Mixed Order Phase Transitions

Abstract

Mixed order phase transitions are transitions which have common features with both first order and second order transitions. I review some results obtained in the context of one of the prototypical models of mixed order transitions, the one-dimensional Ising model with long-range coupling that decays as truncated inverse square distance between spins. The correspondence between this model and the Poland Scheraga model of DNA denaturation, a subject to which Michael Fisher made substantial contribution, is then outlined.