We study the mechanism of decay of a topological (winding-number) excitation due to finite-size effects in a two-dimensional valence-bond solid state, realized in an $S=1/2$ spin model ($J$-$Q$ model) and studied using projector Monte Carlo simulatio
ns in the valence bond basis. A topological excitation with winding number $|W|>0$ contains domain walls, which are unstable due to the emergence of long valence bonds in the wave function, unlike in effective descriptions with the quantum dimer model. We find that the life time of the winding number in imaginary time diverges as a power of the system length $L$. The energy can be computed within this time (i.e., it converges toward a quasi-eigenvalue before the winding number decays) and agrees for large $L$ with the domain-wall energy computed in an open lattice with boundary modifications enforcing a domain wall. Constructing a simplified two-state model and using the imaginary-time behavior from the simulations as input, we find that the real-time decay rate out of the initial winding sector is exponentially small in $L$. Thus, the winding number rapidly becomes a well-defined conserved quantum number for large systems, supporting the conclusions reached by computing the energy quasi-eigenvalues. Including Heisenberg exchange interactions which brings the system to a quantum-critical point separating the valence-bond solid from an antiferromagnetic ground state (the putative deconfined quantum-critical point), we can also converge the domain wall energy here and find that it decays as a power-law of the system size. Thus, the winding number is an emergent quantum number also at the critical point, with all winding number sectors becoming degenerate in the thermodynamic limit. This supports the description of the critical point in terms of a U(1) gauge-field theory.
The bond-propagation (BP) algorithm for the specific heat of the two dimensional Ising model is developed and that for the internal energy is completed. Using these algorithms, we study the critical internal energy and specific heat of the model on t
he square lattice and triangular lattice with free boundaries. Comparing with previous works [X.-T. Wu {it et al} Phys. Rev. E {bf 86}, 041149 (2012) and Phys. Rev. E {bf 87}, 022124 (2013)], we reach much higher accuracy ($10^{-26}$) of the internal energy and specific heat, compared to the accuracy $10^{-11}$ of the internal energy and $10^{-9}$ of the specific heat reached in the previous works. This leads to much more accurate estimations of the edge and corner terms. The exact values of some edge and corner terms are therefore conjectured. The accurate forms of finite-size scaling for the internal energy and specific heat are determined for the rectangle-shaped square lattice with various aspect ratios and various shaped triangular lattice. For the rectangle-shaped square and triangular lattices and the triangle-shaped triangular lattice, there is no logarithmic correction terms of order higher than 1/S, with S the area of the system. For the triangular lattice in rhombus, trapezoid and hexagonal shapes, there exist logarithmic correction terms of order higher than 1/S for the internal energy, and logarithmic correction terms of all orders for the specific heat.
The $q$-state Potts model has stood at the frontier of research in statistical mechanics for many years. In the absence of a closed-form solution, much of the past efforts have focused on locating its critical manifold, trajectory in the parameter ${
q, e^J}$ space where $J$ is the reduced interaction, along which the free energy is singular. However, except in isolated cases, antiferromagnetic (AF) models with $J<0$ have been largely neglected. In this paper we consider the Potts model with AF interactions focusing on deducing its critical manifold in exact and/or closed-form expressions. We first re-examine the known critical frontiers in light of AF interactions. For the square lattice we confirm the Potts self-dual point to be the sole critical point for $J>0$. We also locate its critical frontier for $J<0$ and find it to coincide with a solvability condition observed by Baxter in 1982. For the honeycomb lattice we show that the known critical point holds for {all} $J$, and determine its critical $q_c = frac 1 2 (3+sqrt 5) = 2.61803$ beyond which there is no transition. For the triangular lattice we confirm the known critical point to hold only for $J>0$. More generally we consider the centered-triangle (CT) and Union-Jack (UJ) lattices consisting of mixed $J$ and $K$ interactions, and deduce critical manifolds under homogeneity hypotheses. For K=0 the CT lattice is the diced lattice, and we determine its critical manifold for all $J$ and find $q_c = 3.32472$. For K=0 the UJ lattice is the square lattice and from this we deduce both the $J>0$ and $J<0$ critical manifolds and find $q_c=3$ for the square lattice. Our theoretical predictions are compared with recent tensor-based numerical results and Monte Carlo simulations.
In a recent paper (arXiv:0911.2514), one of us (FYW) considered the Potts model and bond and site percolation on two general classes of two-dimensional lattices, the triangular-type and kagome-type lattices, and obtained closed-form expressions for t
he critical frontier with applications to various lattice models. For the triangular-type lattices Wus result is exact, and for the kagome-type lattices Wus expression is under a homogeneity assumption. The purpose of the present paper is two-fold: First, an essential step in Wus analysis is the derivation of lattice-dependent constants $A, B, C$ for various lattice models, a process which can be tedious. We present here a derivation of these constants for subnet networks using a computer algorithm. Secondly, by means of a finite-size scaling analysis based on numerical transfer matrix calculations, we deduce critical properties and critical thresholds of various models and assess the accuracy of the homogeneity assumption. Specifically, we analyze the $q$-state Potts model and the bond percolation on the 3-12 and kagome-type subnet lattices $(ntimes n):(ntimes n)$, $nleq 4$, for which the exact solution is not known. To calibrate the accuracy of the finite-size procedure, we apply the same numerical analysis to models for which the exact critical frontiers are known. The comparison of numerical and exact results shows that our numerical determination of critical thresholds is accurate to 7 or 8 significant digits. This in turn infers that the homogeneity assumption determines critical frontiers with an accuracy of 5 decimal places or higher. Finally, we also obtained the exact percolation thresholds for site percolation on kagome-type subnet lattices $(1times 1):(ntimes n)$ for $1leq n leq 6$.
