UNIVERSALITY IN THE CRITICAL 2-DIMENSIONAL PHI-4-MODEL

The equilibrium properties of the discrete phi-4-model in d = 2 dimensions are investigated at critically using the hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm and the Ferrenberg-Swendsen extrapolation scheme. By combining the extrapolation scheme with a finite-size scaling analysis, the critical line of the model could be located very accurately. The universality of the model along the critical line is then explicitly demonstrated both with respect to the universal nature of the probability distribution function of the global order parameter and by direct comparison with the critical two-dimensional Ising model.