Scaling properties and asymptotic spectra of finite models of phase transitions as they approach macroscopic limits.
The asymptotic spectra and scaling properties of a mixed-symmetry Hamiltonian, which exhibits a second-order phase transition in its macroscopic limit, are examined for a system of N interacting bosons. A second interacting boson-model Hamiltonian, which exhibits a first-order phase transition, is also considered. The latter shows many parallel characteristics and some notable differences, leaving it open to question as to the nature of its asymptotic critical-point properties.