Mermin–Wagner theorem
Teorema de Mermin-Wagner
- Date
- 1966 · confidence low
- Place
- Ithaca, New York, United States
- Credited to
- Herbert Wagner y Nathaniel David Mermin
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Theorem proving the impossibility of spontaneous breaking of continuous symmetries at finite temperature in systems with short-range interactions in dimensions d≤2; explains the absence of long-range magnetic order in thin layers.
What it led to
- Understanding of phase transitions in low-dimensional systems
- The Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition
- Physics of two-dimensional materials
- Study of thin-film superconductors