In this exercise, we will implement the Wolff algorithm of Exercise 8.8. In the computer exercises
portion of the web site for this book [129], you will find some hint files and graphic routines to facilitate working this exercise.Near the critical temperature Tc for a magnet the equilibration becomes very sluggish: this is
called critical slowing-down. This sluggish behavior is faithfully reproduced by the single-spinflip heat-bath and Metropolis algorithms. If one is interested in equilibrium behavior, and not in dynamics, one can hope to use fancier algorithms that bypass this sluggishness, saving computer time.
(a) Run the two-dimensional Ising model (either from the text web site or from your solution to Exercise 8.7) near T = 2/ log(1 +√2) using asingle-spin-flip algorithm. Start in a magnetized state, and watch the spins rearrange until roughly half are pointing up. Start at high temperatures and watch the up- and down-spin regions grow slowly. Run a large enough system that you get tired of waiting for equilibration.The Wolff algorithm flips large clusters of spins at one time, largely bypassing the sluggishness near Tc. It can only be implemented at zero external field. It is described in detail in Exercise 8.8.