Phase Transformations and Thermodynamic Properties of the Potts Model with q = 4 on a Hexagonal Lattice with Interactions of Next-Nearest Neighbors

Abstract

The magnetic structures of the ground state, phase transitions, and the thermodynamic properties of a two-dimensional ferromagnetic Potts model with the number of spin states q = 4 on a hexagonal lattice are studied using the Wang–Landau algorithm of the Monte Carlo method, taking into account the interactions of the nearest and the next-nearest neighbors. It is shown that the inclusion of the antiferromagnetic interactions of the next-nearest neighbors leads to the appearance of frustration and disturbance of magnetic ordering. The phase transition characters are analyzed using the method of fourth-order Binder cumulants and the histogram method. It is found that a first-order phase transition takes place in this model.