# Ordering, metastability and phase transitions in two-dimensional systems

@article{Kosterlitz1973OrderingMA,
title={Ordering, metastability and phase transitions in two-dimensional systems},
author={John Michael Kosterlitz and David J. Thouless},
journal={Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics},
year={1973},
volume={6},
pages={1181-1203}
}
• Published 12 April 1973
• Physics
• Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics
A new definition of order called topological order is proposed for two-dimensional systems in which no long-range order of the conventional type exists. The possibility of a phase transition characterized by a change in the response of the system to an external perturbation is discussed in the context of a mean field type of approximation. The critical behaviour found in this model displays very weak singularities. The application of these ideas to the xy model of magnetism, the solid-liquid…
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