The McCoy-Wu model in the mean-field approximation
We consider a system with randomly layered ferromagnetic bonds (McCoy-Wu model) and study its critical properties in the frame of mean-field theory. In the low-temperature phase there is an average spontaneous magnetization in the system, which vanishes as a power law at the critical point with the critical exponents $\beta \approx 3.6$ and $\beta_1 \approx 4.1$ in the bulk and at the surface of the system, respectively. The singularity of the specific heat is characterized by an exponent $\alpha \approx -3.1$. The samples reduced critical temperature $t_c=T_c^{av}-T_c$ has a power law distribution $P(t_c) \sim t_c^{\omega}$ and we show that the difference between the values of the critical…
Second-Order Phase Transition Induced by Deterministic Fluctuations in Aperiodic Eight-State Potts Models
We investigate the influence of aperiodic modulations of the exchange interactions between nearest-neighbour rows on the phase transition of the two-dimensional eight-state Potts model. The systems are studied numerically through intensive Monte Carlo simulations using the Swendsen-Wang cluster algorithm for different aperiodic sequences. The transition point is located through duality relations, and the critical behaviour is investigated using FSS techniques at criticality. While the pure system exhibits a first-order transition, we show that the deterministic fluctuations resulting from the aperiodic coupling distribution are liable to modify drastically the physical properties in the nei…
Influence of deterministic fluctuations on the 8-state Potts model
We study a layered 8-state Potts model with an aperiodic modulation of the exchange couplings. Depending on its geometric properties, the aperiodic sequence may induce a 2nd order phase transition.