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arXiv · 2202.03065

Sequence of phase transitions in a model of interacting rods

Abstract

In a system of interacting thin rigid rods of equal length $2 \ell$ on a two-dimensional grid of lattice spacing $a$, we show that there are multiple phase transitions as the coupling strength $κ=\ell/a$ and the temperature are varied. There are essentially two classes of transitions. One corresponds to the Ising-type spontaneous symmetry breaking transition and the second belongs to less-studied phase transitions of geometrical origin. The latter class of transitions appear at fixed values of $κ$ irrespective of the temperature, whereas the critical coupling for the spontaneous symmetry breaking transition depends on it. By varying the temperature, the phase boundaries may cross each other, leading to a rich phase behaviour with infinitely many phases. Our results are based on Monte Carlo simulations on the square lattice, and a fixed-point analysis of a functional flow equation on a Bethe lattice.

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Juliane U. Klamser, Tridib Sadhu, Deepak Dhar. 2022-02-07. Sequence of phase transitions in a model of interacting rods. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.106.l052101

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