IS THE PHASE-TRANSITION OF THE 3-STATE POTTS MODEL CONTINUOUS IN 3 DIMENSIONS

The internal energy and the order parameter of the three-state Potts model in a simple cubic lattice are calculated using the Monte Carlo technique. Both properties exhibit metastabilities in a small temperature region demonstrating that the phase transition is of first order. This result is in agreement with the prediction of the ε expansion but in contrast to the position-space renormalization-group calculations which lead to a continuous transition. © 1979 The American Physical Society.