The Confined-Deconfined Interface Tension in Quenched QCD using the Histogram Method

We present results for the confinement-deconfinement interface tension $\sigma_{cd}$ of quenched QCD. They were obtained by applying Binder's histogram method to lattices of size $L^2\times L_z\times L_t$ for $L_t=2$ and L=8,10,12\mbox{ and }14 and various $L_z\in [L,\, 4\, L]$. The use of a multicanonical algorithm and rectangular geometries have turned out to be crucial for the numerical studies. We also give an estimate for $\sigma_{cd}$ at $L_t=4$ using published data.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures (of which 2 are included, requiring the epsf style file), preprint HLRZ-93-

Scaling laws for the 2d 8-state Potts model with Fixed Boundary Conditions

We study the effects of frozen boundaries in a Monte Carlo simulation near a first order phase transition. Recent theoretical analysis of the dynamics of first order phase transitions has enabled to state the scaling laws governing the critical regime of the transition. We check these new scaling laws performing a Monte Carlo simulation of the 2d, 8-state spin Potts model. In particular, our results support a pseudo-critical beta finite-size scaling of the form beta(infinity) + a/L + b/L^2, instead of beta(infinity) + c/L^d + d/L^{2d}. Moreover, our value for the latent heat is 0.294(11), which does not coincide with the latent heat analytically derived for the same model if periodic boundary conditions are assumed, which is 0.486358...Comment: 10 pages, 3 postscript figure

A Multicanonical Algorithm and the Surface Free Energy in SU(3) Pure Gauge Theory

We present a multicanonical algorithm for the SU(3) pure gauge theory at the deconfinement phase transition. We measure the tunneling times for lattices of size L^3x2 for L=8,10, and 12. In contrast to the canonical algorithm the tunneling time increases only moderately with L. Finally, we determine the interfacial free energy applying the multicanonical algorithm.Comment: 6 pages, HLRZ-92-3

Bidirectional PageRank Estimation: From Average-Case to Worst-Case

We present a new algorithm for estimating the Personalized PageRank (PPR) between a source and target node on undirected graphs, with sublinear running-time guarantees over the worst-case choice of source and target nodes. Our work builds on a recent line of work on bidirectional estimators for PPR, which obtained sublinear running-time guarantees but in an average-case sense, for a uniformly random choice of target node. Crucially, we show how the reversibility of random walks on undirected networks can be exploited to convert average-case to worst-case guarantees. While past bidirectional methods combine forward random walks with reverse local pushes, our algorithm combines forward local pushes with reverse random walks. We also discuss how to modify our methods to estimate random-walk probabilities for any length distribution, thereby obtaining fast algorithms for estimating general graph diffusions, including the heat kernel, on undirected networks.Comment: Workshop on Algorithms and Models for the Web-Graph (WAW) 201

Interface Tensions and Perfect Wetting in the Two-Dimensional Seven-State Potts Model

We present a numerical determination of the order-disorder interface tension, \sod, for the two-dimensional seven-state Potts model. We find \sod=0.0114\pm0.0012, in good agreement with expectations based on the conjecture of perfect wetting. We take into account systematic effects on the technique of our choice: the histogram method. Our measurements are performed on rectangular lattices, so that the histograms contain identifiable plateaus. The lattice sizes are chosen to be large compared to the physical correlation length. Capillary wave corrections are applied to our measurements on finite systems.Comment: 8 pages, LaTex file, 2 postscript figures appended, HLRZ 63/9

The free energy of the Potts model: from the continuous to the first-order transition region

We present a large $q$ expansion of the 2d $q$-states Potts model free energies up to order 9 in $1/\sqrt{q}$. Its analysis leads us to an ansatz which, in the first-order region, incorporates properties inferred from the known critical regime at $q=4$, and predicts, for $q>4$, the $n^{\rm th}$ energy cumulant scales as the power $(3 n /2-2)$ of the correlation length. The parameter-free energy distributions reproduce accurately, without reference to any interface effect, the numerical data obtained in a simulation for $q=10$ with lattices of linear dimensions up to L=50. The pure phase specific heats are predicted to be much larger, at $q\leq10$, than the values extracted from current finite size scaling analysis of extrema. Implications for safe numerical determinations of interface tensions are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, plain tex with 3 Postscript figures included Postscript file available by anonymous ftp://amoco.saclay.cea.fr/pubs.spht/93-022.p

Optimized energy calculation in lattice systems with long-range interactions

We discuss an efficient approach to the calculation of the internal energy in numerical simulations of spin systems with long-range interactions. Although, since the introduction of the Luijten-Bl\"ote algorithm, Monte Carlo simulations of these systems no longer pose a fundamental problem, the energy calculation is still an O(N^2) problem for systems of size N. We show how this can be reduced to an O(N logN) problem, with a break-even point that is already reached for very small systems. This allows the study of a variety of, until now hardly accessible, physical aspects of these systems. In particular, we combine the optimized energy calculation with histogram interpolation methods to investigate the specific heat of the Ising model and the first-order regime of the three-state Potts model with long-range interactions.Comment: 10 pages, including 8 EPS figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. E. Also available as PDF file at http://www.cond-mat.physik.uni-mainz.de/~luijten/erikpubs.htm

The confined-deconfined Interface Tension and the Spectrum of the Transfer Matrix

The reduced tension $\sigma_{cd}$ of the interface between the confined and the deconfined phase of $SU(3)$ pure gauge theory is related to the finite size effects of the first transfer matrix eigenvalues. A lattice simulation of the transfer matrix spectrum at the critical temperature $T_c = 1/L_t$ yields $\sigma_{cd} = 0.139(4) T_c^2$ for $L_t = 2$. We found numerical evidence that the deconfined-deconfined domain walls are completely wet by the confined phase, and that the confined-deconfined interfaces are rough.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX file with 4 ps figures included, HLRZ 92-47, BUTP-92/3

Critical resonance in the non-intersecting lattice path model

We study the phase transition in the honeycomb dimer model (equivalently, monotone non-intersecting lattice path model). At the critical point the system has a strong long-range dependence; in particular, periodic boundary conditions give rise to a ``resonance'' phenomenon, where the partition function and other properties of the system depend sensitively on the shape of the domain.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures. v4 has changes suggested by refere