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Physical Review Letters

Discrete-Symmetry Breaking and Novel Critical Phenomena in an Antiferromagnetic Planar ( XY ) Model in Two Dimensions

D. H. Lee, John D. Joannopoulos, John W. Negele, David Paul Landau

Published Feb 6, 1984• 214 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson symmetry analyses and Monte Carlo calculations for the classical antiferromagnetic planar ($\mathrm{XY}$) model on a triangular lattice reveal a wealth of interesting critical phenomena. From this simple model arise a zero-field transition to a state of long-range order, a new mechanism for spin disordering, and a critical point associated with a possible new universality class.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.52.433

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Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson symmetry analyses and Monte Carlo calculations for the classical antiferromagnetic planar (XY\mathrm{XY}XY) model on a triangular lattice reveal a wealth of interesting critical phenomena. From this simple model arise a zero-field transition to a state of long-range order, a new mechanism for spin disordering, and a critical point associated with a possible new universality class.
We study the antiferromagnetic {\it XY} model on a triangular lattice by extensive Monte Carlo simulations, focusing on its ordering and critical properties. Our result clearly shows that two separate transitions occur at two distinct temperatures, the one at a higher temperature is associated with a Z2Z_2Z2​-symmetry breaking driven by the chirality, and the one at a lower temperature is associated with the onset of the quasi-long-range order of the {\it XY} spin. We carefully examine the critical properties of each transition to find that the criticality of the chiral transition is consistent with the standard two-dimensional Ising universality class, whereas that of the spin transition might differ from the conventional Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) one. The observed non-KT nature of the spin criticality is consistent with the most recent simulation result on the fully-frustrated {\it XY} model on a square lattice.
The phase diagram and the critical behavior of the planar rotator model on square lattice with fourfold and on triangular lattice with sixfold symmetry-breaking field is obtained by Monte Carlo simulation. On the basis of a renormalization-group analysis the planar model with a fourfold symmetry-breaking field is expected to undergo a continuous phase transition with unconventional field dependent critical exponents, while the same model with sixfold symmetry-breaking field is expected to exhibit two phase transitions: a ferromagnetic--BKT (Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless) one at low temperature followed by a BKT--paramagnetic phase transition at high temperature. Both these expectations are confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations.
In this master thesis the criticality of the 3D XY model with cubic anisotropy has been examined by the means of Monte Carlo simulation. The 3D XY model is a special case of the O(n)O(n)O(n) spin-vector model which describe numerous phenomena's. Here, nnn is the number of vector dimensions and for the XY model n=2n=2n=2. The O(n)O(n)O(n)-model is invariant for global rotations. This means that it is arbitrary which direction in the symmetry breaking occurs. In real system one should always expect perturbations from a perfect system, here it is done by adding a cubic anisotropy (order p=4p=4p=4) then the symmetry of the Hamiltonian is lowered and it will be advantageous for the spins to be ordered in directions 90o90^o90o apart. This symmetry is called C4C_{4}C4​, which is a part of the cyclic group, and it restricts the symmetry breaking to one of these four directions. \n\nThe criticality of this model is when the spins suddenly align as the temperature is lowered to a critical temperature. Sufficiently close to the critical temperature quantities like the magnetization, which is the sum of spins, will show a power law growth characterised by critical exponents specified by the class of universality of the transition. The critical exponents can be obtained by finite-size scaling. By applying renormalization theory on the critical region one can show that some of parameters in the Hamiltonian are: relevant and effect the scaling, irrelevant and does not effect the scaling and dangerously irrelevant meaning that they only affect some of the critical exponents. Previous Monte Carlo and renormalization calculus show that anisotropy which is relevant for p<4p<4p<4 becomes dangerously irrelevant for pgeq4p\\geq4pgeq4. The question of interest is what kind of effect the dangerously irrelevant parameter in the Hamiltonian has on the scaling. This is interesting because the effect of dangerously irrelevant parameters is hardly studied and anisotropy arise in many crystal systems because of the lattice geometry. \n\nThe results are obtained by Monte Carlo simulations and the critical slowing down close to the phase transition is solved by the method of parallel tempering. This method was chosen because it is simple to implement in a parallel code.