On the CAM Canonicality of the Cluster-Variation Approximations

The cluster-variation method (CVM) proposed by Kikuchi is a general theory to give approximations, which are useful to discuss phase transitions qualitatively in many systems. Recently one of the present authors (M. S.) proposed the coherent-anomaly method (CAM). If we have a well-behaved series of approximations, which is called a canonical series, we can estimate critical exponents following the CAM. In this paper it is demonstrated by using the ferromagnetic Ising models that the CVM will provide a canonical series which shows coherent anomaly. Our result implies that combining the CVM with the CAM will give a powerful method to study phase transitions and critical phenomena.