Three-dimensional non-equilibrium Potts systems with magnetic friction

TL;DR

This paper investigates the non-equilibrium steady states of three-dimensional Potts systems with magnetic friction, analyzing how different spin states affect phase transition types and finite-size behaviors under sliding conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a study of non-equilibrium steady states in 3D Potts models with magnetic friction, focusing on the impact of varying spin states on phase transitions and finite-size effects.

Findings

Different phase transition behaviors observed for q=2, 3, 9.

Anisotropic steady states depend on the number of spin states.

Finite-size signatures change with q and relative motion.

Abstract

We study the non-equilibrium steady states that emerge when two interacting three-dimensional Potts blocks slide on each other. As at equilibrium the Potts model exhibits different types of phase transitions for different numbers $q$ of spin states, we consider the following three cases: $q=2$ (i.e. the Ising case), $q=3$, and $q=9$, which at equilibrium yield respectively a second order phase transition, a weak first order transition and a strong first order transition. In our study we focus on the anisotropic character of the steady states that result from the relative motion and discuss the change in finite-size signatures when changing the number $q$ of spin states.