Interfaces, modulated phases and textures in lattice systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a class of high-dimensional lattice systems with modulated phases and textures, analyzing their phase transitions and degeneracies due to frustration using variational methods.

Contribution

It presents a new framework for describing inhomogeneous lattice systems with multiple ground states and computes their phase-transition energies.

Findings

Identification of modulated phases with different textures

Calculation of phase-transition energies via variational techniques

Discussion of degeneracies caused by frustration

Abstract

We introduce a class of $n$-dimensional (possibly inhomogeneous) spin-like lattice systems presenting modulated phases with possibly different textures. Such systems can be parameterized according to the number of ground states, and can be described by a phase-transition energy which we compute by means of variational techniques. Degeneracies due to frustration are also discussed.