Thermodynamic and magnetic properties of a three-state Potts model on a triangular lattice with next-neighbor interactions

Abstract

Using Monte Carlo calculations, we study the thermodynamic and magnetic properties of 2D structures that can be described by a three-state Potts model on a triangular lattice with nearest- and secondnearest- neighbor interactions characterized by the coupling constants J₁ and J₂, respectively. Analyzing the thermodynamic parameters of heat capacity, the order parameter, the susceptibility, and fourth-order Binder cumulants, we show that the three-state Potts model with coupling constants J₁ > 0 and J₂ < 0 predicts a phase transition of the second kind for 0 ≤ |r| ≤ 1/3, where r = J₂/J₁.