension at the O(N) tricritical point.