Is the Phase Transition of the Three-State Potts Model Continuous in Three Dimensions?

Abstract

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 $\epsilon$ expansion but in contrast to the position-space renormalization-group calculations which lead to a continuous transition.