Boltzmann's microcanonical entropy is the link between statistical physics and thermodynamics, forasmuch as the behavior of any thermodynamic quantity is directly related to the number of microscopic configurations. Accordingly, in this work, we investigate the behavior of the logarithm of the density of states of the three-state Potts model with an external field applied to one of the states using joint entropic simulations based on the Wang-Landau algorithm. Our analysis reveals that the microcanonical entropy curve is detachable, and each resulting path is related to the formation of clusters. Such a description is consistent with the energy-entropy argument related to the inception of a phase transition. When the external field is reversed and strong, the observed phase transition is from an ordered configuration to cluster formations. The behavior of the microcanonical inverse temperature indicates both first and second-order phase transitions occurring at different temperatures for high values of the external field.
Boltzmann's microcanonical entropy is the link between statistical physics and thermodynamics, forasmuch as the behavior of any thermodynamic quantity is directly related to the number of microscopic configurations. Accordingly, in this work, we investigate the behavior of the logarithm of the density of states of the three-state Potts model with an external field applied to one of the states using joint entropic simulations based on the Wang-Landau algorithm. Our analysis reveals that the microcanonical entropy curve is detachable, and each resulting path is related to the formation of clusters. Such a description is consistent with the energy-entropy argument related to the inception of a phase transition. When the external field is reversed and strong, the observed phase transition is from an ordered configuration to cluster formations. The behavior of the microcanonical inverse temperature indicates both first and second-order phase transitions occurring at different temperatures for high values of the external field.
In this investigation we show that the entropy of the two-dimensional infinite-state Potts model is linear in configurational energy in the thermodynamic limit. This is a direct consequence of the local convexity of the microcanonical entropy, associated with a finite system undergoing a first-order transition. For a sufficiently large number of states , this convexity spans the entire energy range of the model. In the thermodynamic limit, the convexity becomes insignificant, and the microcanonical entropy (the logarithm of the density of states) tends to a straight line. In order to demonstrate the behaviour of the convexity, we use the Wang-Landau Monte-Carlo technique to numerically calculate the density of states for a few finite but high values of . Finally, we calculate the free energy and discuss the generality of our results.
Traditional definition of phase transition involves an infinitely large system in thermodynamic limit. Finite systems such as biological proteins exhibit cooperative behavior similar to phase transitions. We employ recently discovered analysis of inflection points of microcanonical entropy to estimate the transition temperature of the phase transition in q state Potts model on a finite two dimensional square lattice for q=3 (second order) and q=8 (first order). The difference of energy density of states (DOS) Δ ln g(E) = ln g(E+ ΔE) −ln g(E) exhibits a point of inflexion at a value corresponding to inverse transition temperature. This feature is common to systems exhibiting both first as well as second order transitions. While the difference of DOS registers a monotonic variation around the point of inflexion for systems exhibiting second order transition, it has an S-shape with a minimum and maximum around the point of inflexion for the case of first order transition.
The q-state Potts model on a square lattice and in the presence of an external magnetic field that couples to only one state is studied by using extensive Monte Carlo simulations. A hybrid algorithm that combines the single spin-flip Metropolis method with Wolff cluster updates is employed. Single-histogram reweighting techniques and the field-mixing approach are also used to obtain the corresponding universal probability distributions. By analyzing the finite-size scaling behavior of the order parameters and universal probability distributions, the phase diagram in the temperature-versus-external field plane is obtained in the thermodynamic limit for some values of state q≥5. For positive fields and higher values of q, there is a clear first-order transition line that starts at the zero-field transition point and ends at an isolated critical point, which is in the two-dimensional Ising universality class. As the value of state q decreases, the corresponding critical field also decreases. The present results strongly suggest that the critical field vanishes when q→5^{+}. However, for negative fields, another first-order transition line occurs without any critical or multicritical behavior for q≥6. The special case with q=5 undergoes a weak first-order transition at zero field and a line of second-order transitions for negative fields. This second-order transition line is in the same universality class as the q=4 Potts model.
Phase transitions are ubiquitous phenomena, exemplified by the melting of ice and spontaneous magnetization of magnetic material. In general, a phase transition is associated with a symmetry breaking of a system; occurs due to the competition between coupling interaction and external fields such as thermal energy. If the phase transition occurs with no latent heat, the system experiences continuous transition, also known as second order phase transition. The ferromagnetic q-state Potts model with r extra invisible states, introduced by Tamura, Tanaka, and Kawashima [Prog. Theor. Phys. 124, 381 (2010)], is studied by using the Wang-Landau method. The density of states difference (DOSD), ln g(E + ΔE) − ln g(E), is used to investigate the order of the phase transition and examine the critical value of r changing the second to the first order transition.
We apply a newly proposed Monte Carlo method, the Wang-Landau algorithm, to the study of the three-dimensional antiferromagnetic q -state Potts models on a simple cubic lattice. We systematically study the phase transition of the models with q = 3, 4, 5 and 6. We obtain the finite-temperature phase transition for q = 3 and 4, whereas the transition temperature is down to zero for q = 5. For q = 6 there exists no order for any temperature. We also study the ground-state properties. The size dependence of the ground-state entropy is investigated. We find that the ground-state entropy is larger than the contribution from the typical configurations of the broken-sublattice-symmetry state for q = 3. The same situations are found for q = 4, 5 and 6.
The q-state Potts model on a diamond chain has mathematical significance in analyzing phase transitions and critical behaviors in diverse fields, including statistical physics, condensed matter physics, and materials science. By focusing on the three-state Potts model on a diamond chain, we reveal rich and analytically solvable behaviors without phase transitions at finite temperatures. Upon investigating thermodynamic properties such as internal energy, entropy, specific heat, and correlation length, we observe sharp changes near zero temperature. Magnetic properties, including magnetization and magnetic susceptibility, display distinct behaviors that provide insights into spin configurations in different phases. However, the Potts model lacks genuine phase transitions at finite temperatures, in line with the Peierls argument for one-dimensional systems. Nonetheless, in the general case of an arbitrary q state, magnetic properties such as correlation length, magnetization, and magnetic susceptibility exhibit intriguing remnants of a zero-temperature phase transition at finite temperatures. Furthermore, residual entropy uncovers unusual frustrated regions at zero-temperature phase transitions. This feature leads to the peculiar thermodynamic properties of phase boundaries, including a sharp entropy change resembling a first-order discontinuity without an entropy jump, and pronounced peaks in second-order derivatives of free energy, suggestive of a second-order phase transition divergence but without singularities. This unusual behavior is also observed in the correlation length at the pseudocritical temperature, which could potentially be misleading as a divergence.