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Test of universality at first order phase transitions: The Lebwohl-Lasher model
Aojie Xue1, Jiahao Xu1, D P Landau1
1Center for Simulational Physics, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
Abstract:
Finite size scaling for a first order phase transition, where a continuous symmetry is broken, is tested using an approximation of Gaussian probability distributions with a phenomenological "degeneracy" factor. Predictions are compared to the data from Monte Carlo simulations of the Lebwohl-Lasher model on L × L × L simple cubic lattices. The data show that the intersection of the fourth-order cumulant of the order parameter for different lattice sizes can be expressed in terms of the relative degeneracy q = 4π of the ordered and disordered phases. This result further supports the concept of universality at first order transitions developed recently.
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