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Long-range order




In physics, long-range order characterizes physical systems in which remote portions of the same sample exhibit correlated behavior.

This can be seen with a correlation function, namely the spin-spin correlation function:

G(x,x') = \langle s(x)s(x') \rangle.

This function is equal to unity when x = x' and decreases as the distance | xx' | increases. Typically, it decays exponentially to zero at large distances, and the system is considered to be disordered. If, however, the correlation function decays to a constant value at large | xx' | then the system is said to possess long-range order. If it decays to zero algebraically (i.e., as a rational function) then it is called quasi-long-range order.

See also

 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Long-range_order". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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