Critical properties of the spherical model in the microcanonical formalism

Abstract

Due to the equivalence of the statistical ensembles thermostatic properties of physical systems with short-range interactions can be calculated in different ensembles leading to the same physics. In particular, the ensemble equivalence holds for systems that undergo a continuous phase transition in the infinite volume limit so that the properties of the transition can also be investigated in the microcanonical approach. Considering as example the spherical model the ensemble equivalence is explicitly demonstrated by calculating the critical properties in the microcanonical ensemble and comparing them to the well-known canonical results.