Solution of semi-flexible self-avoiding trails on a Husimi lattice built with squares

TL;DR

This paper analyzes a semi-flexible self-avoiding trail model on a Husimi lattice, revealing a complex phase diagram with multiple polymerized and nematic phases, including critical and discontinuous transitions influenced by stiffness and crossings.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed phase diagram for semi-flexible self-avoiding trails on a Husimi lattice, highlighting the emergence of nematic phases and transition behaviors not previously characterized.

Findings

Five distinct phases identified, including nematic and polymerized phases.

Presence of tri-critical points and critical end-point lines in the phase diagram.

Additional nematic phase introduces qualitative differences from Bethe lattice results.

Abstract

We study a model of semi-flexible self-avoiding trails, where the lattice paths are constrained to visit each lattice edge at most once, with configurations weighted by the number of collisions, crossings and bends, on a Husimi lattice built with squares. We find a rich phase diagram with five phases: a non-polymerised phase (${\bf NP}$), low density (${\bf P1}$) and high density (${\bf P2}$) polymerised phases, and, for sufficiently large stiffness, two additional anisotropic (nematic) (${\bf AN1}$ and ${\bf AN2}$) polymerised phases within the ${\bf P1}$ phase. Moreover, the {\bf AN1} phase which shows a broken symmetry with a preferential direction, is separated from the ${\bf P1}$ phase by the other nematic ${\bf AN2}$ phase. Although this scenario is similar to what was found in our previous calculation on the Bethe lattice, where the ${\bf AN-P1}$ transition was discontinuous and critical, the presence of the additional nematic phase between them introduces a qualitative difference. Other details of the phase diagram are that a line of tri-critical points may separate the ${\bf P1}-{\bf P2}$ transition surface into a continuous and a discontinuous portion, and that the same may happen at the ${\bf NP}-{\bf P1}$ transition surface, details of which depend on whether crossings are allowed or forbidden. A critical end-point line is also found in the phase diagram.