Nematic order by thermal disorder in a three-dimensional lattice-spin model with dipolar-like interactions

Abstract

At low temperatures, some lattice spin models with simple ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic interactions (for example nearest-neighbour interaction being isotropic in spin space on a bipartite three-dimensional lattice) produce orientationally ordered phases exhibiting nematic (second--rank) order, in addition to the primary first-rank one; on the other hand, in the Literature, they have been rather seldom investigated in this respect. Here we study the thermodynamic properties of a three-dimensional model with dipolar-like interaction. Its ground state is found to exhibit full orientational order with respect to a suitably defined staggered magnetization (polarization), but no nematic second-rank order. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations, in conjunction with Finite-Size Scaling analysis have been used for characterizing its critical behaviour; on the other hand, it has been found that nematic order does indeed set in at low temperatures, via a mechanism of order by disorder.

arXiv comment24 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Low-temperature behavior of two-dimensional Gaussian Ising spin glasses
• Three-dimensional antiferromagnetic q-state Potts models: application of the Wang-Landau algorithm
• autoScale.py - A program for automatic finite-size scaling analyses: A user's guide
• Order by disorder, without order, in a two-dimensional spin system with O(2) symmetry
• Nematic Phase in two-dimensional frustrated systems with power law decaying interactions
• Long range order for lattice dipoles

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Continuous ground-state degeneracy of classical dipoles on regular lattices
• Nematic order in a simple-cubic lattice-spin model with full-ranged dipolar interactions