# Evidence for a first order transition in a plaquette 3d Ising-like action

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a first order phase transition in a 3d gonihedric Ising-like model, with the transition changing to second order as self-avoidance effects increase, impacting its suitability as a model for gonihedric surfaces.

## Contribution

It provides evidence of a first order transition in a plaquette 3d Ising-like action and explores how self-avoidance influences the transition order.

## Key findings

- First order transition observed in the plaquette model without self-avoidance.
- Transition becomes second order with increased self-avoidance.
- Results challenge the use of this action for modeling gonihedric surfaces.

## Abstract

We investigate a 3d Ising action which corresponds to a a class of models defined by Savvidy and Wegner, originally intended as discrete versions of string theories on cubic lattices. These models have vanishing bare surface tension and the couplings are tuned in such a way that the action depends only on the angles of the discrete surface, i.e. on the way the surface is embedded in ${\bf Z}^3$. Hence the name gonihedric by which they are known. We show that the model displays a rather clear first order phase transition in the limit where self-avoidance is neglected and the action becomes a plaquette one. This transition persists for small values of the self avoidance coupling, but it turns to second order when this latter parameter is further increased. These results exclude the use of this type of action as models of gonihedric random surfaces, at least in the limit where self avoidance is neglected.