Finite-range-scaling analysis of metastability in an Ising model with   long-range interactions
  We apply both a scalar field theory and a recently developed transfer-matrix method to study the stationary properties of metastability in a two-state model with weak, long-range interactions: the $N$$\times$$\infty$ quasi-one-dimensional Ising model. Using the field theory, we find the analytic continuation $\tilde f$ of the free energy across the first-order transition, assuming that the system escapes the metastable state by nucleation of noninteracting droplets. We find that corrections to the field-dependence are substantial, and by solving the Euler-Lagrange equation for the model numerically, we have verified the form of the free-energy cost of nucleation, including the first correction. In the transfer-matrix method we associate with subdominant eigenvectors of the transfer matrix a complex-valued ``constrained'' free-energy density $f_\alpha$ computed directly from the matrix. For the eigenvector with an associated magnetization most strongly opposed to the applied magnetic field, $f_\alpha$ exhibits finite-range scaling behavior in agreement with $\tilde f$ over a wide range of temperatures and fields, extending nearly to the classical spinodal. Some implications of these results for numerical studies of metastability are discussed. 
Bryan M. Gorman, Per Arne Rikvold, and M. A. Novotny