Unconventional continuous phase transition in a three dimensional dimer model

TL;DR

This paper presents large-scale simulations of a 3D dimer model revealing an unconventional continuous phase transition, possibly belonging to a tricritical universality class, challenging traditional Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson theory.

Contribution

First large-scale simulation study of a 3D dimer model showing a continuous transition possibly beyond Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson framework.

Findings

Transition appears continuous and compatible with tricritical universality

Results challenge previous assumptions of first-order transition

Supports the need for theories beyond traditional Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm

Abstract

Phase transitions occupy a central role in physics, due both to their experimental ubiquity and their fundamental conceptual importance. The explanation of universality at phase transitions was the great success of the theory formulated by Ginzburg and Landau, and extended through the renormalization group by Wilson. However, recent theoretical suggestions have challenged this point of view in certain situations. In this Letter we report the first large-scale simulations of a three-dimensional model proposed to be a candidate for requiring a description beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson framework: we study the phase transition from the dimer crystal to the Coulomb phase in the cubic dimer model. Our numerical results strongly indicate that the transition is continuous and are compatible with a tricritical universality class, at variance with previous proposals.