On Sak's criterion for statistical models with long-range interaction

Abstract

Determining the threshold value $\sigma_*$ that separates the short-range (SR) and long-range (LR) universality classes in phase transitions remains a controversial issue. While Sak's criterion, $\sigma_* = 2 - \eta_{\mathrm{SR}}$, has been widely accepted, recent studies of two-dimensional (2D) models with long-range interactions have challenged it. In this work, we focus on the crossover between LR and SR criticality in several classical 2D statistical models, including the XY, Heisenberg, percolation, and Ising models, whose interactions decay as $1/r^{2+\sigma}$. Our previous simulations for the XY, Heisenberg, and percolation models consistently indicate a universal boundary at $\sigma_* = 2$. Here, we complete the picture by performing large-scale Monte Carlo simulations of the 2D LR-Ising model, reaching lattice sizes up to $L = 8192$. By analyzing the Fortuin-Kasteleyn critical polynomial $R_p$, the Binder ratio $Q_m$, and the anomalous dimension $\eta$, we obtain convergent and self-consistent evidence that the universality class already changes sharply at $\sigma = 2$. Taken together, these results establish a unified scenario for LR interacting systems: across all studied models, the crossover from LR to SR universality occurs at $\sigma_* = 2$.