Monte Carlo simulation of the three-dimensional XY model with bilinear-biquadratic exchange interaction

Abstract: The three-dimensional XY model with bilinear-biquadratic exchange interactions $J$ and $J'$, respectively, has been studied by Monte Carlo simulations. From the detailed analysis of the thermal variation of various physical quantities, as well as the order parameter and energy histogram analysis, the phase diagram including two different ordered phases has been determined. There is a single phase boundary from a paramagnetic to a dipole-quadrupole ordered phase, which is of second order in a high $J/J'$ ratio region, changing to a first-order one for $0.35 \leq J/J' \leq 0.5$. Below $J/J'=0.35$ there are two separate transitions: the first one to the quadrupole long-range order (QLRO) phase at higher temperatures, followed by another one to the dipole-quadrupole long-range order (DLRO) phase at lower temperatures. The finite-size scaling analysis yields values of the critical exponents for both the DLRO and QLRO transitions close to the values for the conventional XY model which includes no biquadratic exchange.