title: Criticality in inhomogeneous magnetic systems: application to quantum ferromagnets.
abstract: We consider a phi4 theory with a position-dependent distance from the critical point. One realization of this model is a classical ferromagnet subject to nonuniform mechanical stress. We find a sharp phase transition where the envelope of the local magnetization vanishes uniformly. The first-order transition in a quantum ferromagnet also remains sharp. The universal mechanism leading to a tricritical point in an itinerant quantum ferromagnet is suppressed, and in principle, one can recover a quantum critical point with mean-field exponents. Observable consequences of these results are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Materials Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Belitz
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Kirkpatrick
authors.forename: Ronojoy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saha