Phase transitions in a 3 dimensional lattice loop gas

Understand

We investigate, via Monte Carlo simulations, the phase structure of a system of closed, nonintersecting but otherwise non-interacting, loops in 3 Euclidean dimensions.

• The loops correspond to closed trajectories of massive particles and we find a phase transition as a function of their mass.
• We identify the order parameter as the average length of the loops at equilibrium.
• This order parameter exhibits a sharp increase as the mass is decreased through a critical value, the behaviour seems to be a cross-over transition.