Partial order in a frustrated Potts model

Understand

We investigate a 4-state ferromagnetic Potts model with a special type of geometrical frustration on a three dimensional diamond lattice by means of Wang-Landau Monte Carlo simulation motivated by a peculiar structural phase transition found in $\beta$-pyrochlore oxide KOs$_2$O$_6$.

• We find that this model undergoes unconventional first-order phase transition; half of the spins in the system order in a two dimensional hexagonal-sheet-like structure, while the remaining half stay disordered.
• The ordered sheets and the disordered sheets stack one after another.
• We obtain a fairly large residual entropy at $T = 0$ which originates from the disordered sheets.