\n\nThe Binder cumulant for different quantities and the peak of the magnetic susceptibility was used support a critical temperature Tc=2.2019textnormalkT_c = 2.2019 \\ \\textnormal kTc​=2.2019textnormalk for no field applied and no anisotropy. The known critical exponents for the no field and no anisotropy was used. The scaling made a good collapse, meaning that the right TcT_cTc​ and the correct critical exponents where used. The scaling did not take into account a magnetic field and therefore a good collapse of curves where not obtained in this case. When the cubic anisotropy was added the critical exponent for the magnetic susceptibility and the cubic order parameter changed, while the other exponents where unchanged. This supports the view that cubic anisotropy is dangerously irrelevant for the 3D XY model. The scaling of the magnetic susceptibility showed a possible new kind of scaling, a scaling which is different on the two sides of the transition. Although a more accurate determination of the critical exponent in the ordered phase require more extensive simulations. It appears that this exponent is larger than the exponent in the disordered phase, where one recovered the isotropic exponent. The difference in the critical exponents has been predicted to increase with ppp and an investigation of the hexagonal anisotropy p=6p=6p=6 has been started.
We review results concerning the critical behavior of spin systems at equilibrium. We consider the Ising and the general O(N)-symmetric universality class. For each of them, we review the estimates of the critical exponents, of the equation of state, of several amplitude ratios, and of the two-point function of the order parameter. We report results in three and two dimensions. We discuss the crossover phenomena that are observed in this class of systems. In particular, we review the field-theoretical and numerical studies of systems with medium-range interactions. Moreover, we consider several examples of magnetic and structural phase transitions, which are described by more complex Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson Hamiltonians, such as N-component systems with cubic anisotropy, O(N)-symmetric systems in the presence of quenched disorder, frustrated spin systems with noncollinear or canted order, and finally, a class of systems described by the tetragonal Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson Hamiltonian with three quartic couplings. The results for the tetragonal Hamiltonian are original, in particular we present the six-loop perturbative series for the β-functions and the critical exponents.
We report on a systematic study of two-dimensional, periodic, frustrated Ising models with quantum dynamics introduced via a transverse magnetic field. The systems studied are the triangular and kagom\'e lattice antiferromagnets, fully frustrated models on the square and hexagonal (honeycomb) lattices, a planar analog of the pyrochlore antiferromagnet, a pentagonal lattice antiferromagnet, as well as two quasi-one-dimensional lattices that have considerable pedagogical value. All of these exhibit a macroscopic degeneracy at T=0T=0T=0 in the absence of the transverse field, which enters as a singular perturbation. We analyze these systems with a combination of a variational method at weak fields, a perturbative Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson approach from large fields, as well as quantum Monte Carlo simulations utilizing a cluster algorithm. Our results include instances of quantum order arising from classical criticality (triangular lattice) or classical disorder (pentagonal and probably hexagonal) as well as notable instances of quantum disorder arising from classical disorder (kagom\'e). We also discuss the effect of finite temperature, as well as the interplay between longitudinal and transverse fields---in the kagom\'e problem the latter gives rise to a nontrivial phase diagram with bond-ordered and bond-critical phases in addition to the disordered phase. We also note connections to quantum-dimer models and thereby to the physics of Heisenberg antiferromagnets in short-ranged resonating valence-bond phases that have been invoked in discussions of high-temperature superconductivity.
Histogram analysis of Monte-Carlo simulation results of the Ising antiferromagnet on a stacked triangular lattice are reported. Finite-size scaling estimates for critical exponents suggest XYXYXY universality. This result supports earlier predictions based on symmetry arguments and is in contrast with a recent suggestion of a new universality class by Bunker {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 48}, 15861 (1993)].