Microscopic origin of abrupt mixed-order phase transitions

Abstract We suggest a possible origin for abrupt mixed-order transitions in physical systems and demonstrate it on three different Ising models with additional different types of interactions. We identify a plausible microscopic origin of this abrupt transition. It is driven by long-term microscopic...

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Main Authors: Jan Korbel, Shlomo Havlin, Stefan Thurner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57007-1
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author Jan Korbel
Shlomo Havlin
Stefan Thurner
author_facet Jan Korbel
Shlomo Havlin
Stefan Thurner
author_sort Jan Korbel
collection DOAJ
description Abstract We suggest a possible origin for abrupt mixed-order transitions in physical systems and demonstrate it on three different Ising models with additional different types of interactions. We identify a plausible microscopic origin of this abrupt transition. It is driven by long-term microscopic cascades of changes in the underlying interaction network due to the additional interaction. These spontaneous cascades of microscopic changes accumulate over macroscopic time, resulting in a long-term metastable cascading plateau that ultimately causes an abrupt transition of the system. We also calculate the critical exponents for the cascading, magnetization, convergence slowing down, and the typical fluctuations of single-trajectory critical temperature and magnetization. The developed approach and our findings can shed light on the microscopic mechanism at the origin behind many abrupt transitions in nature and technology.
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spelling doaj-art-26bde7d41dbd4e8e92ae9ac1ef7edb9d2025-08-20T03:41:47ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-03-0116111210.1038/s41467-025-57007-1Microscopic origin of abrupt mixed-order phase transitionsJan Korbel0Shlomo Havlin1Stefan Thurner2Complexity Science HubDepartment of Physics, Bar-Ilan UniversityComplexity Science HubAbstract We suggest a possible origin for abrupt mixed-order transitions in physical systems and demonstrate it on three different Ising models with additional different types of interactions. We identify a plausible microscopic origin of this abrupt transition. It is driven by long-term microscopic cascades of changes in the underlying interaction network due to the additional interaction. These spontaneous cascades of microscopic changes accumulate over macroscopic time, resulting in a long-term metastable cascading plateau that ultimately causes an abrupt transition of the system. We also calculate the critical exponents for the cascading, magnetization, convergence slowing down, and the typical fluctuations of single-trajectory critical temperature and magnetization. The developed approach and our findings can shed light on the microscopic mechanism at the origin behind many abrupt transitions in nature and technology.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57007-1
spellingShingle Jan Korbel
Shlomo Havlin
Stefan Thurner
Microscopic origin of abrupt mixed-order phase transitions
Nature Communications
title Microscopic origin of abrupt mixed-order phase transitions
title_full Microscopic origin of abrupt mixed-order phase transitions
title_fullStr Microscopic origin of abrupt mixed-order phase transitions
title_full_unstemmed Microscopic origin of abrupt mixed-order phase transitions
title_short Microscopic origin of abrupt mixed-order phase transitions
title_sort microscopic origin of abrupt mixed order phase transitions
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57007-1
work_keys_str_mv AT jankorbel microscopicoriginofabruptmixedorderphasetransitions
AT shlomohavlin microscopicoriginofabruptmixedorderphasetransitions
AT stefanthurner microscopicoriginofabruptmixedorderphasetransitions