Long-range and quasi-long-range order in a triangular lattice Ising AF/FM bilayer
Milan ˇ Zukovič, Yusuke Tomita
Abstract
Critical properties of an Ising bilayer system, consisting of two triangular planes with antiferromagnetic (AF) $J_{\rm A}$ and ferromagnetic (FM) $J_{\rm B}$ exchange interactions, coupled by the interlayer exchange $J_{\rm AB}$, are studied by Monte Carlo simulation. The FM plane is found to induce in the AF one some effects similar to those resulting from the joint presence of a next-nearest-neighbor FM coupling and an external magnetic field in the single triangular lattice Ising antiferromagnet. The similarities include the appearance of the quasi-long-range-order BKT phase with algebraically decaying correlations for smaller $J_{\rm AB}$, as well as the phase transitions belonging to the three-state Potts universality class for larger $J_{\rm AB}$. On the other hand, no first-order phase transitions are observed. A new phenomenon is a cross-over from the BKT to the Wannier state at higher temperatures, that can be stabilized over a relatively wide temperature range. In the strong $J_{\rm AB}$ limit, the critical behavior of the entire bilayer is governed by the behavior of the plane with a dominant intraplane interaction. If $J_{\rm A}$ is dominant, then the strong $J_{\rm AB}$ coupling makes the system kinetically freeze at lower temperatures.