Mean Field Renormalization Group for the Boundary Magnetization of Strip Clusters

We analyze in some detail a recently proposed transfer matrix mean field approximation which yields the exact critical point for several two dimensional nearest neighbor Ising models. For the square lattice model we show explicitly that this approximation yields not only the exact critical point, but also the exact boundary magnetization of a semi--infinite Ising model, independent of the size of the strips used. Then we develop a new mean field renormalization group strategy based on this approximation and make connections with finite size scaling. Applying our strategy to the quadratic Ising and three--state Potts models we obtain results for the critical exponents which are in excellent agreement with the exact ones. In this way we also clarify some advantages and limitations of the mean field renormalization group approach.Comment: 16 pages (plain TeX) + 8 figures (PostScript, appended), POLFIS-TH.XX/9

Potts-Percolation-Gauss Model of a Solid

We study a statistical mechanics model of a solid. Neighboring atoms are connected by Hookian springs. If the energy is larger than a threshold the "spring" is more likely to fail, while if the energy is lower than the threshold the spring is more likely to be alive. The phase diagram and thermodynamic quantities, such as free energy, numbers of bonds and clusters, and their fluctuations, are determined using renormalization-group and Monte-Carlo techniques.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure

FINITE SIZE SCALING FOR FIRST ORDER TRANSITIONS: POTTS MODEL

The finite-size scaling algorithm based on bulk and surface renormalization of de Oliveira (1992) is tested on q-state Potts models in dimensions D = 2 and 3. Our Monte Carlo data clearly distinguish between first- and second-order phase transitions. Continuous-q analytic calculations performed for small lattices show a clear tendency of the magnetic exponent Y = D - beta/nu to reach a plateau for increasing values of q, which is consistent with the first-order transition value Y = D. Monte Carlo data confirm this trend.Comment: 5 pages, plain tex, 5 EPS figures, in file POTTS.UU (uufiles

Exact sampling from non-attractive distributions using summary states

Propp and Wilson's method of coupling from the past allows one to efficiently generate exact samples from attractive statistical distributions (e.g., the ferromagnetic Ising model). This method may be generalized to non-attractive distributions by the use of summary states, as first described by Huber. Using this method, we present exact samples from a frustrated antiferromagnetic triangular Ising model and the antiferromagnetic q=3 Potts model. We discuss the advantages and limitations of the method of summary states for practical sampling, paying particular attention to the slowing down of the algorithm at low temperature. In particular, we show that such a slowing down can occur in the absence of a physical phase transition.Comment: 5 pages, 6 EPS figures, REVTeX; additional information at http://wol.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk/mackay/exac

Three-dimensional antiferromagnetic q-state Potts models: application of the Wang-Landau algorithm

We apply a newly proposed Monte Carlo method, the Wang-Landau algorithm, to the study of the three-dimensional antiferromagnetic q-state Potts models on a simple cubic lattice. We systematically study the phase transition of the models with q=3, 4, 5 and 6. We obtain the finite-temperature phase transition for q= 3 and 4, whereas the transition temperature is down to zero for q=5. For q=6 there exists no order for all the temperatures. We also study the ground-state properties. The size-dependence of the ground-state entropy is investigated. We find that the ground-state entropy is larger than the contribution from the typical configurations of the broken-sublattice-symmetry state for q=3. The same situations are found for q = 4, 5 and 6.Comment: 9 pages including 9 eps figures, RevTeX, to appear in J. Phys.

Ground State Entropy of the Potts Antiferromagnet on Cyclic Strip Graphs

We present exact calculations of the zero-temperature partition function (chromatic polynomial) and the (exponent of the) ground-state entropy $S_0$ for the $q$-state Potts antiferromagnet on families of cyclic and twisted cyclic (M\"obius) strip graphs composed of $p$-sided polygons. Our results suggest a general rule concerning the maximal region in the complex $q$ plane to which one can analytically continue from the physical interval where $S_0 > 0$. The chromatic zeros and their accumulation set ${\cal B}$ exhibit the rather unusual property of including support for $Re(q) < 0$ and provide further evidence for a relevant conjecture.Comment: 7 pages, Latex, 4 figs., J. Phys. A Lett., in pres

2D Potts Model Correlation Lengths: Numerical Evidence for ξo=ξd\xi_o = \xi_d at βt\beta_t

We have studied spin-spin correlation functions in the ordered phase of the two-dimensional $q$-state Potts model with $q=10$, 15, and 20 at the first-order transition point $\beta_t$. Through extensive Monte Carlo simulations we obtain strong numerical evidence that the correlation length in the ordered phase agrees with the exactly known and recently numerically confirmed correlation length in the disordered phase: $\xi_o(\beta_t) = \xi_d(\beta_t)$. As a byproduct we find the energy moments in the ordered phase at $\beta_t$ in very good agreement with a recent large $q$-expansion.Comment: 11 pages, PostScript. To appear in Europhys. Lett. (September 1995). See also http://www.cond-mat.physik.uni-mainz.de/~janke/doc/home_janke.htm

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: Mount Hope Cemetery of Bangor, Maine: The Complete History by Trudy Irene Scee; The Reverend Jacob Bailey, Maine Loyalist: For God, King, Country and for Self by James S. Leamon; The Barns of Maine: Our History, Our Stories by Don Perkins; Gateway to Vacationland: The Making of Portland, Maine by John F. Bauman; Maine: The Wilder Half of New England by William David Berry; The Cross of War: Christian Nationalism and U.S. Expansion in the Spanish-American War by Matthew McCullough; Omaha Beach: The Life and Military Service of a Penobscot Indian Elder by Charles Norman Shay

Monte Carlo study of the antiferromagnetic three-state Potts model with staggered polarization field on the square lattice

Using the Wang-Landau Monte Carlo method, we study the antiferromagnetic (AF) three-state Potts model with a staggered polarization field on the square lattice. We obtain two phase transitions; one belongs to the ferromagnetic three-state Potts universality class, and the other to the Ising universality class. The phase diagram obtained is quantitatively consistent with the transfer matrix calculation. The Ising transition in the large nearest-neighbor interaction limit has been made clear by the detailed analysis of the energy density of states.Comment: accepted for publication in J. Phys.