Spherical model in a random field (Q2457812)

The properties of the Gibbs states and thermodynamic observables of the spherical model in a random field are investigated. It is established that on the low-temperature critical line the magnetization of the model is not a self-averaging observable, but it self-averages conditionally. It is shown that an arbitrarily weak homogeneous boundary field dominates over fluctuations of the random field once the model transits into a ferromagnetic phase. As a result, a homogeneous boundary field restores the conventional self-averaging of thermodynamic observables, like the magnetization and the susceptibility. Note that distributions of various thermodynamical quantities of the model are also explicitly derived. Moreover, the free energy of the spherical model is calculated as an illustration of the application of a saddle-point method in the low-temperature region.