Exact theory of intermediate phases in two dimensions Original Research Article

We show how field theory yields the exact description of intermediate phases in the scaling limit of two-dimensional statistical systems at a first order phase transition point. The ability of a third phase to form an intermediate wetting layer or only isolated bubbles is explicitly related to the spectrum of excitations of the field theory. The order parameter profiles are determined and interface properties such as passage probabilities and internal structure are deduced from them. The theory is illustrated through the application to the image-state Potts model and the Ashkin–Teller model. The latter is shown to provide the first exact solution of a bulk wetting transition.