Rotationally symmetric ordered phase in the three-state antiferromagnetic Potts model

TL;DR

This paper explores the phase behavior of the three-state antiferromagnetic Potts model on a cubic lattice, discovering a new rotationally symmetric phase at intermediate temperatures and analyzing phase transitions.

Contribution

It reports the identification of a new rotationally symmetric phase in the model, contrasting previous simulation results and providing insights into phase transitions.

Findings

Discovery of a rotationally symmetric phase at intermediate temperatures.

Disagreement with recent cluster-variation results but agreement with Kolesik and Suzuki.

Characterization of phase transition temperatures and properties.

Abstract

We investigate the three-state antiferromagnetic Potts model on a simple cubic lattice with a cluster flipping Monte Carlo simulation algorithm in the temperature region below the transition into disorder at T_{c1}. We find both the well established broken-sublattice-symmetry (BSS) phase at low temperature and a new, rotationally symmetric phase at higher temperature, but below T_{c1}. The properties of the second phase and the transition temperature to the BSS phase are in disagreement with recent cluster-variation and Monte Carlo simulation results, but in agreement with simulations by Kolesik and Suzuki.