Abstract
We investigate metastability in the two dimensional Ising model in a square with free boundary conditions at low temperatures. Starting with all spins down in a small positive magnetic field, we show that the exit from this metastable phase occurs via the nucleation of a critical droplet in one of the four corners of the system. We compute the lifetime of the metastable phase analytically in the limit T → 0, h → 0 and via Monte Carlo simulations at fixed values of T and h and find good agreement. This system models the effects of boundary domains in magnetic storage systems exiting from a metastable phase when a small external field is applied.
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Cirillo, E.N.M., Lebowitz, J.L. Metastability in the Two-Dimensional Ising Model with Free Boundary Conditions. Journal of Statistical Physics 90, 211–226 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023255802455
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023255802455