Corrections to Scaling and Universality: Experimental Evidences

Abstract

Large corrections to scaling have been discovered in the susceptibility $\chi$ and in the order parameter $m$ of the binary mixture triethylamine-water, allowing accurate determinations of the universal exponent $\Delta =0.52\mathrm{}\pm 0.03$ and of the correction amplitudes ${a_{\chi }}^{+}$ and ${a_m}^{-}$. Together with our previous determination of the specific-heat correction amplitude ${a_c}^{+}$, this allows the calculation of three different universal ratios, in particular $\frac{{a_c}^{+}}{{a_{\chi }}^{+}}=7.9\mathrm{}\pm 1.2$, which agrees well with the theoretical prediction 8.5±0.9 obtained by field theories.