Critical manifold of the Potts model: Exact results and homogeneity approximation

TL;DR

This paper derives exact and approximate critical manifolds for the q-state Potts model on various lattices, including antiferromagnetic cases, using homogeneity assumptions and compares results with numerical simulations.

Contribution

It provides new exact and approximate critical manifolds for the Potts model on several lattices, especially in antiferromagnetic regimes, extending known results.

Findings

Confirmed the Potts self-dual point as the sole critical point for J>0 on the square lattice.

Determined the critical q for honeycomb lattice as 2.61803, beyond which no transition occurs.

Derived critical manifolds for the centered-triangle and Union-Jack lattices under homogeneity hypotheses.

Abstract

The $q$-state Potts model has stood at the frontier of research in statistical mechanics for many years. In the absence of a closed-form solution, much of the past efforts have focused on locating its critical manifold, trajectory in the parameter $\{q, e^J\}$ space where $J$ is the reduced interaction, along which the free energy is singular. However, except in isolated cases, antiferromagnetic (AF) models with $J<0$ have been largely neglected. In this paper we consider the Potts model with AF interactions focusing on deducing its critical manifold in exact and/or closed-form expressions. We first re-examine the known critical frontiers in light of AF interactions. For the square lattice we confirm the Potts self-dual point to be the sole critical point for $J>0$. We also locate its critical frontier for $J<0$ and find it to coincide with a solvability condition observed by Baxter in 1982. For the honeycomb lattice we show that the known critical point holds for {all} $J$, and determine its critical $q_c = \frac 1 2 (3+\sqrt 5) = 2.61803$ beyond which there is no transition. For the triangular lattice we confirm the known critical point to hold only for $J>0$. More generally we consider the centered-triangle (CT) and Union-Jack (UJ) lattices consisting of mixed $J$ and $K$ interactions, and deduce critical manifolds under homogeneity hypotheses. For K=0 the CT lattice is the diced lattice, and we determine its critical manifold for all $J$ and find $q_c = 3.32472$. For K=0 the UJ lattice is the square lattice and from this we deduce both the $J>0$ and $J<0$ critical manifolds and find $q_c=3$ for the square lattice. Our theoretical predictions are compared with recent tensor-based numerical results and Monte Carlo simulations.