The Ising model with Hybrid Monte Carlo

The Ising model is a simple statistical model for ferromagnetism. There are analytic solutions for low dimensions and very efficient Monte Carlo methods, such as cluster algorithms, for simulating this model in special cases. However most approaches do not generalize to arbitrary lattices and couplings. We present a formalism that allows one to apply Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) simulations to the Ising model, demonstrating how a system with discrete degrees of freedom can be simulated with continuous variables. Because of the flexibility of HMC, our formalism is easily generalizable to arbitrary modifications of the model, creating a route to leverage advanced algorithms such as shift preconditioners and multi-level methods, developed in conjunction with HMC.