Partition Function Zeros of the Frustrated J₁-J₂ Ising Model on the Honeycomb Lattice

We study the zeros of the partition function in the complex temperature plane (Fisher zeros) and in the complex external field plane (Lee-Yang zeros) of a frustrated Ising model with competing nearest-neighbor (J1>0) and next-nearest-neighbor (J2<0) interactions on the honeycomb lattice. We consider the finite-size scaling (FSS) of the leading Fisher and Lee-Yang zeros as determined from a cumulant method and compare it to a traditional scaling analysis based on the logarithmic derivative of the magnetization ∂ln⟨|M|⟩/∂β and the magnetic susceptibility χ. While for this model both FSS approaches are subject to strong corrections to scaling induced by the frustration, their behavior is rather different, in particular as the ratio R=J2/J1 is varied. As a consequence, an analysis of the scaling of partition function zeros turns out to be a useful complement to a more traditional FSS analysis. For the cumulant method, we also study the convergence as a function of cumulant order, providing suggestions for practical implementations. The scaling of the zeros convincingly shows that the system remains in the Ising universality class for R as low as -0.22, where results from traditional FSS using the same simulation data are less conclusive. Hence, the approach provides a valuable additional tool for mapping out the phase diagram of models afflicted by strong corrections to scaling.