Effective potential approach to phase transitions in confined systems

Abstract

In a field theoretical context, we consider the effective potential associated to the Ginzburg–Landau model compactified in one of the spatial dimensions. We are able to determine the dependence of the transition temperature (Tc) for a system confined between two parallel planes as a function of distance (L) separating them. We show that Tc is a decreasing linear function of L−1 and obtain the critical separation for the suppression of the transition.