Critical properties of a 2D frustrated magnet with non-magnetic impurities

Abstract

We report on classical Monte Carlo study of phase transitions and critical behavior of a 2D spin-pseudospin model describing a dilute magnet with competing charge and spin interactions. The static critical exponents of the specific heat and correlation length are calculated using the finite-size scaling theory in a wide range of model parameters. The order of phase transitions is analyzed within the energy histogram method. It is found that approaching the frustration point and increasing the density of non-magnetic impurities leads to non-universal critical behavior and first-order phase transitions. Features of non-universal critical behavior are shown to depend on the relationship between the parameters of the spin and pseudospin interactions.