Sublattice extraordinary-log phase and new special point of the antiferromagnetic Potts model

Abstract

We study the surface criticality of a three-dimensional classical antiferromagnetic Potts model, whose bulk critical behaviors belongs to the XY model because of emergent O(2) symmetry. We find that the surface antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighboring interactions can drive the extraordinary-log phase to the ordinary phase, the transition between the two phases belongs to the universality class of the well-known special transition of the XY model. Further strengthening the surface next-nearest neighboring interactions, the extraordinary-log phase reappears, but the main critical behaviors are dominated on the sublattices of the model; the special point between the ordinary phase and the sublattice extraordinary-log phase belongs to a new universality class.