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The European Physical Journal B
ISSN: 1434-6028 (printed version)
ISSN: 1434-6036 (electronic version)
Abstract Volume 5 Issue 3 (1998) pp 735-743
First and second order transition in frustrated XY systems
D. Loison (a), K.D. Schotte (b)
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Received: 18 February 1998 / Revised: 24 April 1998 / Accepted: 30 April 1998
Abstract: The nature of the phase transition for the XY stacked triangular antiferromagnet (STA) is a controversial subject at present. The field theoretical renormalization group (RG) in three dimensions predicts a first order transition. This prediction disagrees with Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations which favor a new universality class or a tricritical transition. We simulate by the Monte-Carlo method two models derived from the STA by imposing the constraint of local rigidity which should have the same critical behavior as the original model. A strong first order transition is found. Following Zumbach we analyze the second order transition observed in MC studies as due to a fixed point in the complex plane. We review the experimental results in order to clarify the critical behavior observed.
PACS. 05.70.Fh Phase transitions: general aspects - 64.60.Cn Order disorder transformations; statistical mechanics of model systems - 75.10.-b General theory and models of magnetic ordering
(a) email: Loison@physik.fu-berlin.de
(b) email: Schotte@physik.fu-berlin.de
Article in PDF format (478 KB)
Online publication: October 26, 1998
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