Long-range order
In physics, long-range order characterizes physical systems in which remote portions of the same sample exhibit correlated behavior. Let us discuss this by a correlation function, namely the spin-spin correlation function:
This function is equal to unity when and decreases as the distance 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 then the system is said to posses long-range order. If it decays to zero algebraically (i.e. as a polynomial) then we call it quasi-long-range order. See also order-disorder
|
|
