We analyse various properties of stochastic Markov processes with multiplicative white noise. We take a single-variable problem as a simple example, and we later extend the analysis to the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation for the stochastic dynamics
of a magnetic moment. In particular, we focus on the non-equilibrium transfer of angular momentum to the magnetization from a spin-polarised current of electrons, a technique which is widely used in the context of spintronics to manipulate magnetic moments. We unveil two hidden dynamical symmetries of the generating functionals of these Markovian multiplicative white-noise processes. One symmetry only holds in equilibrium and we use it to prove generic relations such as the fluctuation-dissipation theorems. Out of equilibrium, we take profit of the symmetry-breaking terms to prove fluctuation theorems. The other symmetry yields strong dynamical relations between correlation and response functions which can notably simplify the numerical analysis of these problems. Our construction allows us to clarify some misconceptions on multiplicative white-noise stochastic processes that can be found in the literature. In particular, we show that a first-order differential equation with multiplicative white noise can be transformed into an additive-noise equation, but that the latter keeps a non-trivial memory of the discretisation prescription used to define the former.
We construct a path-integral representation of the generating functional for the dissipative dynamics of a classical magnetic moment as described by the stochastic generalization of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation proposed by Brown, with the pos
sible addition of spin-torque terms. In the process of constructing this functional in the Cartesian coordinate system, we critically revisit this stochastic equation. We present it in a form that accommodates for any discretization scheme thanks to the inclusion of a drift term. The generalized equation ensures the conservation of the magnetization modulus and the approach to the Gibbs-Boltzmann equilibrium in the absence of non-potential and time-dependent forces. The drift term vanishes only if the mid-point Stratonovich prescription is used. We next reset the problem in the more natural spherical coordinate system. We show that the noise transforms non-trivially to spherical coordinates acquiring a non-vanishing mean value in this coordinate system, a fact that has been often overlooked in the literature. We next construct the generating functional formalism in this system of coordinates for any discretization prescription. The functional formalism in Cartesian or spherical coordinates should serve as a starting point to study different aspects of the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of magnets. Extensions to colored noise, micro-magnetism and disordered problems are straightforward.
We show that in order to describe the isotropic-nematic transition in stripe forming systems with isotropic competing interactions of the Brazovskii class it is necessary to consider the next to leading order in a 1/N approximation for the effective
Hamiltonian. This can be conveniently accomplished within the self-consistent screening approximation. We solve the relevant equations and show that the self-energy in this approximation is able to generate the essential wave vector dependence to account for the anisotropic character of two-point correlation function characteristic of a nematic phase.
We develop a fully microscopic, statistical mechanics approach to study phase transitions in Ising systems with competing interactions at different scales. Our aim is to consider orientational and positional order parameters in a unified framework. I
n this work we consider two dimensional stripe forming systems, where nematic, smectic and crystal phases are possible. We introduce a nematic order parameter in a lattice, which measures orientational order of interfaces. We develop a mean field approach which leads to a free energy which is a function of both the magnetization (density) and the orientational (nematic) order parameters. Self-consistent equations for the order parameters are obtained and the solutions are described for a particular system, the Dipolar Frustrated Ising Ferromagnet. We show that this system has an Ising-nematic phase at low temperatures in the square lattice, where positional order (staggered magnetization) is zero. At lower temperatures a crystal-stripe phase may appear. In the continuum limit the present approach connects to a Ginsburg-Landau theory, which has an isotropic-nematic phase transition with breaking of a continuous symmetry.
Topological excitations are believed to play an important role in different areas of physics. For example, one case of topical interest is the use of dual models of quantum cromodynamics to understand properties of its vacuum and confinement through
the condensation of magnetic monopoles and vortices. Other applications are related to the role of these topological excitations, nonhomogeneous solutions of the field equations, in phase transitions associated to spontaneous symmetry breaking in gauge theories, whose study is of importance in phase transitions in the early universe, for instance. Here we show a derivation of a model dual to the scalar Abelian Higgs model where its topological excitations, namely vortex-strings, become manifest and can be treated in a quantum field theory way. The derivation of the nontrivial contribution of these vacuum excitations to phase transitions and its analogy with superconductivity is then made possible and they are studied here.
