Abstract
We study the -state Potts model on a simple cubic lattice with ferromagnetic interactions in one lattice direction, and antiferromagnetic interactions in the other two directions. As the temperature decreases, the system undergoes a second-order phase transition that fits in the universality class of the three-dimensional model with . This conclusion is based on the estimated critical exponents, and histograms of the order parameter. At even smaller we find, for and 5, a first-order transition to a phase with a different type of long-range order. This long-range order dissolves at , and the system effectively reduces to a disordered two-dimensional Potts antiferromagnet. These results are obtained by means of Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling.
- Received 11 November 2015
- Revised 12 August 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.104402
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